Rev. Deborah Coble Appointed to Pastor Local Church
Rev. Deborah Coble, previous West Virginia Conference Director of Communications, was appointed by Bishop Sandra Steiner Ball as interim pastor with Cross Lanes United Methodist Church beginning November 1, 2023. Deborah leaves behind a tremendous legacy of equipping others to share the good news of Jesus Christ through the communications ministry of the West Virginia Conference.
Deborah has led the Conference communications team since 2016, when she stepped into her position in the midst of the 2016 flood. Since then, she has worked with individuals, ministry teams, district offices, and local church leaders to expand the capacity to communicate the hope and shared ministry of making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
Deborah was named 2018 Communicator of the Year by the United Methodist Association of Communicators and has served on the UMAC leadership board since 2019. In 2021 she was awarded the Epikoinonia: Excellence in Communication Ministry Award by United Methodist Communications.
She has served as staff liaison to the Conference Justice & Advocacy and Disaster Response ministries in addition to her communications leadership. The West Virginia Conference has been blessed by her leadership. We wish Deborah well and know that her gifts for leadership will greatly benefit the local church.
Bishop Steiner Ball expressed her appreciation for Deborah’s service. “I give God thanks and praise for Deborah’s leadership and ministry as the West Virginia Conference! She began her ministry with us by hitting the ground before she was even able to unpack in response to the flooding disaster we experienced in 2016. Deborah has been an immense gift to the communications ministry of the West Virginia Conference enabling us to do things we have never done before in the area of communications. As she answers God’s call in her life to return to pulpit and local church ministry, I know she will continue to be a gift to the West Virginia Conference and beyond!”
Thank you, Deborah!
New Director of Communications: We Welcome Bryan Beaty
The West Virginia Conference welcomes Bryan Beaty to the role of Conference Director of Communications.
Over the last two decades, Bryan has developed a reputation as a communications strategist, specializing in strategic messaging, crisis communications and executive communications, working with teams and individuals to tell compelling stories and shape public understanding.
Bryan’s career has spanned agricultural interests, not-for-profit organizations, higher education institutions and law enforcement, providing strategic communications counsel to senior executives on their messaging and communications efforts.
Bryan is a credentialed public information officer by the Center for Public Safety Excellence, a DHS-FEMA Master Public Information Officer, and teaches for FEMA’s Emergency Management Institute and Indian River State College.
Bryan will guide our conference communications team, staff, and leaders throughout the conference in accomplishing our mission to discover, develop, and deploy passionate spiritual leaders who make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
“I am very excited for the opportunity to collaborate and work with Bryan as the New Director of Communications for the West Virginia Conference,” said Bishop Steiner Ball. “Bryan brings a wealth of experience and skill to our communications ministry, and I look forward to how God will work through him to multiply and advance the mission of Christ in our Conference area and across our United Methodist Connection.”
Welcome, Bryan!