RANCHO SANTA MARGARITA, CA--(Marketwired - March 07, 2016) - A Southern California United Methodist pastor has been selected from hundreds of entries to appear in the final episode of the successful Chuck Knows Church web series, "The Committee."
The Reverend Sarah Heath was chosen from among 210 ministers nominated for the chance to appear on The Committee, a humorous and thought-provoking online series produced by Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church (UMC) about a fictional church that lost its pastor and faced closure.
"Our team of producers and consultants for The Committee selected Sarah from among the entries because her video touched us deeply. Her commitment to her church, approach to ministry and her genuine creative style all hit a home run for us," said Steve Horswill-Johnston, Executive Director of Communications and Brand Strategy at Discipleship Ministries and Chuck Knows Church creator and senior producer.
An ordained elder in the California-Pacific Annual Conference, Heath serves as teaching and preaching site pastor for the Rancho Santa Margarita and Mission Viejo campuses of Shepherd of the Hills United Methodist Church (UMC) in Southern California.
Heath, who will appear on the final episode of The Committee on March 14, said the series is helpful to people in congregations of all faiths by providing a comfortable way of "pointing out both the blessing and the curse of a committee."
In the series, which averages 90,000 online views each month, Park Grove Community Church lost its pastor and its way and faced having to close its doors unless it could be reinvented by a committee of church members, helped by Chuck. The series premiered on Jan. 12, 2015 and is available free online at www.chuckknowschurch.com.
"The thing about watching it is you can almost label each character with the name of someone in your congregation," Heath said. "Maybe I can't say when someone does something that is problematic to the committee work, but I can say, hey here's a (video) clip. How does that help the group move forward or not move forward?"
Heath was entered in the search for the new Park Grove pastor by a church member. She said, "We should do this; you should do this," to Heath who agreed the experience would be both enriching and fun.
A native of Newfoundland, Canada, Heath was raised in Gravenhurst, Ontario, until her family moved to the Hattiesburg, Mississippi, in 1994, where she lived the rest of her childhood. She earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of Southern Mississippi and a master of divinity degree from Duke Divinity School.
After seminary, Heath served as a campus minister at University of California-Irvine and as associate pastor at a local United Methodist Church. In 2012, she was appointed pastor in Rancho Santa Margarita.
In addition to often being a guest writer for various publications, Heath has a passion for music, creating art and acting.
About the Discipleship Ministries of The United Methodist Church (UMC)
The mission of Discipleship Ministries is to support annual conference and local church leaders for their task of equipping world-changing disciples. An agency of The United Methodist Church, Discipleship Ministries is located at 1908 Grand Ave. in Nashville, Tenn.
For more information, visit www.UMCdiscipleship.org, go to the Press Center at www.UMCdiscipleship.org/about/press-center, or call the Office of Communications at (877) 899-2780, Ext. 1726.
Image Available: http://www.marketwire.com/library/MwGo/2016/3/7/11G086404/Images/Pastor_Sarah_Head_Shot_from_Newsletter-4d48c6b56e74b021b1f51b2e58d30f99.jpg
Embedded Video Available: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6wam1Fp5h1Y
Contact Information:
CONTACT:
Jennifer Heinly
J&J Consulting
949-716-9829
jennifer@jandjconsulting.net
