Reverend Garth Gilliam to be appointed as District Superintendent on July 1

Grace and peace on this day in the season of Advent.

I bring you news of the appointment of Reverend Garth Gilliam as District Superintendent of the North District on July 1, 2024. Rev. Melissa Roux MacKinnon will be appointed as Change Manager in the North District.

As a Full Elder, Reverend Gilliam brings to the role of District Superintendent over two decades of work across The California-Pacific Conference.

Reverend Gilliam sensed a call to full-time ministry while working as an Engineer on Rockwell’s Space Station program. After leaving the aerospace industry, Reverend Gilliam served in full-time ministry with the Pacoima First United Methodist Church. He served for 3 years as the Director and Community Developer of the Shalom Zone Urban Development Project. During his work with the Shalom Z Project, he created several successful programs, including a Men’s Ministry, an Alternative Worship Service, and a nationally recognized Mentoring Ministry for boys at risk that won many awards, including the NAACP’s President’s Award.

From there, Reverend Gilliam was appointed by The California-Pacific Conference to serve as the Director of Youth, Young Adults, and Camp Ministry. In this position, he created many new conference-level ministries, including the Youth Worker Academy, a conference-wide Rites of Passage Program, the Urban Kids Camp, and the Urban Plunge Mexico Mission Project, which annually took over 120 participants to build homes, provide medical services and children’s ministry in severely impoverished areas of Baja Mexico.

In 2004, after leading for 8 years in a conference staff position, Reverend Gilliam was appointed as Associate Pastor at Santa Clarita UMC. In 2006, he was appointed as Senior Pastor of the Sherman Oaks UMC, where he currently continues to serve.

Reverend Gilliam received his Bachelor’s Degree from California State University in Northridge, a Master’s Degree from Azusa Pacific University, and a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary. He is married to Kimberly and is the proud father of two daughters and one son – Autumn, Summer, and Nehemiah.

Please join me in welcoming Reverend Gilliam as a District Superintendent on the Cabinet of The California-Pacific Conference.

Grace y paz,

Bishop Dottie
Resident Bishop of the Los Angeles Area
The California-Pacific Conference of The United Methodist Church