Bishop Announces Appointment of Porterfield to Conference Cabinet

In a creative new appointment, Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson has announced that Rev. Greg Porterfield will join the Conference Cabinet as District Superintendent/Presiding Elder of the Augusta District in June 2019.

Porterfield will remain senior pastor of Wesley UMC in Evans where he has served since 2004. He will also act in the superintendent role as missional strategist. The Cabinet will appoint a full-time elder to work out of the District Office as a missions specialist to aid Porterfield in his work.

He succeeds Rev. Terry Fleming who has served the Augusta District since 2012. Fleming’s next appointment will be announced in April. 

Porterfield is a native of Southern California and was an active member of the Glendale First United Methodist Church there. He graduated from Occidental College before coming to Candler School of Theology. While earning his Master of Divinity degree he served as youth minister at Glenn Memorial UMC. At Glenn Memorial he met his wife, Ann, herself a preacher’s kid. Ann and Greg have a daughter Sarah who is married to Nick Tippens and is on staff at Northside UMC, son Jeff works for The Hershey Company in South Carolina, and son David, recently married, is preparing to move to Alaska.

Not one to shy away from a challenge, Porterfield has served Wesley for 15 years. The church has a record of innovative ministry, having launched a second campus and most recently purchased a building in downtown Augusta geared toward the needs of undergraduate and graduate students as well as young adults.  

"It is my hope that this new way of superintending will empower congregations and encourage churches to work together, identifying and sharing their best practices as they glorify God," said Porterfield.

Before his appointment to Wesley, Porterfield served Holly Springs-Dry Pond in the Gainesville District. He was then appointed under New Church Development as the founding pastor of Hillside UMC. Following this assignment, he was appointed as a pastor of LaGrange First. 

“I am delighted Greg Porterfield has agreed to join our team,” said Bishop Sue Haupert-Johnson. “He comes with a great knowledge of and love for the Augusta area. Greg is a gifted, entrepreneurial leader who has mentored well the young clergy on his staffs. He is also very excited to have the opportunity to work more as a presiding elder. We will learn together if this model is one that could serve North Georgia well in the future.”

Bishop Sue previously announced the appointment of Rev. Dr. Jessica Terrell to the Conference Cabinet. Rev.Terrell, currently pastor of Eatonton First UMC, will be appointed to serve as superintendent of the Rome-Carrollton District. She succeeds Rev. Dr. David Naglee who will retire in June.