Our Staff
Rev. Richard Smith, Senior Pastor of Germantown United Methodist Church in Germantown, Tennessee, was called to the ministry in 1965 and began serving in a small church in Mineral Wells, Mississippi. Originally from Milan, Tennessee, Rev. Smith graduated from Lambuth University in Jackson, Tennessee, with Bachelor of Arts degree in Religion. He earned a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, and completed two years of doctoral work in Christian Social Ethics, at Emory University School of Religion.
Throughout his 40 years as a United Methodist Pastor, Rev. Smith has served at churches in Tennessee, Mississippi, Louisiana, and Kentucky. He was the Asbury District Superintendent for The Memphis Conference of The United Methodist Church and the founding Pastor of St. Paul United Methodist Church in Memphis.
Rev. Smith and his wife Pat have been married for 42 years, and they have a daughter who lives with her husband and two-year old son in Murray, Kentucky, and a son who is a sophomore at the University of Louisville in Kentucky. The Smiths came to Germantown United Methodist Church in February 2011 after 14 years in Paducah and Murray, Kentucky.
Preaching, administration, personal relationships, spiritual leadership, and visioning are Rev. Smith’s primary strengths. He enjoys leading Bible studies and teaching regularly and is deeply committed to helping United Methodist Christians come to better understand who we are as Wesleyan Christians. Dedicated to encouraging congregations to learn to be faithful and effective witnesses to Christ in our contemporary culture, Rev. Smith has been active in the communities in which he has served in helping address cross-racial issues, concern for the poor, and outreach to less fortunate persons in the community. It is his belief that worship is the heart of the church and that all ministries, programs, and outreach must flow out of the meaning, power, and effect of God-centered worship.
