Jeff Maxwell Named Saginaw Bay District Superintendent

1/27/2010

Rev. Dr. Jeff Maxwell

Michigan Area Bishop Jonathan D. Keaton announced today (Wednesday, Jan. 27) that he has appointed the Rev. Dr. Jeffrey R. Maxwell as the superintendent of the Saginaw Bay District. Maxwell, who currently serves as the senior pastor at Farmington: First United Methodist Church, will begin his appointment on July 1, 2010. Maxwell is replacing the Rev. Louise R. Ott, who has been the Saginaw Bay District Superintendent since 2004.

 

“Jeff is a compassionate, able, friendly, and connectional pastor," said Bishop Keaton. "He accepts the call to be a district superintendent knowing that he can meet the challenge with God’s help and God’s grace."

 

Maxwell was ordained an elder in 1989 and has led five congregations during his 28-year ministry. Maxwell served Garfield UMC as a local pastor from 1982-84 prior to attending seminary and spent three years (1987-1990) as the pastor of the Kilmanagh and Unionville UMCs immediately following graduation. Maxwell was appointed to Holly: Calvary UMC in 1990, where he served 11 years before being sent to Farmington: First UMC in 2001. Maxwell is currently in his ninth year at Farmington: First. 

 

"Since 1982 I have been committed to following Jesus as a servant leader in the United Methodist Church," Maxwell said. "Through Bishop Keaton, I believe God has made known the next phase of my journey. I look forward with great expectation to what God has in store. I do this in hope, believing that every experience holds a new promise and every day brings a new adventure for people of faith. As I follow God’s calling, I pray, 'Thy kingdom come, thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven.'” 

 

"In many ways, going back to the Saginaw Bay District is a home-coming. I spent the first 32 years of my life there; was baptized and brought to faith in the Hope (United Methodist) Church." Maxwell said. "Going back as the district superintendent though is both a challenge and an opportunity I relish. While the geography may be familiar, spiritually it is unknown territory. However, the words of Corrie Ten Boom will keep me oriented: 'Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to an all-knowing God.'"

 

Maxwell as been active in conference leadership as a member of the conference Board of Discipleship, which he chaired for four years, and the conference Board of Ordained Ministry. He is currently serving as a member of the conference Committee on Standing Rules. In the Detroit West District, Maxwell is a member of the district's Leadership Team, the district's Committee on Ordained Ministry, and chairs the district's Committee on Superintendency.    

 

Maxwell received his Bachelor's degree from Saginaw Valley State College in 1984 and his Masters of Divinity degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in 1987. He was also awarded a Doctor of Ministry degree from Asbury in 2000. Maxwell and his wife, Jan, are the parents of three grown children and four grandchildren.

 

With the appointment of Maxwell, as well as his recent appointment of the Rev. Mark E. Spaw as the new Ann Arbor District Superintendent, Bishop Keaton stated that he has completed the changes to the Detroit Conference appointive cabinet for the next conference year.