Welcome to Andy Stoker.com!

Welcome to all visitors!

NEW

Safe Sanctuaries podcast for leaders and volunteers: SAFE SANCTUARIES PODCAST

__________________________________

Andy Stoker’s Bio

Growing up in El Paso, Texas, Andy Stoker learned to appreciate people from a variety of backgrounds, cultures and passions. With his grandparents living just two blocks away and a supportive blended family, he felt the love of God through lots of humor, love, humor, differences, humor, grace and humor. As a lifelong United Methodist, Andy found himself called more deeply to ministry with people. He heard God calling him to be a phenomenal weatherman, but that required higher math . . . Then, he heard God calling him to stand-up comedy, but that required a lot of years of Ramen noodles . . . Then, he heard God calling him to share the love of Christ to people who were weathering storms and needed a reminder that God loved them even when the laughing stops.

As Andy was discerning his call to ministry at Texas Tech University, he met a young woman who was in nursing school and working at a church as a youth and university intern. Her name was Megan Callahan; her knowledge of people and faith quickly impressed him. Megan and Andy became partners in ministry and soon found themselves considering partnership for life. After having earned bachelor’s degrees, on January 10, 1998, Andy and Megan were married. Megan began work at Children’s Medical Center and Andy started seminary at Perkins School of Theology. Before completing seminary in 2001, Andy served a two point charge in Henderson, Texas, and Greenland Hills United Methodist Church.

In 2002, Andy was commissioned an elder in the North Texas Conference and appointed to First United Methodist Church of Denton. He served as associate pastor with youth, university students and young adults. He was ordained elder in Wichita Falls, Texas, in 2005. As he continued his work at FUMC-Denton, he found himself in a variety of other ministry areas in the church including adult education and mission ministries. While at FUMC-Denton, he completed a Doctor of Philosophy in Family Studies from Texas Woman’s University. His dissertation research focused on adolescent identity formation in “tweens” and “emerging adults.” More importantly, FUMC-Denton saw Megan and Andy grow their family with two boys: Alex, now six, and Wesley, now eighteen months.

As of January 1, 2009, Andy Stoker is now serving the North Texas Annual Conference as Associate Director of Connectional Ministries for Children, Youth, Family and Camping. He continues to reside in Denton with his family.

2010

June

2, 9, 16 Youth Ministry Consultation, University UMC, Wichita Falls, Texas

21-25 New Mexico Conference Senior High Camp

July

5-9 Jurisdictional Youth Ministry Organization (JYMO), Texas Wesleyan University

17-24 Suncreek UMC’s Senior High Mission Experience, Denver, Colorado

29-August 1 “Weekend of the Cross”, Louisiana Conference, Shreveport, Louisiana

Death Becomes Us (Only If We Let It)

I am in a constant state of denying the inevitability of my own death. I constantly try to work more, or faster, or stronger, in order to gain some more of life. I believe it comes from a lack of emotion (compassio) in everyday living; it is not for sentimental reasons we should go on [...]

Difficult Conversations 1

In our Saturday night connection, we are studying the book Difficult Conversations. We decided that we wanted to pick up a text that would aid us in our personal lives, home lives, work lives and interactions with the world. With every page turn, I have imagined a specific time I have felt a certain way [...]

First Fruits

To borrow a phrase from my grandmother, “We gotta dance with the one who brung ya.” Our actions are not in spite of God but because of God. The Creator who envisioned an implicate Order in perceived chaos yearns for me to dance with Deity, to mash potato with the Master, to electric slide with Elohim, to go-go with God, to moonwalk with the Maker and to lambada with the Lord.