Hopewell United Methodist Church in Tyrone has announced the appointment of a new youth pastor. After an exhaustive search, the Rev. Shannon E. Karafanda is charged with restructuring and enlarging Hopewell’s youth ministry.
Karafanda is an ordained deacon in the United Methodist Church with a focus on family ministries. She grew up in Morrow and worked as a computer programmer before pursuing her call to the ministry in 1999. She has a bachelor of science degree in management from Georgia Tech and a masters in divinity, from the Candler School of Theology at Emory University.
She served at Brooks and Turin United Methodist churches as well as The Lighthouse, The Church at The Well, and Sacred Tapestry. The latter three were all new churches in the North Georgia Conference of the United Methodist Church.
Karafanda lives with her husband, John, her three children, and a black lab in Peachtree City. In addition to working in youth ministry, she says she enjoys running, reading, blogging, and using Facebook. She says she uses these modern forms of communication constantly “just to prove to myself that most people really aren’t that exciting either.”
She says she is thrilled to be working at Hopewell where the members are passionate about mission work and are so supportive of youth and children.
“The congregation is excited to have such an accomplished new staff member and the youth look forward to participating in the new programs and activities she will offer,” a church spokesperson said.
Hopewell UMC welcomes youth in the community to participate in the new youth program. The church is at 351 Jenkins Rd. in Tyrone, directly across from Sandy Creek High. For more information, contact the church, 770-306-7537, or visit the web site, www.hopewell-umc.org.
