Pastor’s Corner
Harley was raised in the church and nurtured by many faithful pastors and youth ministers. He committed his life to Christ and was baptized as a young man. He heard a call to ministry in his teens, and finally responded to that call in 1987. In 1989, he left his job in a chemical plant laboratory and began preaching, full-time. God has been faithful in his life to give him wonderful children who are now fine young men and women. His life as a pastor has been a story of growing in closeness to the Lord, and learning to allow Jesus to be the source of strength and wisdom.
Cindy grew up in the Hermiston Oregon area, and graduated from Umatilla High School in 1980. She worked for 14 years as a forms designer for Standard Register Company. Then in 2016, Cindy graduated from Stark State College with a degree in Administrative Office Professional. She currently works for Stark Truss Company, Inc. as an HR Administrative Assistant. Harley and Cindy have been married for nine years and together they have nine children and five grandchildren.
Pastor Harley has served seven pastoral charges in his 33 years of ministry in the East Ohio Conference of the UMC, previously in Minerva for nine years, and before that, for eleven years in Thompson. His major pastime is reading and study, has worked in hunger ministry and outreach to the poor, and had success in grant-writing.
What can you expect from Pastor Harley?
Pastor Harley delights in preaching, teaching, visitation, and bringing the church into the community. Seeing the congregation doing Bible study, mission outreach and sharing their faith is a joyful sign to him that they are walking close to Jesus.
Pastor Harley was an early member of the Wesleyan Covenant Association and a founding member of the East Ohio Wesleyan Covenant Association, he works for evangelical renewal in the church. His theology is Wesleyan, with a reliance on scripture as the true word of God that leads us to salvation and holiness. He entered ministry in the Global Methodist Church in 2022, after withdrawing from the United Methodist Church.
In preaching, he is scripture-based and uses stories to connect the truth of God to life. He counsels all Christians to seek to live, love, work and witness with Christ as the source of all they do. In his role as administrator of a church, he leads by consensus and trusts the leadership.
Harley and Cindy have found that the calling they serve has been full of large and surprising blessings. They look forward to serving Jesus alongside of all of you.