Pastor, Buddy Royston:
Rev. Lawrence E. “Buddy” Royston, Jr. was appointed to LaVergne First, June, 2006. Buddy became a pastor in June, 1994, and has served two other churches in the Murfreesboro district, Whiteside UMC in Shelbyville, and Bell Buckle UMC.
Buddy began his career in Corrections with the State of Tennessee in 1971 as a probation/parole officer. He became the state director of Jail Inspection and was later hired by Corrections Corporation in 1985. His corporate experience led him to Murfreesboro in 1989 when he became a jail consultant and began a diversion school program. In 1993, he researched and initiated the first School Resource Officer program in the state of Tennessee under the leadership of Sheriff Truman Jones for Rutherford County. He later became Chaplain of the Rutherford County Sheriff’s office as he continued to pastor.
A native of Bristol, Tennessee, Buddy graduated from Lees-McCrae Junior College (Banner Elk, N.C.) and the University of Tennessee with a degree in Religious Studies. He has continued with graduate study at The University of the South School of Theology and he is currently completing the Course of Study at Candler School of Theology, Emory University. Buddy is married to Susan Royston, an 8th grade teacher at Siegel Middle School. They have two sons, Matthew (married to Heather Fricke) and Zach.
Buddy was chosen to participate in a pastoral exchange to England during the summer of 2003. He and Susan were chosen by the World Wide Methodist Conference to exchange with a pastor in the Lincolnshire village of Stamford for 7 weeks. It was truly one of the most exciting times of their lives.
Honors/Awards
Buddy received the 2002 Denman Evangelism Award for Clergy from the Tennessee Conference for the “exemplary obedience to the Great Commission of the Lord Jesus Christ” as he served Bell Buckle UMC 1994-2006.
The Rev. Lawrence E. “Buddy” Royston, Jr., was presented the G. Ross Freeman Leadership Award for 2006. He is among 33 pastors from the nine-state Southeastern Jurisdiction to receive the award in the last five years for inspiring ministries of men in evangelism, missions and spiritual growth. (News Archives- UMC.org)
“In 1994 when I received the call to go into ministry, I believed then and I still believe today that if Jesus Christ be lifted up, He will draw people unto Himself. LaVergne First UMC is a church with open hearts, open doors and open minds and the mission for our fellowship is to be the body of Christ to our community and the world."
Church Secretary, Darlene Paschall:
Darlene has been a member of LaVergne First United Methodist Church since Dec. 18, 1977. "Although I have had periods of time when I did not attend church, this church has always been my home church." Darlene is a member of the Friends of Jesus Sunday School Class, the United Methodist Women in Action group, Mission Sunday coodinator, and the church choir. She also serves as Finance Chairperson. She was raised in LaVergne, and has lived in the middle Tennessee area all of her life. Darlene has 4 brothers and 1 sister. Her parents were members of the LaVergne church and she has two brothers (Tom & Galen) who are members now. Darlene is married to Jim Paschall and they have a home in Lascassas. They have a daughter, Amy Peyton, who lives in Murfreesboro with her husband and children, Nick, Emma, Destin and Hannah. They have a son, Joe Paschall, who is married to Kerri and they have two sons, Brian and Hunter. They live in Murfreesboro. Darlene worked for the United States Postal Service for 18 years prior to coming to work here for the church. "It gives me pleasure working for the church. In my spare time, I enjoy reading, being with my grandchildren and family, and working outside at our home."
Music Director, Tim Hayden:
Tim has been at LaVergne First UMC since 1997, directing the choir and providing music for services. He is a full-time musician and owns his own recording studio in Nashville, Ned's Place Recording. He produces, arranges, orchestrates and records tracks for Alfred Publishing Company, Dollywood, The Alabama Theater in Myrtle Beach, Gaylord's "ICE!" Shows at the Opryland Hotel, and records the music for the main stage shows for several major cruise lines. Since 2005, he has served as Music Director for the Original Cast, a theater group at Vanderbilt University. Tim enthusiastically invites you to join the choir or if you're an instrumentalist... come and play!
Youth Coordinator, Kathy Johnson:
Kathy and her son, Adam, began aattending LFUMC in 1998. Kathy and her husband, Robin, joined the chuch in 2006. She has two sons, Steven (married to Missy) and they have a wonderful son, Trey. Kathy's youngest son, Adam, is currently in training at Ft. Gordan, Georgia.
Kathy is a native of McMinnville, TN. Her family moved to Murfreesboro in 1976 while her sister attended MTSU. She graduated from Riverdale High School in 1977. Kathy is very active in church -- she is the UMW Treasurer and had been our Youth Leader since June 2011. She has been active with the Youth for many years. Her passion is working with the Youth and mission work.
Children's Coordinator, Heather Scott:
Heather and her husband, Eric, have been members of LaVergne First UMC since October 2007. Since that time, she has been co-teaching the Pre-Teen Spirits Sunday class which is made up of 4th, 5th, and 6th graders. She and Eric are also the coordinators for the Pre-Teen Spirits' monthly activities, which includes a mission project each quarter. Heather is married to Eric Scott and she has a stepdaughter, Baylee. Heather was raised in Smyrna and moved to LaVergne after marriage to Eric. They have two dogs, Max (a Dorkie) and Cookie (a Snorkie).
Nursery Coordinator, Tracy Morris:
Tracy and her family (Dan, Debi & Jonathan Walker) started coming to LaVergne First UMC when she was a child of 2. She grew up in the church and started helping out in the nursery when she was in Youth. She has continued to be active in the nursery since then, taking the position of Nursery Coordinator in 2006. She is also one of the coordinators for our Spring and Fall Consignment Sale. She has been married to Michael since 1992 and has two sons, Brett and Luke. Her hobbies are scrapbooking and reading.
