Rev. Paul Thomasson

Reverend Paul Thomasson has been appointed to First United Methodist Church Mineola.

Thomasson comes from Fair Haven United Methodist Church in Houston where he led a mixed congregation for seven years. The congregation was made up of people who spoke three languages-those being English, Spanish and Korean.

Thomasson was ordained in 1982 and has been in ministry for 35 years.

“I have a little bit of experience in East Texas,” said Thomasson. “I have a little bit of experience in the city. That has been my 35 years and I have thoroughly enjoyed it. I do desperately need God to lead me and this church and we will see what happens in the future.”

Thomasson is married to Diane and their children are Matthew and Ashley, who are both married and have children.

Thomasson is intrigued with the accomplishments of the church and continuing to make an impact on the community.

“I am especially proud of this church and some of the things it has done,” said Thomasson. “There is a wonderful health center across the street that started in the basement of the church. There is Kindness Kottage that also started in the basement of our church. We do a lot of things to try to make this a better community. I think one of the best ways to judge the merits of a church is ‘what would this community be like if the Methodists would never have been established here?’ I think you could honestly say in Mineola that this church has had a tremendously positive influence on this entire city.”

Thomasson looks to let God guide him as he begins his journey as pastor of the church.

“A lot of visions have been put forward for the church but the only vision that matters to me is God’s vision,” said Thomasson. “I really believe that we have got to position ourselves in such a way that God’s vision can best be achieved in the present and the future. Our job is to work with God’s ideas, not our own ideas. There is a lot of prayer involved for the vision of the church.”

One mission of Thomasson’s is to sit down with every member of his congregation in his first year at the church.

“My real purpose right now is easy,” said Thomasson. “Love, listen, and learn. My stated purpose the first year is to sit down in the homes of all of my members and simply share a cup of coffee. Talk with them and hear about their story while they hear a little bit about mine. Learn the names of everything from their children and other things that are big on their mind over a cup of coffee and look on the pictures on the wall. Usually it’s pictures of family or other major events in their lives. It moves you from being the new minister to being the new pastor.”