NASHVILLE, Tenn.––The General Commission on United Methodist Men will welcome Joseph Strausbaugh to the staff on July 16.
After serving as a data administrator for the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry, he is well qualified to become the charter-system administrator for the Nashville-based commission.
Strausbaugh succeeds Ann Waller, who leaves the staff July 31 to attend school with her daughter in Copenhagen, Denmark. Ann is a beloved staff member who serves as the voice of the commission as she fields telephone calls and e-mail inquiries. After 14 years of service with the agency, she usually provides the information without having to call upon the other seven staff members for assistance. She also processes all requests for charters and charter renewals.
In the future, people making inquiries and seeking charters are likely to find Strausbaugh is equally friendly and helpful. He has a rich background with the United Methodist Church after serving the past two years with the General Board of Higher Education and Ministry in Nashville, and three years as a student assistant with the General Commission on Archives and History (2007-2010) while attending Drew Theological School in Madison, N.J. He also served an internship with the General Board of Church and Society in Washington, D.C. in 2008-2009.
A magna cum laude graduate of Gettysburg College (B.A.) and Drew University Theological School (M.Div.), Stausbaugh says, “I am looking forward to being able to work directly with constituents and to help continue and expand ministry to men in The United Methodist Church. It is vital to our work of ‘making disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world’."
“Joseph brings to us some wonderful skills in working with data, but also brings great interpersonal skills and a unique knowledge of the UMC at a local and national level,” said Gil Hanke, top staff executive of the General Commission on United Methodist Men. “Additionally, his very strong academic credentials are clearly applicable to the mission and ministries of the commission.”