Reverend Doctor Michelle Holmes Chaney has been appointed by the Bishop to serve as Bi-District Coordinator for Church Revitalization and Leadership Development, effective July 1. Michelle will oversee leadership training through offerings like Next Level Innovations and Shift+ as well as support church revitalization through programs like Discovering the Possibilities and Small church checkup. She will resource church leadership and staff by designing models of engagement and training for churches of all sizes at all levels.
A native of New York City, Dr. Chaney received her Bachelors from Virginia Tech, a Masters of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, Emory University and a Doctorate of Ministry from Wesley Theological Seminary in the area of Faith and the Health of Communities. Her dissertation focused on the role of clergy leadership in creating healthy communities.
She was ordained an elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church in 2000 and became an elder in full connection in the United Methodist Church in 2013 and has 15 years of human resource experience in addition to 20 years in ministry. As a faith and health consultant, she has worked for several national programs in Atlanta, GA and Washington, DC, as well as local and state public health entities.
Dr. Chaney is a trained coach and consultant in church revitalization and starting new ministries in existing churches. She has worked with annual conferences, districts and churches, as well as boards across the country. She has experience pastoring in both predominately Caucasian and predominately African American congregations. She has served in both rural and urban settings, Currently, she is the Pastor for Congregational Care, Missions and Communications at Centreville UMC in Centreville, Virginia, a 3000+ member congregation in the diverse region of Northern Virginia and currently on the staff of the Arlington District as the Church Development Coordinator working specifically with the Next Level Innovation (NLI) program. She is Currently serving on the District Committee on Ministry and the District Leadership Team.
She is married to Rev. William T. Chaney, Jr., the Path 1 North Central Jurisdiction New Church Strategist with Discipleship Ministries, one of the general agencies of the United Methodist Church. Together they have one teenage daughter, Courtney Elizabeth. As a family they enjoy traveling together and hope to make a cross country trip soon.