This year, the staff and congregation of Highland Park United Methodist Church will say goodbye to Rev. Terry Jones, who plans on retiring in late December. Terry joined the staff at HPUMC in 2005. He serves as an associate minister in the Congregational Care Department.

In his time with the church, Terry has served countless members, made thousands of hospital and pastoral care visits, officiated funerals, preached, and served as a liturgist in innumerable services.

Terry has also handled a number of special assignments at the church, among them making sure the church building was accessible for the disabled, organizing and overseeing the HPUMC’s annual blood drive, and notably being the staff member who led the successful effort to build the beautiful columbarium on our grounds.

“What I love about Terry is that his ministry is in the work that he does, not in the statements that he makes,” says Rev. Paul Rasmussen, Senior Minister of HPUMC. “Terry has this unbelievable ability to minister to and to love people that may have different opinions. This has been a model for me and I’m really grateful for that.”

Terry says he always knew he wanted to be a preacher, even though there weren’t any preachers among his family or close friends.

Raised in St. Jo, Texas and later living in Gainesville, he was a lumber salesman, airport lineman, freight dock supervisor and at one point, even had his own custom millwork company. In the meantime, Terry married Becky in 1977 and they had two children, Meredith and Kristen.

It was during this period, while at a Bible study, that Terry told a minister he felt called to the ministry, and the minister encouraged him to go for it. So Terry, who had graduated from the University of North Texas with a major in gerontology, now enrolled at Brite Divinity School at TCU.

While in seminary, he served the Wesley Bonham circuit. After graduating from Brite he served at First UMC Frisco before joining North Texas Conference staff in the Volunteers in Mission program. Working out of the Methodist Warehouse he led mission workgroups in Mexico and Central America. After five years in the local church and five years with VIM, he changed gears and became the Chaplain and Pastoral Care Director of C.C. Young Retirement Community, the largest UMC related retirement community in North Texas. Trained in gerontology as an undergraduate, and having had an emphasis in pastoral care at Brite, it was a great fit, and Terry served the 400 residents there for almost five years.

Given the variety and type of vocations Terry has followed, it’s no surprise he is also a licensed private pilot and a certified Pastoral Care Specialist.

Terry continues to serve in governance of nonprofits that operate in the area of his specialties. He has been on the Board of Dickinson Place, has chaired the Board of The Pastoral Counseling Center, and organized a nonprofit to serve missions in Mexico and Central America.

Terry retires on December 22 of this year. Becky retired some years ago. Together, the couple intends to continue living in Hickory Creek and plans on frequently visiting their cabin in the mountains above Colorado Springs.

Having served so many in this church, Terry will now begin more seriously supporting those in his family who need him, a daughter here in Dallas, two parents in their mid 80’s in Gainesville, and a daughter, son in law and two beautiful granddaughters in Boise, Idaho.

To say that we’ll miss him would be an understatement. But we know that Terry is entering into an exciting time, and we wish him well, and thank him for years of service to this congregation.