The pastor of Saint Mary’s Road United Methodist Church, Reverend Gerald Bruce Goodman, was born the seventh child of twelve in Douglas, Georgia in 1951 to parents, Lonnie D. and Pauline Goodman. His wife is former Wanda G. Brown of Folkston, Georgia to whom he has been married since December 27, 1970. They have two inspiring daughters, Kimberly and Trynetta, and four lovely and beautiful grandchildren: Joleshia, Amya, Makel Gerald, and Michel. Reverend Goodman began on a journey in childhood that has lead him to his life as a preacher, teacher, and counselor.
I grew up in an environment that taught me that when one commits to the service of God, no other things should be reverent. This stayed with me throughout my life and one day it would have a great impact in my life. I believe that God has guided my life even in the times that I was not blessed with an admitted awareness of his presence. My journey to the service of God continued with my survival from a firefight in Vietnam and my baptism soon after in 1972. It was this event that caused a more serious focus for me on my faith and my God. May 16, 1993 was the day that I was led by the Holy Spirit to heed His call into the ministry, which I did not readily accept but could not resist. At first I wondered “why me” and I felt inadequate in some ways to serve. I accepted God as powerful enough to cause anything, all of creation, to yield to His will, including myself. I knew that my experiences from childhood, as a twenty-four year member and counselor in the military, and all other aspects of my life were preparation for God’s plan. Within a week of my calling I decided to leave the military to begin a new mission of service to the Lord.
Reverend Goodman prospered at The Interdenominational Theological Center in Atlanta, Georgia, where he received his Masters of Divinity degree in Pastoral Care and Counseling in 1998. He has continued his studies by completing a leader’s academy session focusing on “new church start and church revitalization” and “natural church development coach & trainer” .Because of the support and foundation that he has received from family, friends, parishioners, and other clergymen he has been energized to be a bright guiding light in the United Methodist Church and the community.
Reverend Goodman is most noted for his work with children and teenagers. He has been and is very active in the local community and across the South Georgia Conference filling roles such as: Youth Minister, Scout Master, member of Board of Director of CASA, middle school mentor, member Ministerial Associations, Chair of Committee on Religion and Race (Valdosta), member of the Bishop’s initiative for Children and Poverty, member on the Conference Committee of Post Reconciliation, and District Committee on Ordained Ministry (Statesboro and Savannah), conference coach for Natural Church Development, and Chair of the Chattahoochee Valley Martin Luther King Steering Committee, among others.
St. Mary’s Road United Methodist Church, of which Rev. Goodman was already a member, accepted him as a minister of the church in 1993. His journey brought him full circle back to Columbus where in 2006 he became Senior Pastor at St. Mary’s Road United Methodist.
Reverend Goodman’s prior appointments include:
- Pastor of Camp Greaves Gospel Ministry – South Korea (1994)
- Pastor of West Town United Methodist Church - Albany, Georgia, (1997-1999)
- Pastor of Heering Memorial United Methodist Church - Tifton, Georgia (1999-2001)
- Senior Pastor St. Andrews United Methodist Church - Sylvania, Georgia (2001-2003)
- Senior Pastor Horse Creek United Methodist Church - Sylvania, Georgia (2001-2003)
- Senior Pastor Speedwell United Methodist Church - Savannah, Georgia (2003-2006)
- Senior Pastor St. Mary's Road United Methodist Church - Columbus, Georgia (2006-present)
