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BEESON RETIRED JULY 1, 2020 · DISAFFILIATED JULY 2020 · BRYANT LEAD PASTOR
The succession the Story of Granger section flagged is settled from the church's and the denomination's own records: Mark Beeson was diagnosed with pancreatic cancer and was relieved as senior pastor in December 2019 as the illness advanced. He retired from the United Methodist Church on July 1, 2020, remaining pastor emeritus of the church he had founded. In July 2020 — by the Indiana Conference's statement of July 12, 2020 — Granger Community Church disaffiliated from the United Methodist Church, the church's leaders stating the reason plainly in the press of record: to be able to choose its own leadership, a thing the Methodist appointment system did not allow a congregation to do for itself. The leaders named Dr. Ted Bryant — a staff pastor of long standing in various roles, most recently executive pastor of adult ministries — as the new lead pastor and Beeson's successor. Beeson died on December 17, 2020, after a fifteen-month fight with the disease, pastor emeritus to the end. The church stands today as a nondenominational congregation under Bryant's leadership: its own current About record reads, "Building upon our past, Lead Pastor Dr. Ted Bryant is continuing to faithfully listen to and obey where God is guiding us as a church," and the University of Notre Dame's worship directory carries Bryant as the church's contact, with services Saturdays at 5 p.m. and Sundays at 9:30 and 11:30 a.m. at the Granger campus — the dated present state of the congregation the Beesons began in their living room forty years ago.
Sources:
- Indiana Conference of the United Methodist Church, statement of July 12, 2020 — the disaffiliation of Granger Community Church in July 2020.
- Christian Post, July 14, 2020, and the church's reference record — Beeson's December 2019 relief, his July 1, 2020 retirement, the naming of Dr. Ted Bryant as successor, and the stated reason for disaffiliation.
- Granger Community Church, current About record (grangerchurch.com/about) — "Lead Pastor Dr. Ted Bryant"; University of Notre Dame places-of-worship directory — Dr. Ted Bryant, contact; Saturday 5 p.m., Sunday 9:30 and 11:30 a.m.
- The Beeson obituary record — died December 17, 2020, pastor emeritus.