Patrick Neitzey (he/him/his)

Patrick was born and raised in Texas and spent his childhood and college years there. Perceiving a call to ministry in the Methodist church at a young age, Patrick was involved in church in any way he could be at an appropriately named John Wesley United Methodist Church. He was a Methodist missionary in a Baptist land when he attended Baylor University, studying world religions and English. He was also on the team that cared for the two North American black bear mascots, Lady and Joy. Patrick loves being outside hiking, biking, fly fishing, and camping, usually with his wife, Hannah, a social worker at Charles George VA in Asheville, their son, Silas, and their dog, June Bug. Patrick has served on staff at Central UMC in Asheville since 2018 as Pastor of Connection and Discipleship and worked in extension ministry from 2018–2020 with the Missional Wisdom Foundation. As of February 2024, Patrick has been following a call from the Spirit to plant and nurture a church at the Haw Creek Commons, an adaptive reuse space in the Haw Creek neighborhood of Asheville.