Welcome Bill Gibson, PNW’s Director of Strategic Faith Community Development!
Bill Gibson is a cultural analyst, semiotician, and theological entrepreneur, working as the Director of Strategic Faith Community Development of The Pacific Northwest Conference of The United Methodist Church.
Prior to a move to the PNW, he served more than 13 years in three appointments, all of which focused on new church development and revitalization in the Western North Carolina Conference. He is passionate about engaging the skeptical, unchurched, disconnected, and frustrated, in ever-shifting culture.
Gibson is a second-career communicator who spent more than 16 years working in marketing, where his focus was corporate identity, interactive branding, business development, and his niche of image marketing. He is also a former U.S. Marine.
After studying graphic design (East Tennessee State University), business (Tusculum College), and biblical & theological studies (Amridge University), he attended graduate school at Duke University where he received his M.Div. (Master of Divinity) in theology. Gibson completed his D. Min. (Doctor of Ministry) at George Fox University in semiotics and future studies, under his lead mentor Dr. Leonard Sweet. His research focus centered on cultural linguistics and the ‘dialogic’ formation of Christian identity in American consumer iCulture.
In 2014, Gibson was invited to serve as a Path 1 Associate for Discipleship Ministries and the Path 1 initiative of The United Methodist Church, consulting as requested on new church development across the denomination. He also serves as a dissertation advisor and second reader for assigned doctoral candidates at George Fox University.
Gibson is an ordained Elder in The United Methodist Church, who believes that everyone is welcome at God’s table. He classifies himself as a husband, father, teacher, writer, visionary, and church planter, who is fascinated with human behavior. He and his wife Traci have three wonderful kids — Tyler, Allison, and JC.
