Welcome Bryant Anderson,
Pastor of Palms Presbyterian Church
Our presbytery welcomes the Rev. Bryant Anderson as Pastor of Palms Presbyterian Church. He will be installed as Pastor of Palms on Sunday, January 30. (Click here for the Service of Installation announcement.) Bryant’s wife Kristen teaches first grade in Ponte Vedra Beach. They and their four young children—Owen (11), Ellery (10), Emmi (7), Reid (4)—have been busy settling into their new community. Bryant began as pastor at Palms on August 15, 2021.
Bryant most recently served as Pastor for eight years at Milford Presbyterian Church, in Milford, Michigan. He transferred from the Detroit Presbytery where he was active on the Planning and Visioning Ministry Team for six years.
Having grown up as the son of a pastor, which had its share of ups and downs, Bryant’s early faith was nurtured by traditional church activities of Sunday school, summer camp, VBS, youth group, and the church community in Ventura, California. As a teenager in West Michigan and later in Southwest Florida, Bryant was active in Fellowship of Christian Athletes and Young Life which introduced him to different churches. After starting as a philosophy major at the University of Florida, he found that the academic study of religion was more fascinating … and challenging to his early belief systems. He pursued a Bachelor of Arts in religion, receiving this degree in 2005. And in the midst of the challenges of rebuilding his faith, Bryant felt God calling him into ministry.
Bryant earned his Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary in 2008 and was ordained in August of that year in the Presbytery of Philadelphia. He served for five years as an Associate Pastor at Doylestown Presbyterian Church before accepting the call in Michigan.
In 2019, Bryant began a Doctor of Ministry program through Columbia Theological Seminary. His studies focus on the nature and work of the church in an increasingly secular society, and he hopes to receive his DMin before Jesus comes (or maybe in 2023).
As he begins as Pastor of Palms Presbyterian Church, Bryant is excited about the challenges and opportunities that face the church as we move through (what we hope are) the latter days of the pandemic, and he looks forward to becoming more involved in the presbytery and the beaches community.
We welcome Bryant and the Anderson family to our presbytery!