Michael Beck
Michael Beck is Director of the Fresh Expressions House of Studies at United Theological Seminary, Director of Fresh Expressions for the Florida Conference, and Director of Fresh Expressions for the United Methodist Church. Michael serves as co-pastor of Wildwood UMC and St. Mark’s UMC, Ocala with his wife Jill, where they house a faith-based inpatient treatment center (House of Hope), and a shelter for those experiencing homelessness (Open Arms Village). These are traditional congregations and a network of fresh expressions that gather in tattoo parlors, dog parks, salons, running tracks, community centers, burrito joints, EV charging stations, and digital spaces. Michael earned a Doctorate in Semiotics and Future Studies at Portland Seminary with his mentor Leonard Sweet. He is the author of nine books widely utilized in the missional church movement.
Jill Beck
Jill Beck is Senior Pastor at Wildwood UMC, Florida. She enjoys serving in the local church and believes it is God’s primary instrument for the healing of the world. Jill is also Co-Pastor at St Mark’s UMC in Ocala with her husband Michael. She is a cultivator of new ministries and has a heart for the oppressed, the marginalized, and those struggling with addiction. Jill serves on the Board of Directors for House of Hope, a local inpatient substance abuse program housed at Wildwood UMC. Her passion is Fresh Expressions, Discipleship, and Outreach. While pastoring both inherited congregations and a network of fresh expressions, Jill serves her blended family of 8 children, 7 grandchildren and 2 pugs. Jill has served as Pastor at Wildwood since 2017. Prior to Wildwood, she served as Pastor of Webster UMC and was founding Pastor of the only Celebrate Recovery in The Villages, FL area for over a decade.
Amie Martin
Amie Martin is in awe of Jesus and hopes to encourage his body the Church to more faithfully reflect him in the world. She is an ordained elder in the Missouri Conference of the United Methodist Church and planting pastor of 80-Twenty United Methodist Church in O’Fallon, MO.
Micah Blanks
Although Micah does not prefer labels he is a Director of Adult Ministry, Spiritual Director, and lover of life. He is elated to share in the privilege of walking alongside the Trinity community in its spiritual formation, Sunday school curriculum development and instruction, small group formation, evangelism coaching, and resourcing disciples of Jesus Christ.
Micah has a BA in Humanities/Pre-Law from Bluefield State College and a M.Div from United Theological Seminary. Prior to Trinity he served as a Licensed Local Pastor in The West Virginia Annual Conference of the UMC, where he was awarded the 2019 Martin Luther King Jr. “Sharing of Self Award,” by the Governor and Herbert Henderson Office of Minority Affairs. Micah’s greatest passion is to see individuals aligned with their purpose for life achieving their goals.
From Appalachia to Alachua, Micah seeks to live into his life-verse Micah 6:8 and this quote from coach Phil Jackson “Love is the force that ignites the spirit and binds teams together.”
Piper Ramsey-Sumner
Piper Ramsey-Sumner is an Oklahoma-born, Texas-raised pastor’s kid with a passion for lifelong learning, community building, and creating spaces for personal and spiritual transformation outside the walls of a church. She has been involved in Christian ministry for more than a decade—working in youth ministry, homeless outreach, and intentional communal living.
Piper received her Master of Divinity degree from Iliff School of Theology, and she currently serves as Cultivator of Fresh Expressions for the Florida Conference of The United Methodist Church, where she explores new ways of reaching new people outside of traditional churches. In the Tallahassee area, Piper facilitates Tally Brew Theology, a community that meets in local breweries and pubs to engage in meaningful dialogue on subjects related to religion and philosophy.
She is the creator and host of the podcast, Pastor’s Kid. Each episode features a pastor’s kid and their story of exploring spirituality, relationships, and growing up in church. Piper also runs a book club and an online community for those hurt by the church.
Jessica Taylor
Jessica Taylor is a practitioner of Fresh Expressions who has served at a variety of levels from early Children’s ministry to adult discipleship in innovative ministry. Jessica graduated from Florida Southern College in Lakeland, FL in 2018 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Elementary Education and a minor in Religion. During her time at Florida Southern College Jessica was an active leader in Wesley Fellowship Ministries and other campus ministries roles. Jessica spent time serving at the Warren Willis Youth Camp in Fruitland Park, FL on the Summer Leadership Team where she fully discerned her call into ministry. After that Jessica served as a children’s ministry and youth director until she felt called to serve fully alongside her husband in ministry as a team.
Jessica is a graduate of the United Theological Seminary Adventurers’ Leadership Academy cohort. In addition to Fresh Expression FL Jessica also serves on the Fresh Expressions United Methodist team and the Adventurers’ Leadership Academy team. Jessica is also continuing to further her education with a focus on Fresh Expressions and Wesleyan studies.
Outside of her role with Fresh Expressions Jessica enjoys creative hobbies such as video editing, writing and design. Jessica is married to her college sweetheart Rev. Jeff Taylor. The two have two young children Sophie Taylor and Andrew Taylor.