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Bearden United Methodist Church in Knoxville, Tennessee, and its pastor, Rev. Dr. Brad Hyde have become known for getting creative with community engagement, holding events at some atypical venues – including a monthly community dialogue at Albright Grove Brewing Co. Rev. Dr. Hyde got the idea after hearing a podcast started by two former Tennessee governors on opposite ends of the political spectrum, Bill Haslam, and Phil Bredesen.
“We started hosting a dialogue about faith issues because there are many people, especially the young, who are skeptical about the church,” Rev. Dr. Hyde explains. “Often Christians are painted with broad strokes, so we try to debunk that with rational conversations, and people realize once they’re face to face that they’re more on the same page than they thought.”
There is also a men’s ministry that meets all over town, from bowling alleys to golf courses, that mixes social activities with community service opportunities and allows Christian men to connect.
“A lot of men have lost their place in the life of faith, and we’re trying to find ways to draw them back into serving in a non-confrontational environment that’s not in church,” Rev. Dr. Hyde says.
A post-Halloween “care”-nival blends fun activities for kids with free or low-cost services for the community, including haircuts, reading glasses, and medical treatment provided by interfaith clinics. Attendees can also sign up to receive one of up to 200 free Thanksgiving food boxes distributed by Bearden each year.
“Those experiences shaped the practical aspect of what we were studying at PTS,” Rev. Dr. Hyde adds. “Through critical reflection, we could connect deep theology and actual ministry, and I learned the importance of meeting people where they are and listening.”
Some additional creative projects that began under previous Bearden ministers continue to thrive, like the two ongoing food ministries. Unsold produce at the Market Square farmers market is collected and given away in the church parking lot on the second Saturday of the month, and there is also a “blessing box” where canned and sometimes fresh items are donated by and made available to local residents. The produce ministry has been a “game changer” for community engagement, according to Rev. Dr. Hyde.
“It’s one thing to provide nonperishables, but another to give people fresh, locally grown produce at no cost,” he says. “Our market is a microcosm of the larger downtown market, and whether the participants come to our church service or not, this ministry has helped connect our people who serve with those they serve. In a congregation that is predominantly well-to-do, relationships with the homeless community and those in subsidized housing help broaden people’s thinking.”
He cites his two Clinical Pastoral Education (CPE) ministry experiences at Princeton Seminary, both in Philadelphia, as particularly formative. With Seminarians for Social Change, he worked at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and delivered meals to those living with HIV. At his second CPE, he provided pastoral care to patients at three hospitals and served as a hospice chaplain. Uniquely, pastors were allowed to be in the operating room with patients during surgery. He recalls a conversation with a doctor who told him, “I’m only 10 percent of the healing process and you are 90 percent.”
After graduating from Princeton Seminary, Rev. Dr. Hyde began his ministerial career with the United Methodist Church and has been pastor at Bearden since the summer of 2022. He decided to pursue ministry after a friend invited him on a mission trip to Jamaica, where he worked in an orphanage – a jarring experience, Rev. Dr. Hyde says, for someone coming out of a private high school environment.
“It opened my eyes to the pains of this world like never before, and I found a greater purpose than just earning money. I discovered I was passionate about making a difference in people’s lives.”
