August 29, 2026
Dear Sisters and Brothers in Christ Jesus:
The Eighth Episcopal District of the African Methodist Episcopal Church is prayerfully seeking ministers and other qualified persons who may be called to pastoral ministry throughout Mississippi and Louisiana.
Our 2026-2027 Episcopal District theme is “Preparing for Greater.” We believe God is calling us not simply to maintain what has been entrusted to us, but to prepare our churches, leaders, and communities for greater works, greater witness, and greater possibilities for ministry. Part of that preparation is ensuring that our congregations have faithful and effective pastoral leadership for the future.
Publicly advertising pastoral ministry opportunities is not the traditional manner in which appointments have been approached within the African Methodist Episcopal Church. We remain an itinerant and Episcopal-governed Church, and pastoral appointments continue to be made by the Bishop in accordance with the Doctrine and Discipline of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.
However, we are facing a changing ministerial landscape. The Eighth Episcopal District is experiencing a shortage of persons available for pastoral appointment while simultaneously preparing for several upcoming and pending retirements. Preparing for Greater requires us to prepare now for the leadership our churches will need tomorrow.
THE EIGHTH EPISCOPAL DISTRICT
The Eighth Episcopal District encompasses the work of the African Methodist Episcopal Church throughout Mississippi and Louisiana, with more than 200 congregations serving rural communities, small towns, suburban areas, and major metropolitan centers.
Our churches stretch from the Alabama state line to the Texas state line, from North Mississippi to the Gulf Coast, throughout the Mississippi Delta, and across the cities, towns, and rural communities of Mississippi and Louisiana. They include historic congregations that have served their communities for generations as well as churches navigating new opportunities for growth, revitalization, evangelism, and community engagement.
Across these varied ministry settings, one need remains constant: faithful pastoral leadership.
We are looking for persons who can preach, but we are also looking for persons prepared to pastor-to teach the Word, care for people, visit the sick, develop leaders, reach new generations, engage communities, strengthen congregations, responsibly administer the local church, and participate fully in the connectional life of African Methodism.
AN INVITATION TO CONSIDER THE EIGHTH
We invite expressions of interest from persons who believe they may be called and qualified to serve in pastoral ministry within the Eighth Episcopal District.
Opportunities exist in rural, small-town, suburban, and urban ministry contexts. Some appointments include parsonage housing; others do not. Opportunities include both individual congregations and circuits, with varying compensation and ministry circumstances.
We are committed to being transparent about these realities so that prospective pastoral candidates and their families can prayerfully determine whether ministry and, when necessary, relocation to Mississippi or Louisiana are feasible.
We also invite candidates to consider more than the immediate appointment.
An appointment within the Eighth Episcopal District may provide an opportunity to establish a record of effective pastoral ministry, become part of the life and leadership of the District, and be considered for other pastoral opportunities as they become available in future appointment years.
There is no promise or guarantee of advancement or of any particular future appointment. All appointments are annual and remain subject to the needs of the Church, the gifts and effectiveness of the pastor, and the discernment and appointing authority of the Bishop.
But ministry is not static. As retirements occur, congregational needs change, churches grow, and other opportunities become available, persons already serving faithfully and effectively within the Eighth Episcopal District may be considered for other pastoral assignments.
PREPARING FOR GREATER
The Eighth Episcopal District needs women and men who love God, love people, love the Church, and believe that historic congregations can still have vibrant futures. We need persons who understand that rural ministry matters, small churches matter, urban congregations matter, and communities too often overlooked still matter.
We need pastors willing to preach, teach, visit, build, evangelize, engage the community, develop leaders, and prepare congregations for what comes next.
If that kind of ministry speaks to your calling, I invite you to prayerfully consider the opportunities available within the Eighth Episcopal District.
EXPRESSING INTEREST
Persons interested in being considered should submit a current ministerial résumé or curriculum vitae (CV) along with the requested expression-of-interest information.
Résumés and supporting materials should be uploaded through the Eighth Episcopal District’s confidential submission portal:
SUBMIT MATERIALS HERE:
https://www.dropbox.com/request/vjr28d2xi6ywy8t4k3bk
Expressions of interest and submitted materials will be treated as confidential throughout the discernment and appointment process. Information regarding a candidate’s consideration will not be publicly disclosed prior to a pastoral appointment being made and accepted, if an appointment is offered.
An expression of interest, submission of materials, or participation in the discernment process does not constitute or guarantee a pastoral appointment.
There is room in the Eighth for those whom God is calling to help us Prepare for Greater.
For God’s Glory and Our Good,
Bishop Erika D. Crawford
143rd Elected and Consecrated Bishop
Presiding Prelate
Eighth Episcopal District
African Methodist Episcopal Church
Mississippi & Louisiana
