Welcome Leslie Haven Boyd to Mount Olivet!

Biography & Faith Journey:

I am known by my middle name, Haven. I grew up in a small town in New Albany, Mississippi, where I was a member of Calvary UMC. I am a member of a large family, including three brothers and one sister, ranging from ages 26 to 12. I enjoy movies, anything Disney or Star Wars related, along with musicals and the theater. I am a certified candidate in the United Methodist Mississippi Conference and in my first year at Duke Divinity School. My leadership in the church began early on in volunteering for Vacation Bible Schools, or singing solos in the children’s choir, which then led to joining the adult choir. After graduating high school, I began to work as a counselor at Camp Lake Stephens, the UMC summer camp, as an elementary and youth counselor. This sparked my interest in children’s ministry and the involvement in this field. After years of summers as a children’s counselor I then took a job as the Children’s Ministries Director at a local church in Oxford, Mississippi, while working on my undergraduate degree in Integrated Marketing Communications with a minor in Business Administration.

Working in the church offered new experiences that I was not and would not be able to encounter at a summer camp. No longer was I making campfires and sending kids down a zip line, this job allowed me to experience scheduling and planning events, along with coordinating volunteers and programs. This job opened my eyes to what it was like working for a church, the good- in casual conversation and care with the congregation as a family, the bad- when there are moments when people do not see eye to eye on concerns and the growing points as a church that the congregation can learn from. This experience allowed me to fully understand my calling from God in the church place setting. I look forward to continuing my experiences in the United Methodist Church, and the lessons and growing points I will learn at Mount Olivet UMC.