Dyersburg District Resources
My name is Denise Russell, Lay Resource Leader for the Dyersburg District. I am a life-long Methodist and native Memphian. My husband, David, is a United Methodist minister and we have served churches in the Memphis Conference for 30 years.
Currently, we live in Dyersburg where David is the senior pastor at Dyersburg First UMC. We have three daughters (Jennifer, Jessica and Rebecca) and sons-in-law (Mike, Tim and Chris) and two amazing grandsons (John Nicholas and Will); a new granddaughter, Anna Britt, is due in July 2011. Rebecca continues the ministry tradition, currently serving as Minister of Youth and Young Adults at Martin First UMC.
I was a Music Education Major at the University of Tennessee – Martin. I teach private piano and voice, working primarily with church and theater musicians.
My lay ministry in the church began at a VERY young age as pianist, organist and soloist in my home church in Memphis. I have been blessed to work ,not only in the music field with adult and children’s choirs, but as District and Conference Youth Coordinator and on the Southeastern Jurisdiction Youth Ministry Organization (SEJYMO) Executive Committee.
Prayer and Spiritual Formation, Worship, Nurture and Evangelism round out my local church experience. When I am not doing some or all of the above, I am an avid reader. Masquerade Theater in Union City, TN is another big passion as I have been afforded the opportunity to work on several musicals with them as music director.
I look forward to working with and for the wonderful people in the 62 great churches in our five-county district.