Church Staff

Henry C. Bass has been prayerfully appointed by our bishop Michael Watson to serve as pastor to this great church. Henry and his wife Jane Ellen come to us from FUMC in Jesup. Henry has also served First church in Alamo, Alma, College Place and Blakely since transferring into the South Georgia Conference in 1989. Prior to that time, Henry served for 11 years in the North Alabama conference. Henry has been active and held leadership positions in many district and conference activities such as Volunteers in Missions, Health and Welfare, and Council on Ministries, just to name a few.

An active member of the community, Henry has served as past director of the United Way and has been a member of the Kiwanis Club, The Lions Club, Rotary Club, and the American Cancer Society. He has served as chaplain of several civic organizations. In addition, Henry has preached revivals in the North Alabama Conference and in southern Tennessee as well as in Florida and Georgia. Henry must also like to travel. He has taken trips to the Holy Land, England and Scotland, taken 4 trips on Paul's Journey to Greece and Turkey, lead work teams to Chile, the Virgin Islands, Costa Rica and other work teams in the U.S.

Henry and Jane Ellen are the parents of 5 children, one son and 4 daughters. (They lost one of their daughters suddenly and tragically last year.) They are the proud grandparents of 10 and welcomed their first great grandchild into the world in May. They are warm, genuine, loving people with a heart to serve God. Henry is committed to providing Godly spiritual leadership to this church. He will get to know each of you personally, he will visit you, and he will be a shepherd to his flock.

Coordinator of Older Adult Trips and Activities - Rev. William (David) Blalock

William (David) Blalock has been our minister to older adults since July, 2001. Rev. Blalock retired from active ministry in June, 1999 after serving 40 years throughout South Georgia in churches ranging in membership of over 1800. Throughout his active ministry, he has served in many leadership positions including nine years as chairperson of the District Committee on Ministry and eight years as secretary of The Conference Board of Ministry. He received his Degree in Business Education from Georgia Southern University and his Master of Divinity from Emory University. He and his wife, Patsy, have two children.

Director of Youth - Ashley Clift

We welcome Ashley Clift as the Director of Youth Ministries. She has been investing in the future through her work with youth for the past six years. She has been a missionary for Youth with a Mission, worked as a staff member at Centrifuge, a youth camp sponsored by Lifeway Ministries, and taught Bible studies. Most recently Ashley has been involved in every aspect of youth ministry at First Baptist Church in Franklin, Kentucky.

Ashley has a vision for the youth at Vidalia First United Methodist Church. Over the years, God has developed in her a huge heart for helping youth understand and apply Biblical truths as they grow and mature in their Christian faith. She has a heart to serve God and to be obedient to His call on her life. Please commit to pray for and support Ashley as she invests in our youth, the future.

Middle School Youth Leader Intern

Diane attended Montgomery County High School and Brewton-Parker College. She has attended countless workshops, schools, and conferences to better understand the needs and abilities of young children. She is married to Jack Born and together they have four children: Jay, Hayden, Charlie, and Chasen. They have three grandchildren: Mackinzie and Devin, who live in the Atlanta area, and Taylor, who lives in Mooresville, NC. She is Owner/Director of WEE CARE PRESCHOOL and teaches the 4-year-old Pre-K class. It is Diane's heart's desire to help children understand the awesome character of God, to love Him and long to be in a relationship with Him. She has truly enjoyed her ministry here and is grateful for the opportunity to work with the children of VFUMC.

Music Director - John F. Morgan

John Morgan is the band director for J. R. Trippe Middle School of Vidalia, GA and Assistant Band Director for Vidalia Comprehensive High School. He is pianist for the Vidalia Community Chorus. He is a native of Cobb County, Georgia, is married to Rhonda Coleman, a Vidalia native, and has two Vidalia-born daughters, Hannah and Halli. Hannah is an LPN working at Columbus Regional Hospital and pursuing her RN. Halli is a freshman at East Georgia College.

John has a Bachelor of Music Education degree from Shorter College, Rome, Georgia. He has previously served Ashburn United Methodist Church as organist/pianist and soloist and spent six years as organist/pianist/choirmaster at Pinson Memorial United Methodist in Sylvester. John also previously served two congregations in Vidalia, First Baptist and the Church of God.

Church Secretary - Connie Brown

Connie Brown serves as our Church Secretary. Connie has two children, Jonathan and Melissa who live with her in the Alston Community. She has completed her education at STC with a diploma in Business and Office Technology. She attends the Uvalda First Baptist Church.

Financial Secretary - Darryl Craft

Darryl Craft rejoined our staff in 2006, gladly returning to us from a short career at Lowe's. He has four children: Jimmy, Marie, Kris, and Kaleb. Jimmy is in the Navy, Marie lives in Florida, Kris is a student at Georgia Tech, and Kaleb is a sports writer for the Vidalia Advance. Darryl and his wife Dianne attend Calvary Baptist Church where they serve as College/Careers Sunday School teachers, work in Children's Church and do Nursery duty. Darryl has a servant's heart. He is available to assist the friends and members of VFUMC in any way.

Organist/Director of Youth & Children Music - Debbie Davis

Debbie Davis has been our Organist since August, 1993. Debbie attended the University of Texas and Lindenwood College in St. Charles, Missouri. At the age of thirteen, she began playing organ for a small mission church in her hometown of Houston. Since that time she has served as organist for several other churches and as music director at a private school.

Building Superintendent - Vanessa Wilkerson

Vanessa and her husband Robert are originally from Eden, North Carolina. In their 21 year marriage they have lived in South Carolina, Mississippi, Alabama, back to North Carolina and Georgia. Robert is employed by Rayonier and Vanessa has always been a stay at home mom and enjoys home remodeling and gardening. The family has been active in our church for the past seven years. Vanessa has served on several committees and involved with the youth. Their children, Caitlin and Seth are active in church as well. Caitlin attends college and is majoring in Music Therapy and Seth attends Vidalia Comprehensive High School where he plays football.