06/11/2026
Brandon Bates has been named to be the new director of College Ministries for The Wesley in Conway.
Born and raised in Beebe, Brandon grew up being active at FUMC in Beebe. He earned a degree in History and an "almost minor" in Secondary Education at Hendrix College.
"It was in college where I more deeply discerned my call to ministry, having served as a youth minister since my Sophomore year. And to steal her thunder, I was at one time Lynn Kilbourne’s youth minister," says Brandon. "I’ve served in various leadership positions on the district, conference, jurisdictional, and worldwide levels of youth ministry. I have also been a member of Annual Conference for years, and served as a delegate to Jurisdictional Conference, and a reserve delegate to General Conference. For a time I served on the Mount Eagle Board of Trustees."
Brandon says the funniest Bible verses to him are Acts 20:8-11 and Matthew 4:2. "In my spare time I like to travel, enjoy a good nap, play trivia, and fellowship and laugh over a good meal … or even an OK meal."
He said he is grateful for the opportunity to continue serving God and to serve alongside older students.