Before he became the pastor of Richland UMC, Pastor Mitch Henson served as a Worship Leader for nearly 20 years. In 2014, Mitch earned a Masters of Divinity degree at Asbury Theological Seminary. On June 4th, 2016 he will be ordained as an elder in the United Methodist Church.
Pastor Mitch has been a life-long member of the United Methodist Church. Born in Atlanta, Georgia, his family moved to St. Charles, Missouri, in 1976. In 1987 he moved to Springfield where he earned a B.S. in Biology with a minor in Communications at Missouri State University. He began his first career at Bass Pro Shops. Joining the company as a scuba diver cleaning aquariums, he later took on the position of Live Exhibits manager, overseeing all their aquarium and live animal displays across the country. In 2004 he married his wife Amber and moved to Auburn, Alabama, where she earned her PhD in Psychology. After Auburn they lived in New Haven, Connecticut, and Jackson, Mississippi, before moving to Rolla, Missouri, where Amber works as a professor of psychology for MS&T.
Mitch and Amber have a young daughter, Erin. Mitch loves to spend time with his family, golf, scuba dive and play music.