Rev. Sharon Williams, a native of Wilmington, Delaware, has held a connection with United Methodism that spans decades from the fond memories of Sunday School with her cousins at Ezion Mt. Carmel United Methodist Church. However, her vocational story with United Methodists began in 2009 as a layperson, while serving as a church developer and later as an elder, appointed to a church start and a multi-area, multi-ethnic charge in Indianapolis. During her tenure in Indiana, Rev. Williams resourced more than 200 congregations in both English and Spanish speaking contexts, she helped launch and lead conference strategies for transformational ministry with new and existing faith communities; and she became a sought-after leader among the network of developers and general agency partners across the Connection.
 
Prior to becoming Methodist and a missional leader in Indiana, Sharon partnered with American Baptist Churches USA (ABC-USA) missionaries to lead the first Spanish speaking church start in Bluefields, Nicaragua. Her international experience was considered a good fit for her role as an associate pastor of Word Tabernacle Church (WTC), where she helped lead outreach in the urban community of Rocky Mount, North Carolina while contributing to WTC’s growth to more than 1,500 weekly attenders in four years. While the growth is notable, Rev. Williams is quick to point to her first church plant experience - a small multi-ethnic start-up with the United Methodist Church in Philadelphia; and her post-college career as a change agent with Astra Zeneca Pharm R&D as foundational to her vocational discernment and call to entrepreneurial leadership.
 
Colleagues of Rev. Williams have said, “Sharon has a driving passion to bring together people of differing ethnicities all for the sake of God’s Kingdom. She has an unrelenting drive to make a difference for Jesus.” It is no wonder that she has answered another missionary call as no stranger to Missouri (but as a friend) as she was a HCI consultant and coach for several years during Bishop Farr’s tenure as a church developer.
 
Sharon holds a Bachelor of Science from Duke University, Durham, N.C. and a Master of Divinity from Eastern Baptist Theological Seminary King of Prussia, Pa. She is a volunteer coach for the General Board of Global Ministries, serves as the board secretary for the United Methodist Foundation and has interests in creative arts, fitness, travel/tourism, as well as mentoring.