 Biography of Rev. Shane D. Pair
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o Native of Fort Smith, Arkansas.
o Number seven out of eight children.
o Graduated from Southside High School in Fort Smith in 1984.
o Hold a Bachelor of Arts degree in Business Management from John Brown University.
o Hold a Master of Divinity from Perkins School of Theology at SMU.
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o Ordained as an Elder in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church in June of 2006.
o Served as Senior Co-Pastor of Grace United Methodist Church in Conway, AR where I led the church in the restructuring of the Finance System and Finance Accountability methods and policies. Led the church in the implementation of a computer and networking system. Established an Employee Handbook. Oversaw the daily church operations, facilities and supervised 10 staff members. Responsible for church marketing and outreach. Developed and implemented contracts with the Faulkner County Boy’s and Girl’s Club as we partnered together to minister to school aged children in West Conway. Designed three different worship services and taught short term Bible Studies. Established a visitor follow-up, prospective member introduction class, and the new member assimilation program. Hired four new staff members. Provided counseling and Pastoral Care.
o Served as the Lead Pastor of Midland Heights UMC in Fort Smith, AR. where worship attendance grew from 20 per week to 128. Developed a daily children’s feeding program where 273 children a day received after school snacks, and developed a weekly feeding program where 152 families were fed every Saturday. Established an afterschool program and a daily childcare program ran by Head Start. Provided counseling and Pastoral Care.
o Served as the Associate Pastor of Greenwood United Methodist where I developed their contemporary worship service and was instrumental in helping lead the GWUMC in a 49% growth in worship attendance and new membership. The contemporary service averaged 306 per week in worship. Provided counseling and Pastoral Care.
o Served as an associate of Preston Hollow United Methodist Church in the North Texas Conference as the Pastor of Contemporary Worship where the church experienced an increase in worship from 85 to 236. Provided counseling and Pastoral Care.
o Served as an associate pastor at First Methodist Fort Smith as pastor of small group ministries where 12 small groups were started with an average of 8 per group, and lead a Sunday School class of 75.
o Served as a Local Pastor at Dyer and New Bethel United Methodist Churches, two rural churches, where Dyer grew from 8 in worship to 43 in 9 months in a community of 265, and New Bethel went from 12 to 36 in a nine month period while rebuilding the physical plant that we destroyed due to weather. Provided counseling and Pastoral Care.
o Served in the independent Baptist and non-denominational churches for twelve years.
- Served as a youth and children’s minister (8)
- Associate Pastor (2)
- Senior Pastor (2).
Areas of Focus
o Developed, implemented, and lead contemporary worship services to include recruiting musical staff and procuring all the equipment necessary to incorporate multimedia elements in both the Arkansas and North Texas Conferences.
o Developed two grief support groups and one divorce recovery group in Arkansas and North Texas.
o Developed and implemented a “Volunteers in Action” ministry where we worked with the local elementary school to supply tutors/mentors for students in a school with 900 students from grades K-6th and over 200 spoken language dialects.
Additional Information
I am married to Sara (Cole) Pair, an elder in the Arkansas Conference and who serves as the senior pastor of Alma UMC. I have a daughter, Brittany (23), a son, Luke (9), and a daughter, Grace (7).
Beyond the church I have worked as a sales representative, business manager, business operations director for a manufacturing company, and I have owned and operated my own business.
I have served in the Arkansas Air National Guard for a total of twenty-one (21) years: eleven years as an enlisted personnel, and I served as a Chaplain Candidate for the Arkansas Army National Guard as a 2 Lieutenant for 3 years, and in February 2004 I was appointed as a Chaplain for the 188th Fighter Wing in Fort Smith, AR. My military awards consist of:
Meritorious Service
Commendation Metal (3)
Achievement Metal
Fire Watch (Desert Storm)
Operation Iraqi Freedom & Enduring Freedom
Air Force Longevity (2)
Air Force Service (3)
Air Force Basic Training
Arkansas State Service (2)
8th Air Force Personal Outstanding Achievement Award
I am also an accredited and registered Crisis Incident Stress Management (CISM) Debrief Facilitator and Team Member for the southern region of the United States. I hold a certificate from Life Innovations, Inc as pre-marriage and marriage counselor.
My favorite hobbies are golfing, fishing, painting, basketball, reading, woodworking, watching movies, playing with my children, and spending quiet time with my wife.
