07/01/2026
Shady Grove UMC would like to welcome our new pastor, Michael Blythe. His first Sunday will be July 5th.
Rev. Dr. Michael Blythe has been pastoring since the age of eighteen and, now at forty-two, brings nearly a quarter century of ministry experience to the local church. He has called Southside Virginia home for nearly twenty years, with broader ministry extending across the Virginia–North Carolina border region—from Elizabeth City, Chesapeake, Suffolk, and Southampton through Greensville, Brunswick, Mecklenburg, Halifax, and Pittsylvania counties.
Michael is married to Kristen, and they have two children, Michael Jr. and Alyson. He brings to pastoral ministry a deep love for people, Scripture, worship, and the life of the local church. His experience includes congregational ministry, hospice chaplaincy, correctional chaplaincy, faith-based preschool leadership, and administrative service within the Living Waters District.
Alongside his pastoral work, Michael is a biblical scholar and faculty member in higher education. He holds a Ph.D. and four master’s degrees—in theology, sociology, economics, and clinical pastoral psychotherapy—and has published several books and numerous journal articles and presented his research nationally and internationally. Yet his scholarship is not separate from his ministry; it is part of his calling to help the church think deeply, love faithfully, and serve courageously.
Michael’s pastoral leadership is rooted in a high view of the church: worship should be sacred, connection should be personal, and the church should embody the vision of Christ “on earth as it is in heaven.”
