Rev. Todd Jones, Pastor/Director
I have been appointed by Bishop Cynthia Fierro Harvey to serve as Pastor/Director at the United Methodist Campus Ministry of the Rio Grande Valley. Along with this role, I also serve as the Rio Texas Regional Director for U.M. ARMY. Yes, that’s a lot of words in my titles! Basically, I work with college students in the RGV and organize youth mission trips across South and Central Texas.
I am originally from Mercedes, TX and was raised United Methodist. I attended the University of Texas at Austin, where I was involved with the Texas Wesley Foundation. It was there that I heard, and began to process, my call to ministry. I also met my wife, Julianne, at the Texas Wesley, and we were married by our campus pastor in 2014. We now have two sons, Charlie (5) and Sam (3), along with our pets Norah, Keeley, and Coco.
In 2013, I began working as a full-time youth minister in Austin. In 2015, I enrolled at Austin Presbyterian Theological Seminary and split my time between ministry and school. I graduated with a Masters of Divinity in 2019 and received my first appointment to FUMC Harlingen, where I served as the Associate Pastor until 2022. I then served as Pastor at FUMC Weslaco until 2025.
I’m so excited to be back in the world of college ministry, as it made such a huge impact on my life! My hope is that God will use me to bring about transformation in the lives of the UMCM students, as well as the UTRGV campus as a whole! Let’s all learn how to follow Jesus better, and let’s eat some great food and have lots of fun while doing it!
Please know I’ll be praying regularly for all UMCM and UTRGV students. Don’t hesitate to reach out to me if you want to talk!
Board of Directors
Dara Newton - Chair
Debra Howard - Secretary, Nominating
Rebecca Morrison - Treasurer, Finance
Nilda Cantu - Property
Gricelda Careaga
Maryann Denner
Marco de la Garza - Marketing
Steven Foy - Faculty Advisor
Karina Garza
Angela Leal - Student
Carla Lopez - Student
Nancy Murray
Zach Ramsey - Student
Sarah Solis