Bishop Dr. Debra Wallace-Padgett has appointed Jason Gattis to be the senior pastor at First-Centenary. Jason will assume his appointment on July 1st with July 2nd being his first Sunday. Rev. Jason N. Gattis is in his twenty-first year of ministry as an ordained elder in the Holston Conference of the United Methodist Church, currently serving as the District Superintendent of the Smoky Mountain District.  Previous appointments are Seymour UMC in Seymour, TN; Cokesbury UMC in Knoxville, TN; Keith Memorial UMC in Athens, TN; and Apison UMC in Apison, TN.  Jason is a 1996 graduate of Birmingham-Southern College in Birmingham, AL with a major in Business Administration-Finance and a 2004 graduate of Emory University Candler School of Theology with a Master of Divinity.  Before entering full-time ministry he spent 5 years in the banking industry as a branch manager and officer for AmSouth Bank in Birmingham, AL.
Jason currently serves on the Board of Directors for Hiwassee College, Camp Wesley Woods, Wesley Foundation UTK, and the Holston Foundation.  In addition to his role as District Superintendent in the Holston Conference, he is a member of the Conference Council on Finance and Administration, Commission on Equitable Compensation, and Board of Pensions and Health.  He has formerly been chair for the Conference Communications Advisory Council, team leader for Divine Rhythm (young adult Holston Conference retreat weekend), and Board of Director for Camp Lookout and Holston Methodist Federal Credit Union.
Jason is married to Amy Whedbee Gattis and they have two surviving children: Mary Haisten, age 19, and Nick, age 17, and a deceased son, Bradley.