Who We Are
Welcome to First United Methodist Church of Hampton!
We are a church of engineers and educators, retirees and parents of young children, people with disabilities and people of diverse economic backgrounds.
We value the traditions of liturgical worship, Bible study, caring for each other, and serving people in need, both in our community and around the world.
We are people created in God’s image, trying to follow and learn from Jesus, our Savior, as we are led by the Holy Spirit to live by God’s grace.
On average, about 75 people attend Worship each week. Sunday School classes for all ages include around 50 people each week. We have fabulous worship music provided by our Chancel Choir and Hand Bell Choir. We would love for you to visit us – plan a Visit to learn more about what to expect on Sunday mornings.
We welcome people of all backgrounds and seek to honor everyone, wherever they are on their spiritual journeys. In the United Methodist Church, pastors and members of the congregation serve as partners in ministry, inviting and encouraging each other to keep growing in faith and Service. We encourage you to find ways to Connect and participate that suit you.
Many activities and events take place each week at the church. You will find information about these activities in the weekly worship bulletin and in the electronic newsletter, The Pilot. Please visit the News & Calendar page for a detailed calendar of events.
Contact us or sign up for our email list to get all the latest updates!
History & Building
First United Methodist Church in Hampton is a heritage church whose congregations date back to 1789. The current Sanctuary was built in 1887, with additions made in the 1920s and the Education Building added in 1950.
We have been serving the Hampton community since the late 1700’s during the beginning of our nation. The congregation has survived the War of 1812 and Civil War attacks on Hampton and helped in its reconstruction and preservation as a thriving community.
Mission & Beliefs
Our mission is to know and share Jesus Christ.
Our purpose as a United Methodist Church is to make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world.
As United Methodists, we are followers of Jesus Christ who have experienced God’s grace, who seek to grow in our knowledge and love of God, and who try to put faith and love into action throughout our lives.
We invite you to learn more about our rich theological heritage:
Through our support and our contributions, we participate in the far-flung ministries of The United Methodist Church—in our Mission Rivers District and Virginia Annual Conference, across the nation, and around the world. Here in our congregation we take part in service groups and sign up for special action projects. We minister face-to-face in all kinds of ways, both when we gather and in our informal contacts.
Inspired by the example of Jesus and empowered by God’s love for us, we all carry out our ministry, both individually and together with others.
In all of our beliefs and ministries, we seek to live out our faith with Open Hearts, Open Minds, Open Doors.
Pastor & Staff
Pastor – Rev. Norman Tippens: normt50@me.com
Director of Music Ministries – Dean Shinn: deanshinn@aol.com
Office Manager: Brooke Mitchell-Parr: office@firstumchampton.org
Business Manager: Bill Boyer
Custodians – Marvin & Sondre McCuller
For general inquiries or to forward information to a staff member who does not have an email address listed above please call the church office (757) 723-6577, email or contact us.
Bios
Click a name below for more information
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REV. Norman Tippens
PASTOR
Nancy and Norman will be coming from Selma, where he has been serving the Epworth/Mountain Valley UMC charge on the Staunton District.
He retired from full-time service as an elder in the Virginia Annual Conference in 2016. He and Nancy returned home to Roanoke Rapids, N.C., that year to care for their mothers. He immediately began serving half-time as pastor for Wesley Memorial UMC in Warrenton, N.C., until they returned to Virginia.
They have been married 47 years. They have two grown children.
Their son, Norman “Trey” Tippens III, is married to Heather and they have a six-year-old daughter, Wrenna. The family lives in Pinehurst, N.C. Trey and Heather are psychologists in private practice. Trey served as a major in the Army until 2021. His military service was focused on treating soldiers with PTSD.
Their daughter, Mary Holtzclaw, is married to Cole Holtzclaw and they have two children, Finn, 6, and Coral Mae, 4. Mary is a mammographer who works in the mammography department at Sentara hospital in Williamsburg, Va. Cole is a building supervisor for a contractor in Virginia Beach. The family lives in Hampton.
Nancy was a student at Bob Jones University in South Carolina for one year before Norman coaxed her away and into marriage. During his pastorates, she has worked as a literacy director for Lunenburg County, Va.; a family support worker for the City of Hampton; and in Lexington was one of the initial group that started the Community Table, a restaurant-without-a-cash-register that feeds a restaurant-style meal each week to anyone who is hungry. She served as its director for several years and was named Volunteer of the Year in Rockbridge County. She is currently a volunteer at the Clifton Forge food bank and serves on the Advisory Board for the Salvation Army in Covington. Norman and Nancy at one time served as foster parents for at-risk youth.
Norman was ordained an elder in 1994, after earning his Masters of Divinity degree from Duke Divinity School in 1992. He served as a student pastor while at Duke. Previously he had been a student pastor/local pastor while earning a bachelor’s degree in ministry from Roanoke Bible College in Elizabeth City, N.C., in 1982; and a bachelor’s degree in English from Lynchburg College in 1988.
Student pastorates were in Charlottesville, Amherst County, and Lunenburg County. Upon graduation from Duke, he served Kenbridge UMC for five years. In Hampton, he served at Aldersgate UMC for three years and Wallace Memorial UMC for nine years. While in Hampton he was a guest religion columnist for the Newport News Daily Press. He was senior pastor at Trinity UMC in Lexington for six years before retiring.
He worked briefly at the Newport News Shipbuilding & Drydock Co. after graduation from high school in 1968, before joining the Army. He served three years, half of that in Turkey, in the Army Security Agency. Upon discharge, he returned home and was the sports editor for the Roanoke Rapids Daily Herald for six years before pursuing his call to serve Christ and the church as an ordained pastor.
He was born in Wheeling, W.Va., but the family moved to Hampton, where his father was an electrician at the shipyard. He was three when his father was killed in an accident at the shipyard, resulting in his mother moving the family of four to Roanoke Rapids, N.C. Nancy grew up outside of Roanoke Rapids, in Halifax County.
DEAN SHINN
Director of Music Ministry
Dean retired from Hampton City Schools in June of 2015 after 35 years of teaching. He was the Choral Director and Instructional Leader for the Fine Arts Department at Hampton High School. Dean studied Music Education at Old Dominion University with a concentration in voice, piano and conducting. He later returned and studied Educational leadership. Dean also studied church music at Shenandoah Conservatory.
He is currently in his 49th year of Church Music Ministry and is presently the Director of Music Ministry at First United Methodist Church of Hampton, VA.
News & Calendar
Visit our Facebook page for all the latest updates. To read about upcoming events and see the bulletin for this week’s worship service, see our e-newsletter, The Pilot.
Upcoming Events
We have resumed in-person worship in addition to continuing to offer our worship services online. Visit our YouTube channel to see the latest videos.
Check out our Special Events page .
Calendar
Find regularly scheduled ministries and future events on our church calendar below.
Sign up for our email list
Sign up below to receive the Zoom links and instructions for either of these groups, or call the church office (757-723-6577) to learn more.