This Sunday, we are excited to welcome Rev. Samuel Hopson, Director of Tech Wesley at Georgia Tech, as our guest preacher. Originally from Johnson City, Tennessee, he attended East Tennessee State University and later Candler School of Theology in Atlanta, where he met his wife, Rev. Jin Hopson. Together they have two children and have called the Sharpsburg/Tyrone community home for the past four years.
Ahead of his visit, Sam wanted to share a little about his journey into ministry and the work God is doing through Tech Wesley:
In the summer of 2013, I had just completed my second year of undergraduate studies at East Tennessee State University. At the time, I still had not chosen a major. After my advisor informed me that it was finally time to decide, I reluctantly selected Psychology simply because it was the field in which I had accumulated the most credits.
That season of life was filled with questions about vocation and purpose. What was I truly called to do? I was drawn to the idea of listening to others and helping them navigate life’s challenges, but that desire alone still felt too broad to provide a clear sense of direction.
During that time, I was deeply involved in the Wesley Foundation on campus and was being mentored by my campus minister, Rev. John Ousley. Through his intentional investment in my life—meeting with me regularly, mentoring me, and encouraging me spiritually—I gradually came to recognize that God had been calling me into full-time ministry.
What I could not have imagined then was that years later I would find myself serving in campus ministry at Georgia Tech. Tech Wesley has been a presence on campus since 1960 and has played a significant role in shaping the future leadership of the United Methodist Church for decades. Rev. Bill Landis, the ministry’s second and longest-serving Director, guided more than 40 students into ordained ministry in the UMC, while also nurturing countless lay leaders throughout the denomination.
Over the past eight years serving as a campus minister, I have witnessed firsthand that God is deeply active and present on college campuses. Today, Tech Wesley is one of nearly 40 campus ministries at Georgia Tech. While each ministry brings its own theological perspective and traditions, we share a common mission: to embody and proclaim the love and living presence of Christ in the lives of students.
As the current Director of Tech Wesley, my mission is to continue this legacy of faithfulness—helping students grow in their dependence on God and discover a faith that sustains them throughout every stage of life, especially during the formative college years.
