L. Jonathan Holston

Bishop L. Jonathan Holston

Active

United States

Southeastern Jurisdiction

Columbia Episcopal Area

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Bishop L. Jonathan Holston is the resident bishop of the Columba Area, which includes the South Carolina Conference in the Southeastern Jurisdiction of The United Methodist Church. He was elected to the episcopacy in 2012.

In addition to his episcopal assignment:
2022 - COB Secretary as of April 29, 2022, two-year term

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Bishop Holston earned his Master of Divinity in biblical studies from The Interdenominational Theological Center, Gammon Theological Seminary, Atlanta, Ga., in 1983. He also holds a Bachelor of Arts in Religion from the University of Georgia in Athens, Ga.

Coming to South Carolina from the North Georgia Conference, Bishop Holston served as senior pastor of St. James United Methodist Church in Atlanta for seven years before his episcopal election. Prior to that, he served as superintendent of the Atlanta-Decatur-Oxford District from 1997 to 2005.

Bishop Holston has served on numerous boards and committees of The United Methodist Church at the conference and general church level.  Holston served as a member of the General Council on Finance and Administration, chair of the General Conference Finance and Administrative Legislative Committee, and as a member of The United Methodist Board of Global Ministries, the Southeastern Jurisdictional Committee on Episcopacy, Hinton Rural Life Center, Appalachian Development Committee and the Southeastern Jurisdictional Association for Native American Ministries, among other noted roles.

His love for missions has taken him around the world and gained him recognition as a mission specialist. He has also traveled extensively as a specialist in missions to Uganda, Costa Rica, Haiti, Honduras, Zimbabwe, Kenya, India, China, and Hong Kong.

Bishop Holston was a delegate for General Conference in 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.  He served as a delegate for Jurisdictional Conference in 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008, and 2012.  In 2001 and 2005 he was a delegate for the World Methodist Conference.

Bishop Holston is married to the former Felecia Brown.  They have two grown children: son Karlton and daughter Brittany.