Our Staff
Pastor
The Rev. MiRhang Baek was born and raised in South Korea. I experienced God’s call into ministry in my teens. I felt deeply called into the ministry because I wanted to help people draw closer to God, restore God’s image dwelling in them, and see our churches reach people for Jesus Christ. I graduated from the Methodist Theological University in Seoul with a Bachelor of Theology and a Master of Theology, majoring in Systematic/Feminist Theology. I relocated to the United States in 2007, and my academic background in the States includes a Master of Divinity degree from Candler School of Theology at Emory University in Atlanta. I have been working at the General Board of Global Ministries since 2011. While serving at the Missionary Training Office, Global Ministries, I continued to feel called to preach and teach the Word of God, to share the mystery of the sacraments, and to provide pastoral care and presence in the local church setting. My first appointment with the Virginia Annual Conference was in 2019 to the Richmond Charge in the Rappahannock River District.
I have an abiding trust in the goodness of God—in God’s patience, forgiveness, and love. With God’s love and help, I am coming to you and the community to be a joyful servant, full of love and care. I am a relational pastor who is both supportive and spontaneous. I believe that God is actively encouraging and guiding us. With God’s sustaining grace, I am also coming to you to be a faithful preacher with a compassionate and passionate heart for the church and people. I think my role as a pastor is to love God, to love the church as the body of Christ, and to love people, who are individually members of the body. Making diversity visible, helping people experience inclusiveness, and ensuring that the prophetic voice is heard—these are the commitments I am bringing and the impact that I want to make on the church and community. I am thrilled to celebrate what Ginter Park UMC is and will be not only for Ginter Park but also the surrounding area. I look forward to working with you in ministry in the Ginter Park community!
Minister of Visitation
Rev. Roy Quist was born in Neptune, N.J. and graduated from Manasquan High School and received his BA degree from Central Methodist College (University). He began his ministry as an ordained Deacon in 1968 and an Elder in 1971. He served churches in the Southern New England Annual Conference during his time as a student at Boston University, School of Theology where he received a ThM degree in 1970. Rev. Quist also served churches in the Southern New Jersey Annual Conference and the Central New York Annual Conference. He spent a little more than half of his ministry serving as a director at United Methodist retreat centers and camps from eastern Long Island to the Pacific coast. He retired in 2006. After retiring he served a Presbyterian church as Interim Pastor and drove a charter bus for 10 ½ years and began as the Minister of Visitation at Ginter Park UMC in April, 2018.
Roy and his wife, Beth have been very happily married for 53 years and had four children: Rev. Michael Quist and Mary Quist (both deceased) and Rev. Joanna Dietz and Timothy Quist. He has 8 grandchildren and 4 great grandchildren with another on the way. One of his grandchildren is also a UMC minister currently serving in Roanoke, VA. (Beth’s dad was also a United Methodist Minister, so they consider this to be the “family business” through four generations.