Welcome, Bishop Lyndol Loyd!

The MidSouth Annual Conference joyfully welcomes Bishop Lyndol Loyd and his wife, Joni, as they begin this new season of ministry among us.

Bishop Lyndol Loyd’s journey of ministry has taken him from a small Methodist church in Wheeler, Texas, to churches, universities, and ministry settings across the United States—and now to the MidSouth Annual Conference, where he will serve Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia.

Lyndol’s roots are deeply connected to the church. Growing up in Wheeler, Texas, he was nurtured in the Christian faith through the Wheeler Methodist Church. His early experiences in Vacation Bible School, Sunday School, Methodist Youth Fellowship, and One-Way Camps at Ceta Canyon Methodist Camp helped shape the faith and calling that would eventually lead him into ordained ministry.

A Call to Ministry

Lyndol attended Texas Tech University, where he became active in the Wesley Foundation campus ministry. He served on the student leadership team and participated in both local and global mission projects. After earning his Bachelor of Science degree in Family Studies, he spent a year serving on the Wesley Foundation staff as an intern.

During his college years, Lyndol also gained valuable experience serving as a youth director in churches throughout the Northwest Texas Annual Conference. It was during his sophomore year of college that he sensed God calling him to ordained ministry.

That calling led him to Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, where he earned his Master of Divinity degree in 1993. While at Asbury, Lyndol was active in student leadership and served as president of the student body during his senior year. In that role, he served on numerous committees and represented the student body on the seminary’s Board of Trustees. His connection with Asbury would become an important and continuing part of his ministry journey.

A Ministry of Leadership and Church Planting

Following seminary, Lyndol was recruited by the bishop of the Arkansas Area to serve as director of the Henderson State University/Ouachita Baptist University Wesley Foundation in Arkadelphia, Arkansas. At the same time, he pastored Manchester United Methodist Church.

His ministry in campus ministry was recognized in 1997 when the Little Rock Annual Conference presented him with the Francis Asbury Award for Excellence in Higher Education and Campus Ministry. During his pastorate, Manchester UMC was also recognized as the 1996 Arkadelphia District Church of the Year.

In 1997, Lyndol returned to Asbury as a Beeson Pastor Scholar and completed his Doctor of Ministry degree in 2000. His dissertation, “The Echo Boom: Developing Effective Ministry to Reach a New Generation of the United Methodist Church,” reflected his continuing passion for reaching new generations with the gospel. That passion for reaching people outside the walls of the traditional church would become a recurring theme throughout his ministry.

In 1998, Lyndol moved to Hot Springs Village, Arkansas, to plant a new church. Mountainside Methodist Church launched on Easter Sunday in 1999. As a church planter, Lyndol gathered a launch team, led a $2 million capital campaign, and oversaw construction of the church’s first-phase building. The majority of the congregation consisted of people who had previously been unchurched.

In recognition of his work in congregational stewardship, Lyndol received the Horizon Stewardship Award for Excellence in Congregational Stewardship in 2003.

Continuing the Mission in Florida

In 2005, Lyndol and Joni moved to Orlando, Florida, to plant LifeSong Church, a Methodist Community of Faith. The congregation launched in September 2006, at the same time opening LifeSong Preschool as the area’s only Christian preschool.

For four years, Lyndol was also part of University Carillon Methodist Church, a congregation with more than 1,500 people in worship. Despite the challenges of a depressed economy and the housing collapse, LifeSong successfully completed the purchase of Alafaya Village commercial plaza, which became the congregation’s home and also an extension campus of Asbury Theological Seminary.

Lyndol continued his commitment to developing leaders and strengthening ministry beyond the local church. He served as chair of the Florida Annual Conference Board of Higher Education and Campus Ministry, providing oversight for nine Wesley Foundations and two church-related colleges. In that role, he had the opportunity to mentor campus pastors and encourage ministry among college students.

He also served on the East Central District New Church Development Committee and has continued to consult with new church starts and their pastors.

Returning to Texas and the Global Methodist Church

On July 1, 2016, Lyndol became lead pastor of LakeRidge Methodist Church in Lubbock, Texas. During his years at LakeRidge, he led the congregation through the process of disaffiliation and its transition into the Global Methodist Church.

He also served as part of the Transitional Conference Advisory Team involved in forming the West Plains Conference of the Global Methodist Church.

In May 2025, Lyndol was elected to serve on the Board of Trustees of Asbury Theological Seminary, continuing a relationship with the seminary that began when he first arrived as a student more than three decades ago.

Family and Faith

Throughout this journey, Lyndol’s ministry has been shared with his wife, Joni, his bride of more than three decades. A native of Ohio, Joni is also a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary, where she earned a Master of Arts degree in Parish Counseling. She currently teaches fourth-grade language arts at All Saints Episcopal School.

The Loyds have two adult daughters. Their oldest daughter, Abigail, is married to Aaron Sigal. They are the parents of the Loyds’ first grandchild, Bennett Davis Sigal, who recently celebrated his first birthday. Their youngest daughter, Madeline, is engaged to Hunter Wright, and the couple plans to be married in January 2027.

A Warm Welcome to MidSouth

As Bishop Lyndol and Joni begin their ministry among us, they bring with them a lifetime of experience in local church ministry, campus ministry, church planting, leadership development, and theological education. But perhaps most importantly, they bring a deep desire to know the people and churches of the MidSouth Annual Conference and to join us in the work God has entrusted to us.

In Bishop Lyndol’s own words:

“I’m deeply honored and humbled to serve as bishop of the Mid South Annual Conference. Joni and I are looking forward to traveling across the conference in November and meeting the people of the GMC in Kentucky, Tennessee, West Virginia, and Virginia. We are grateful that God has entrusted us with the opportunity to partner with you in ministry and to share together in the mission of spreading scriptural holiness across the land.”

He continued:

“Even before we have had the opportunity to meet many of you, please know that you are already in our hearts and in our regular prayers.”

Bishop Lyndol and Joni are looking forward to hearing our stories, learning about our churches and ministries, and discovering all that God is doing throughout the MidSouth Annual Conference.

Please join us in giving Bishop Lyndol and Joni Loyd a warm MidSouth welcome!

We look forward to welcoming them in person, sharing fellowship together, and beginning this new chapter of ministry as we seek together to spread scriptural holiness across the land.

Welcome to the MidSouth Annual Conference, Bishop Lyndol and Joni! We are grateful that God has brought you to us, and we look forward to the journey ahead.

Blessings,

Rev. Todd Chancey

Conference Superintendent