FARMINGTON -- The new pastor at Farmington United Methodist Church says a job as a barista in a coffee shop gave him lots of time to meet and talk with people.

"I had some great conversations with people," Charles "Dee" Harper recalls about the job during his last year in seminary.

He was attending Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Ky., and the coffee shop called The Hub was in a nearby town, Danville. The community had a small college and Harper said his customers included college students, business people, professors and others from many walks of life.

"It gave me a really unique opportunity for conversations," Harper said.

Harper, 37, is in his 12th year of ministry with the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church. He served as an associate pastor at First United Methodist Church in Searcy and as pastor at the First United Methodist Church in Des Arc before coming to Farmington on July 1.

His wife, Jennifer, is a licensed clinical social worker and works for the pediatric day clinic at University of Arkansas for Medical Services. Their two children, Rachel and Will, are students at Lynch Middle School in Farmington.

He holds a bachelor's degree in advertising and journalism from Arkansas State University and his master's degree in divinity from Asbury.

Harper grew up going to church with his family and while attending an in-depth Bible study as a youth felt a call from God to go into ministry. He said he felt a peace about the call after his first year in college.

After graduating from ASU, Harper married and the couple left for seminary.

As a pastor, Harper said God has confirmed to him the importance of God's people working together and the importance of God's people learning from each other and serving each other and the community around them.

One of his favorite passages is Proverbs 27:17: "As iron sharpens iron, so one person sharpens another."

"That's important to the church," Harper said. "We need one another to help us grow."

Harper said he believes the gift of encouragement is one of his strongest spiritual gifts from God.

"The thing I enjoy most about being in ministry," Harper said, "is being able to walk beside and encourage others in mountaintop moments and valley moments. To have that opportunity is a privilege."

He is trained as a leadership coach and through this, helps to encourage and grow leaders. This training has allowed him to coach other pastors in the Arkansas Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Harper said he is excited to be serving the Farmington church and is in a church that already blesses the community in many ways. His hope is that the church will grow this ministry.

The church plans to install a "Blessing Box" as a new way to serve the community. It already has a pantry room to help others but it has limited hours, Harper said.

A "Blessing Box" will be a weather proof cabinet placed outside the church so people can come by at any time to pick up food or other necessities they need. Volunteers would check it periodically to make sure it is filled with items.

The church also will sponsor a fall carnival on Oct. 29 that will be open to the community. This will be geared toward families and have games and other activities for children to enjoy.

The Farmington church averages about 150 in worship. Sunday worship times are 8:30 a.m. (traditional service) and 10:30 a.m. (contemporary service). Breakfast is served at 9:15 a.m. on Sundays and Sunday School starts at 9:30 a.m.

Others with leadership roles in the church include Casey Luther, youth pastor; Melanie Barnes, children's director; Alan Castleberry, Praise Team leader; Rocio Behler, pianist.

In the Arkansas Conference, pastors are appointed year to year to serve churches by a bishop and district superintendents during the annual conference. Harper hopes he will be with the Farmington church for many years.