DeKalb UMC welcomes new pastor
By Kenny Mitchell
The congregation of DeKalb United Methodist Church welcomed a new pastor and his family recently with Markley Rogers being appointed to lead the local
church officially on July 1.
Rogers was born and raised in Nederland, Texas and after high school attended the University of Houston, where he pursued a degree in Political Philosophy from the Honors College. In addition to his studies at U of H, he co-founded COOG Radio, the university’s student-led radio station, served as Director of Governmental Relations for the Student Government Association, and led the university’s Model Arab League. Upon receiving his B.A., he worked for the Department of Veteran Affairs as a quality analyst and moved in with his brother, a teacher in Pasadena, Texas. It was there with his brother that he found a home at Clear Lake UMC in Houston.
It was in 2016, after attending a Walk to Emmaus that Rogers heard his call from God into ministry, and that call soon led him to be the Youth Director at Clear Lake UMC. Rogers then continued his path in ministry by earning his local pastor license and was appointed the Associate Pastor at Clear Lake UMC in 2021.
With all of that behind, Rogers is far from being done as he is currently a student at the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Dallas, where he is scheduled to graduate next Spring. Rogers is expected to be commissioned as an Elder at the Texas Annual Conference in 2027.
Of his appointment to lead the congregation at DeKalb UMC, Rogers says as a new resident of the city he wants to participate in the life of the town and become involved in community activities.
He notes, “My dream is that DeKalb United Methodist Church be a congregation that shows the love of Christ and be a place where people can come and be loved.”
Rogers calls Micah 6:8 his favorite verse in the Bible. That verse reads, “He has shown you, O mortal, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly[a] with your God.
In that vein, Rogers stated that he did not come to DeKalb to make any huge changes, but rather to listen to his congregation and be a part of their vision. He says, “The thing about the UMC is that we don’t make decisions unilaterally. I will pitch ideas to them and we go from there. I don’t want to do anything radical but just be here to serve the congregation with the ministries we have to best serve the community. “
Rogers comes to serve DeKalb with his wife Michelle that he met at Clear Lake UMC. The couple were married in 2022 and were blessed with a daughter, Evette, in 2024.
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