Bishop Thomas J. Bickerton was appointed as the spiritual leader of the 447 United Methodist congregations in the New York Annual Conference in the fall of 2016.
A native of West Virginia, Bishop Bickerton began his pastoral career as a student pastor serving a six-point charge. He later was pastor of medium and large membership churches as well as serving as a District Superintendent. As he worked in partnership with laity, the churches he served experienced significant growth in the number of baptisms, professions of faith, and members.
His church in Shady Spring, West Virginia grew from 85 to 225 members in his six years there, and during his nine years at the Forrest Burdette church in Hurricane, West Virginia, the membership more than doubled from 585 to 1368. The Bishop remains committed to the idea that the vitality of the local church is the key to carrying out the church’s mission to “make disciples of Jesus Christ for the transformation of the world” and, as a result, spends significant time preaching and teaching in local settings as well as working with his cabinet and staff in centering the life of an Annual Conference around facilitating the ministry of the local church.
The Bishop is an avid sports fan and enjoys travel, playing golf, and photography.
He and his wife Sally are the parents of Elizabeth (Chris), T.J. (Claire), Ian and Nick.
