Meet the Pastors
 
Meet Rev. Eric Strader!
I am….a spouse and partner to Amy. We’ve been married since 2004 and the road has been one of moving towards more forgiveness, love, connection, and always working on being healthy with our emotions and relationship. I believe healthy couples with healthy patterns make for healthy families. I am…a parent to a funny, witty, strong, vulnerable, emotionally-intelligent four-year-old daughter, Nora. And a quiet, funny, inquisitive boy, Thurman (we call him Finn). I am a Star Wars fan, an avid reader, a sometimes runner, always happy in the water swimmer, a coffee fanatic, a native of Kansas, and now a resident of Bozeman!
As a pastor, I am called to walk, sit, weep, laugh, love, lead, challenge, teach the people I am appointed to serve. I am also called to be led, challenged, vulnerable, loved by the people I am appointed to serve.

Hometown: Wichita, Ks.

Education: Bachelor of Science in Organizational Development and Leadership. Masters of Divinity with an emphasis in United Methodist Studies. Pursuing Doctorate in Organizational Development and Leadership.

Besides being a pastor, what has been one of your favorite jobs and why?: Pooper Scooper at a Veterinary Clinic.

Why you love living in Montana: The scenery.

Something unique about your ministry that you think is needed in the community: More laugher and fun!

Meet Rev. Amy Strader!
Pastor Amy is married to Rev. Eric Strader, also a pastor, and has a daughter, Nora, and a son, Finn.
Before moving to Bozeman, Pastor Amy served the people of Golden and Lakewood, Colorado, and before moving to Colorado was worked in Youth Ministry in Kansas for 6 years.
She enjoys taking the kids on adventures (of which there is no shortage of in Montana), binge-watching Netflix, and trying new things. Rev. Amy likes to eat good food, which is good as Pastor Eric likes to cook good food.
In 2010, she received her Masters of Divinity from the Iliff School of Theology in Denver, CO. She has a passion for relevant, honest ministry.
 
Hometown: Overland Park, KS
 
Education: My undergrad is Family Life and Community Services and I have a master’s of Divinity
 
Besides being a pastor, what has been one of your favorite jobs and why?: I worked at a greenhouse in high school and college.  I loved being able to be outside, be creative and get dirty.
 
Why you love living in Montana: I love living in Montana because I love that there are so many amazing lakes, rivers, and hot springs.

Something unique about your ministry that you think is needed in the community: My ministry is unique because I get to help people be comfortable being uncomfortable as they live into being the person God created them to be.

 
 
 
Meet Pastor Alison Skillman
at Living Waters UMC
Office Hours: BY APPOINTMENT
Serving as: TNT CAMPUS MINISTER @ MSU
Thursdays from 6-8pm
 
Alison received her degree in Religious Studies at MSU in 2017, completed her Licensed Local Pastor certification while finishing her Masters in Theology at Iliff School of Theology in the Journey Program (Graduating in Spring 2021). She is currently appointed to serve at Living Waters UMC as a partnership with Bozeman UMC while she finishes her training. She and her husband Andrew met through UMC youth activities and live in Bozeman with their dog Athena.

Hometown: Livingston, MT

Besides being a pastor, what has been one of your favorite jobs and why?: Before I was in ministry I worked on the MSU campus in many roles. My favorite was the orientation coordinator in 2016.

Why you love living in Montana: I have lived in Montana since I was 2 and sometimes take for granted the beauty that surrounds us. Every time I go on a trip I am welcomed back by the beautiful mountains.

Something unique about your ministry that you think is needed in the community: Being young in ministry, I try to bring new ideas and ways to think outside of the box on how we can be a community with and without the confinements of a building. COVID has challenged us all, but now is the time to really come together as community. We are all in this together.

 
 
 
Montana West District Superintendent
Mountain Sky Conference

Rev. Jan Witman is the Superintendent of the Montana West District of the Mountain Sky Conference. She was raised in The United Methodist Church and has served in the Yellowstone Legacy Conference since 1984.

Upon her appointment as a District Superintendent in 2017, Jan has allowed the following question to guide her work: “What does it look like to be the Body of Christ in this time and place, in this context?” Jan has an Master of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry from San Francisco Theological Seminary.