Rev. Greg Batson
Senior Minister
On July 1, 2024, the Rev. Greg Batson was appointed as the Senior Pastor of the First United Methodist Church of Santa Monica. He began his ordained ministry here as an Associate Pastor in 2000-2004 and has served as Senior Pastor of three other United Methodist congregations in Southern California: Burbank (2004-2009), Tustin (2009 -2013) and La Mesa (2017-2024). Rev. Batson also served as President & CEO of the California-Pacific United Methodist Foundation (2013-2017).
A life-long Methodist, Rev. Batson was born and raised in the rural farming community of Liberty, Georgia. He attended Emory University in Atlanta, GA and received his B.A. in English and Economics in 1986. It was there that he met his wife Tania singing together in the college choir. After an eleven-year career as corporate banker in Nashville and New York City, Rev. Batson heard and followed his call to ministry in 1997, attending Union Theological Seminary. He received his Master of Divinity degree in 2000 and moved to Southern California to begin his ministry.
Rev. Batson is married to Tania Trotter Batson and has three adult sons: Tom, Dan & Wes. Favorite hobbies include playing golf, fishing in the Sierras, and attending baseball games and concerts.