Today we’d like to introduce you to Patti Aupperlee.
Hi Patti, we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I am blessed to have grown up in an extended family in the heart of Wisconsin, surrounded by nieces and nephews my age. Our family lived by example—rooted in love, fun, and a strong work ethic built on the awareness that how we treated others reflected on our entire family.
During college, seven of us worked in various departments at the same hotel. We worked hard and played hard. I didn’t realize it at the time, but hospitality is a spiritual gift. At the time, I only knew that I loved learning the ins and outs of every department and the joy of serving others.
As graduation approached, I was offered a position with a hospitality management company. The day after graduation, I moved to Texas, and later, I was transferred to Florida. There, I met my future husband, and a new chapter in my life began. With the arrival of our first child, our priorities shifted, and we sought employment that allowed us to be the primary caretakers.
Within four years, our home was filled with three amazing daughters, and my career became that of a stay-at-home mom. As our girls grew and we became involved in a United Methodist Church, God opened a new door—a part-time position as Director of Newcomer Ministry. I didn’t know much about the denomination, but I knew the people there loved my family. I was surprised to be chosen for the position, given my background in hotel and restaurant management, but God knew what I didn’t yet understand: hospitality is a vital part of pastoral ministry.
Over the next fifteen years, God laid out a plan I would never have chosen for myself. Each time I closed the door on the idea of becoming a pastor in the United Methodist Church, God opened another one through the encouragement of family, friends, church members, and even strangers. I saw only my limitations—I thought I was too old, lacked the finances for seminary, didn’t know enough about church, and was raising three children while my husband was recovering from leukemia. Yet God surrounded us with everything we needed. My extended family, as always, offered unwavering support.
In 2010, I began serving my first appointment in Pahokee, Florida. Some expressed sympathy when they learned I had been sent to a church and community that seemed “dried up.” But with a spirit of hospitality and a spark of entrepreneurial faith, lives were transformed. People rediscovered—or discovered for the first time—that God had created them, loved them, and never gave up on them.
I can’t imagine anything more exciting than that.
Alright, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story – has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
Life isn’t a smooth road; it’s filled with joys, challenges, obstacles, risks, and rewards. During my fifteen years as a United Methodist pastor, I have experienced every emotion while walking with people in congregations, in communities, in my family, and within myself. The struggles along the way have brought a deeper awareness of God’s presence and increased my joy in life.
While serving my first church, several of my colleagues believed it would also be my last—because of my ministry with people on the Sexual Offender Registry in our community. For those who shut the door on people bearing a despised label, God reminded me that all are created in God’s image and that “nothing will separate us from God’s love—not even the powers of hell” (Romans 8:35–39). “Struggles” is an understatement for the anger that first arose in the congregation. Yet, believing both truths—that all are made in God’s image and that nothing can separate us from God’s love—how could I turn away from those God had placed in my life?
Transformation is the only word that comes close to describing what happened next. When we move beyond the broad brushstrokes of labels placed upon people, we begin to embody the grace and mercy that Jesus calls us to (Matthew 25). God gave me a heart to listen—really listen—to the stories of people who had been convicted of crimes, served their time, and returned to society only to find barrier upon barrier. Many of these individuals took full responsibility for their past and yearned to live healthy, honorable lives.
As people of faith, we must remember that judgment is God’s alone. Our calling is to love others as Christ loves us. With God’s strength, I embarked on a journey with those who believed they had been discarded not only by society but by God. Thus began The Power of a Second Chance ministry.
The most surprising gift was not only the transformation of those on the Registry but also of the church members who had once wanted nothing to do with them. As we listened to one another’s stories, fears, and hopes, hearts softened and lives changed. The lost were found—both those who had been judged and those whose judgment had hardened them. Those who believed they were beyond love found a home of grace.
Each church I have served since Pahokee has brought challenges, but none with stakes as high. Yet through it all, God’s love changed a church, a community, and me. Thanks be to God.
Today, I serve a beautiful church in Groveland, whose roots I stand on, as it began in 1909. When I arrived in July 2024, Edge UMC was in a mostly dormant season. Like many congregations with members in their later years, they longed for “new life” but struggled to see how it might come. The heart of this congregation has always been for people to fall in love with Jesus—but its classrooms and spaces had fallen into disuse and needed serious renovation.
Edge sits at the heart of a neighborhood with several hundred homes, next to a middle school and only a block from a vibrant community park. Renovation would cost several thousand dollars, and leadership hesitated to spend the resources, fearing there might be nothing left. Yet the Holy Spirit rekindled our collective faith and reminded us that God calls us not to spend but to invest—to invest in God’s mission and in people.
Through prayer and discernment, we remembered a generous gift left by a woman whose faith had deepened through Edge UMC—a gift meant for repair and renewal. As Mordecai reminded Esther, “Who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this” (Esther 4:14).
We reframed the mindset: God is an abundant God who loves the church more than anyone and provides the resources we need to love and serve. When God entrusts us with gifts, we are to use them to bring light to the world. God’s abundance does not diminish when used to share the story of love, grace, forgiveness, redemption, and reconciliation.
Today, the campus is alive with ministry once more—an autism center, preschool, robotics club, clothes closet, AA group, support gatherings for widows and caregivers, a prison ministry, music lessons, and a resource office for survivors of domestic abuse. The Spirit of hospitality and hope is moving powerfully among us.
As you know, we’re big fans of you and your work. For our readers who might not be as familiar what can you tell them about what you do?
I am a pastor in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church.
I believe that I answered the heart of these questions in the previous questions.
Is there anyone you’d like to thank or give credit to?
God first. My family’s unwavering support.
Bishop Ken Carter, Bishop Tom Berlin, Rev. David McEntire, Travis Russ,
The leaders and congregation at First United Methodist Church in Pahokee, FL and at Edge Memorial United Methodist Church in Groveland, FL
Those who are on the Florida Sexual Offender Registry who have admitted their crimes, served their prison time, and learned that they have a healthy place in society and are loved by God and the church.
The many who teach me God’s love in their ministries to their family, friends, employers, and community.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://www.edgeumc.com
- Facebook: Edge UMC – Groveland FL
Image Credits
Patti Aupperlee
