South Memphis District

Presiding Elder Colleen Gibson

Rev. Colleen Patterson Gibson has been a lifelong member of the African Methodist Episcopal Church.  She accepted God’s call to ministry in 1997 at Greer Chapel A.M.E. Church in Memphis, Tennessee. She was ordained an Itinerant Deacon in 2000 and was appointed to her first pastoral charge, Allen Chapel in Paris, Tennessee.  She was ordained an Itinerant Elder in 2002.  In addition to Allen Chapel, she has served as pastor of Greater Payne Chapel and Greer Chapel, culminating in 22 years of pastoral ministry

In October 2019, Rev. Gibson was appointed to serve as Presiding Elder of the newly-designated Millington District of the West Tennessee Conference. She served as Presiding Elder of the North Memphis District from 2020 to 2025 and is currently Presiding Elder of the South Memphis District.  One of her favorite Scriptures is Psalm 116:12: “What shall I render unto the Lord for all his benefits toward me?”

Rev. Gibson has been a member of the Judicial, Ministerial Efficiency, and Finance Committees of the West Tennessee Conference.  She has previously served as the Director of Health and Wellness, Dean of Certification for the Department of Education, and Past President of the Presiding Elders Council of the 13th Episcopal District. She is affiliated with Women in Ministry and is a member of the A.M.E. Ministerial Alliance of Memphis and Vicinity. 

In her professional career, she has provided leadership, strategic planning, grant research, team-building, and program development in educational institutions, home health, social services, community and hospital-based corporations.  She is a Certified Public Accountant and is sole proprietor of her CPA firm.  She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee at Knoxville, a Master of Science degree in Business Administration from the University of Memphis, and a Master of Divinity degree from Memphis Theological Seminary (summa cum laude). 

Presiding Elder Gibson is the widow of Robert H. Gibson III.  She has two dear daughters and two precocious granddaughters.