Dr. Garrett Best, former minister for the Oliver Creek Church of Christ in Bartlett, Tenn., will assume chair of the Bible Department faculty of York College this summer, according to President Sam Smith.
 
Best has been in ministry since 2010 when he first served as preaching minister for the Oliver Creek congregation.  He has also served as minister for the Nicholasville Church of Christ in Kentucky.  He has been in his most recent role at Oliver Creek since 2019. Best succeeds Dr. Frank Wheeler, who retired this year after 34 years as a York College faculty member and, more recently, chair of the Bible Department.

"We are so excited about having Garrett and his family join the York College community beginning this fall," Dr. Smith said. "He brings such a wealth of talent, experience and energy, and his love for the local church is recognized all over the Mid-South.  He has a passion for ministry that is contagious, and we can't wait to see his impact on our students, our campus and the York community.  Churches where he has ministered have loved him, and his academic credentials are impeccable.  He is a perfect fit for this leadership position at York."

A native of Gardendale, Ala., Best graduated from Freed-Hardeman University in 2010 with a double major in Spanish and Bible.  He then began ministry work with the Oliver Creek church while also beginning his studies toward the Master of Divinity degree at Harding School of Theology in Memphis, which he completed in 2014.  He and his family then moved to Kentucky where Best spent four years studying for and completing a Ph.D. program with Asbury Theological Seminary while also working with the aforementioned Kentucky congregation.

Best has been married for 12 years to Robin, his "high school/youth group sweetheart," also from Gardendale, Ala., and their family includes son Jackson, 6, and daughter Anna, 3.  The Bests are in the process of selling their Memphis area home and moving to Nebraska for his August 1 start date.
 
"I am humbled by this opportunity to serve at York College as it begins a new phase of history as York University," Best noted.  "I look forward to investing time inside and outside the classroom in order to foster a Christ-centered community at York while also helping students cultivate a love for the local church as a vital part of faith in Christ.  Further, I hope to help position the institution as a resource for churches regionally and globally.”
Best Family

"This is such an exciting time for this college as it transitions to university status," he added, "and I look forward to celebrating and honoring the rich heritage of faith and scholarship which has characterized the institution in the past while participating in the mission-propelled future of York University."