When Ed Robb stepped up to the pulpit in 1978, the 30-member fellowship was stunned. “He looked like a high school kid,” one member reminisced. Indeed, Ed had received his Master of Theology degree from SMU’s Perkins School of Theology a mere two years earlier. Still, this fledgling Methodist congregation needed a preacher, and God had supplied one.

Today, a quarter century later, The Woodlands United Methodist Church is one of the fastest growing in Methodism, with a thriving congregation. Ed is a leader with great vision and great faith, as well as a man of great humility. He is dedicated to missions both locally and abroad and has a willingness to go where God points. And while he serves greater Methodism in a number of capacities—as chairman of A Foundation for Theological Education (AFTE) and as trustee of The Institute of Religion and Democracy and Asbury Theological Seminary—Ed’s heart remains with his church.

Not only did Ed build a church and a great legacy, but he also built a life. He and Beverley, his wife and college sweetheart, raised three children, Edmund, Nathaniel, and Ashley in The Woodlands UMC.