RUNNING ON FULL: Pastor Jim Gascoine’s Nearly Four Decades of Ministry Energize Dutilh Church

Three Things You May Not Know About Pastor Jim

1. He has twin younger brothers. One is a CPA and the other is a pastor in the UMC.

2. He reads EVERYTHING: books about history, theology, sociology, church history, leadership, and fiction.

3. He likes to learn about aviation. He ran the Outer Banks marathon and visited the Wright Brothers National Memorial at Kitty Hawk, NC.

In is 11 years as associate pastor at Dutilh Church, Rev. Jim Gascoine has become well known for his love of reading, his thoughtful sermons, his boundless energy, and his bad puns. Recent samples of Pastor Jim’s humor:

• Every year dozens of kids are shipped off to mime school, never to be heard from again.

• I often steal candy bars using sleight of hand so yeah, you could say I have a few Twix up my sleeve.

His ability to see the humor in a situation is certainly one of the qualities that endears Pastor Jim to his colleagues and congregation alike.

Because he is so knowledgeable about the Bible and about Methodist history, people may be surprised to know that Pastor Jim’s earliest professional ambitions were not to become a pastor.

Born and raised in Monroeville, PA, Pastor Jim’s favorite subject in school was science. He graduated from the University of Pittsburgh with a self-designed major in biomedical ethics. It was only at the suggestion of a mentor during his sophomore year in college that Pastor Jim began to seriously consider a calling to ministry.

“I had always been involved in the United Methodist Church,” Pastor Jim explained, “and my experience in College Fellowship was instrumental.” One of the leaders in that organization suggested that Pastor Jim think about a career in ministry. Unsure whether he had the right skills for such a role, Pastor Jim recalled receiving helpful advice.

“The campus minister there told me, ‘If God is calling you to be a pastor, God has already equipped you to do that work,’ and said that I would be able to tell by actually doing it, so I did just that—I volunteered in my home church leading small groups, and it turned out I was good at it,” Pastor Jim said.

The college years were a turning point for Pastor Jim in other ways as well. He met his future wife, Joyce, through the Coalition for Christian Outreach—an interdenominational campus ministry program—while both were students at Pitt.

“She was scoping me out first,” Pastor Jim grinned. “Joyce might remember that differently, though!”

The Gascoines married in August, shortly after their college graduation. They remained for another year in Pittsburgh while Joyce earned a second degree. From there, the couple spent three years in Washington, D.C., where Joyce worked as a nurse and Jim attended the Wesley Theological Seminary to earn his Master of Divinity degree. Their oldest daughter, Kelly, was born during Jim’s final weeks of graduate school—enabling him to get a one-week extension on his final exam work. Their daughters Allison and Kate were born in Cresson, PA, where the family moved for Pastor Jim’s first assignment as pastor in 1983.

Cresson is located “on a mountain ridge above Altoona,” Pastor Jim explained. As pastor, he founded the church’s youth group and served the small congregation for seven years before being moved to the First United Methodist Church of Irwin in North Huntington, PA.

During his time at Irwin, Pastor Jim worked in a traditional associate pastor role. He oversaw the youth program as well as missions and outreach for the church, where he served for seven years.

“I enjoyed it tremendously, and we built up a thriving youth ministry during that time,” Pastor Jim said. As and adult leader for UMC District and Conference Youth Ministry, he was closely involved with youth programming at all levels. Pastor Jim also devoted time to camping ministry; he served as dean of Jumonville’s Creative Arts Camp for 23 years.

Following his time at First United Methodist Church, Pastor Jim moved to Center United Methodist Church in Natrona Heights, where his family spent the next 12 years. In 2009, they moved to Cranberry Township and Pastor Jim became associate pastor at Dutilh Church.

“The great thing about Dutilh—among all the churches I’ve been at, Dutilh is the one with the most willingness to try new things,” Pastor Jim said. “Whether it was attempting a merger, moving to an online platform, adding a contemporary worship service, or an openness to our current building project, this congregation is open to change and innovation.”

“Not every community is like that,” Pastor Jim explained, “but as churches, we should always be asking, ‘What does God have in store for us?’ and one sign of a healthy church is being responsive to emerging needs in our community.”

Dutilh offers a positive environment on many fronts, Pastor Jim said.

“Working with a bunch of people who are good at what they do and excited about their work is another of my favorite parts of this role,” Pastor Jim said. “We have members like that, too. We have a strong, vital church with a great work environment and that makes it really fun!”

In his pastoral role, Pastor Jim especially appreciates participating in and leading worship as well as preaching.

“I like teaching classes,” Pastor Jim added. “That brings me a lot of joy. And even though I don’t lead Dutilh’s student ministry or children’s ministry directly, I love getting to work with those groups.”

In his rather limited free time, Pastor Jim is an avid runner. He has completed 38 marathons—the most recent of which was in October 2019.

“Every fall, we pick a city with a marathon and do a sightseeing trip as well,” Pastor Jim said. Because Joyce is a skilled quilter and crafter, they often incorporate craft stores into their travels. Pastor Jim loves history and they often visit museums and historic sites as well. Most of their marathon trips are done alongside Pastor Jim’s running buddy since the 1990s—a friend he initially met in Creative Arts Camp at Jumonville. Their spouses and kids have been friends for years, so the running vacations often involve mini-reunions as well.

Ultimately, Pastor Jim feels blessed to be at Dutilh.

“Dutilh is a good, vital church. It’s fun leading a church that’s excited about where you’re leading them,” he said.