The Reverend Marben Bland was appointed the 38th Pastor of the Greater Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in Athens, Georgia by Bishop Reginald T. Jackson on June 3, 2022. Presiding Elder Toni Belin Ingram presented the Pastor to the congregation on June 5th, the first Sunday of his new charge.

A native of Gray, Georgia, Pastor Marben earned a Bachelor of Arts in Political Science, English, and Business from Mercer University in Macon, Georgia. He has a master’s degree in Public Administration from Georgia College and State University in Milledgeville, Georgia, and a Master's of Divinity from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

An ordained Itinerant Elder in the African Methodist Episcopal Church, Pastor Marben previously pastored the Sparta Circuit (Hall Chapel and Mitchel Chapel African Methodist Episcopal Churches) in Sparta, Georgia,,The New Bethel African Methodist Episcopal Church in East Dublin, Georgia, and The Greater Saint Peter African Methodist Episcopal Church in Jonesboro, Georgia.

Inspired by Jesus’s call in the Great Commission Matthew 28:16-20 to make disciples of all nations, Pastor Marben is a multimedia storytelling.  He aggressively embraces using all forms of media including podcasting, video, print, and social media to teach the Gospel.

Pastor Marben is a member of the board of directors for Bethany Christian Services and has been named to post-graduate fellowships with the Stand and See Holy Land fellowship, The Ministry Collaborative, and the Supportive, Holistic Innovations for Thriving in Ministry (SHIFT) program.

Pastor Bland served as an officer in the United States Army and is a veteran of Operation Desert Storm. For three decades, he worked in senior leadership positions for some of the best companies in the world including Sara Lee Corporation, Fiskars Brands, and Advanced Micro Devices. During the pandemic, Pastor Marben founded 2The Point Theological Media Corporation a nonprofit company designed to provide media solutions to churches, small businesses, and nonprofits.

Besides his Christian walk, Pastor Bland is the proudest of his son Chandler, his daughter in love Erika, and his five grandchildren, Nina, Elisha, Rosie, Noa, and Jack.