Who We Are >> Our Staff >> Dr. Andrew Chaney
Dr. Andrew Chaney
Pastor
Andrew Chaney began his ministry at the First Presbyterian Church of Greenwood in January 2021. He and his wife, Christine, have three children, Luke, Caroline, and Anderson. Luke is a senior in the Honors College of Mississippi State University. Caroline is a senior at Pillow Academy, and Anderson is a sophomore at Pillow.
Andrew was born in Princeton, New Jersey, and grew up in Livingston, Alabama, where his father, Rev. Dr. Burnell Chaney, served the First Presbyterian Church of Livingston, Alabama, for 23 years. There is a legacy of ministry in the Chaney family- his father and grandfather were ministers; his brother Michael is a Navy Chaplain in Quantico, Virginia; and his mother Patsy became an ordained Presbyterian minister after his father passed away.
A lifelong learner, Andrew earned a Ph.D. in Theology in December 2022, completing coursework at the Oxford University Theology Summer School in Oxford, England, over several summers. His dissertation examined faith-based rehabilitation efforts. He earned a B.A. from Rhodes College; an M.L.S. from the University of Tennessee; an M.Div. from Princeton Theological Seminary; and a D.Min. from Columbia Theological Seminary.
Andrew has served pastorates in Connecticut, the Lowcountry of South Carolina (on Hilton Head Island, and Beaufort), the north shore of Chicago in Kenilworth, Illinois, and most recently in Springfield, Missouri, before being called to the Mississippi Delta.
Besides preaching and pastoring, Andrew is passionate about studying and teaching theology. He has served as a delegate at the Logos Institute for Analytic and Exegetical Theology at the University of St. Andrews, Scotland. He enjoys the writings of C. S. Lewis and has spent time studying as a Scholar in Residence at the home of Lewis, the Kilns, in Oxford, England. Princeton Theological Seminary recognized Andrew as a Mills Scholar in Parish Ministry.
Andrew encourages people to connect with God in prayer and to center their lives upon God’s presence. While serving as Guest Chaplain to the U.S. Congress, he has opened the House of Representatives and Senate in prayer four times. His leadership includes prayer breakfasts, university events, and honoring leaders such as astronaut Captain James Lovell with the Abraham Lincoln Leadership Prize, sharing the podium with Tom Hanks, the actor who played Captain Lovell in the movie Apollo 13.
Pilgrimage has been an important theme in his ministry. He has led pilgrimages to the Holy Land and the United Kingdom. He emphasizes that everyone embarks upon a spiritual journey in the life of the church. He encourages congregants to participate in mission projects and has spent time in rural Nicaragua, where he saw efforts to build homes and establish medical facilities and schools.
Andrew encourages people to expand their faith by putting it into action, whether it is learning in a small group or Bible study, teaching Sunday School, singing in the choir, volunteering with youth, serving at the community food kitchen, spending time in prayer and worship, or visiting the sick or homebound.
Andrew would like to welcome you into the new life that Christ offers through the fellowship of First Presbyterian Church, and challenge you to respond to the grace-filled message of God’s loving-kindness in the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ.