Sam Parham is our Director of Youth Ministries. Originally from Swannanoa, NC in the Appalachian Mountains, Sam attended Lenoir-Rhyne University, and graduated in 2019 with a degree in Religious Development, specifically focusing in Youth & Family Ministry and Liberation Theology. She has taught Children’s Sunday School and served as the Youth & Family Ministry Intern at a UCC congregation in Hickory and the Director of Faith Formation at Emmanuel Lutheran Church in Lincolnton, NC focusing on youth, young adult and intergenerational ministry. She has written curriculum for several churches and organizations, addressing conversations of faith, community, inclusion, and social justice. Sam has a passion for Latin American theology. She learned much from the Iglesia Luterana de Costarricense in Costa Rica and wrote her honors thesis on Liberation Theology. Sam and her partner, Jordan have a sweet 4-year old boxer-mix named Molly and share a love of hiking, reading and cooking.