Meet Our Staff

Senior Pastor

Reverend Chris Dowd, Senior Pastor of Christ United, is a native Texan whose family moved to Maryland when he was 7 years old. Raised Roman Catholic, Chris graduated from the University of Notre Dame (Go Irish!), before serving as a Supply Officer in the US Navy for four years. After the Navy, he moved back home to Dallas, working as a consultant and then as an operations manager in the logistics industry.

After hearing a call to ministry, Chris attended Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University, earning a Master of Divinity degree Summa Cum Laude. He has served as Associate Pastor and Youth Minister at Arapaho UMC in Richardson, Senior Pastor at First UMC of Henrietta, and Senior Pastor at First UMC of Sherman. He joined the staff of Christ United in July 2019.

Chris and his wife Whitney have two sons, Max and Sam. All four of the Dowds are incredibly honored to be part of what God is doing at Christ United, a congregation that takes seriously our mission statement of Loving God, Serving Others, Transforming Lives.

chris@cumc.com

Pastor of Adult Ministries & Modern Worship

Rev. Ramsey Jay is our Pastor of Adult Discipleship & Modern worship.

Ramsey graduated Summa Cum Laude from Vanderbilt University, then earned her law degree with honors from the University of Texas at Austin. She worked in corporate litigation and then family law for several years before hearing a call to ordained ministry. She graduated Summa Cum Laude from Perkins School of Theology at SMU. Ramsey previously served at Highland Park UMC for thirteen years, before joining our ministry staff here at Christ United.

Ramsey and her husband, Spencer, are a blended family with her son, Noah, and stepson, Caden.

ramsey@cumc.com

Pastor of Care Ministries

Reverend Mike Flynn is Pastor of Care Ministries at Christ United. Mike is a former 30-year employee at EDS/HP, where he worked as a project manager for sales development programs. Mike followed his calling in pastoral care in 2010 and graduated from Perkins School of Theology, where he received his Master of Divinity in 2016. During his seminary years, Mike also served as a chaplain at multiple local hospitals. He was ordained Deacon in the UMC in 2018 and continues to lead and empower others in ministries of care and compassion. He currently lives in Dallas and enjoys traveling, music, science fiction, and treadmilling.

Mike joined the staff of Christ United in July 2016 and currently directs the church’s care ministry activities.

mike@cumc.com

Associate Pastor of Care Ministries

Marianne graduated from Wesley Theological Seminary in Washington D.C. with her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees in 1999 and 2023, respectively. She is an ordained elder in the Virginia Annual Conference of the UMC and is serving on-loan in Texas. Following her initial appointment to a two-point charge in rural Virginia, she joined the U.S. Air Force as a chaplain, where she served eight years on active duty before transitioning to the Reserve forces where she continues to serve as a chaplain. She has also worked as a hospice chaplain and editor for the Department of Defense.
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She and her husband, Josh, moved to Frisco following Josh’s retirement from the Air Force in 2017 and graduation from culinary school in 2019. They have been attending Christ UMC since 2019, and Marianne is excited about the opportunity to join the staff.

marianne@cumc.com

Associate Pastor of Adult Ministries

David began his working life as an engineer, building radars, radio and optical telescopes, and satellite communication antennas. He has bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Texas A&M University in civil engineering. Although he is now a pastor, he’s still a math nerd. A long-time member of Christ United, he felt a call to ministry while volunteering in various ministries.  David graduated Summa Cum Laude from Perkins School of Theology in 2015 with a Master of Theological Studies. He served at Arapaho UMC in Richardson and at First UMC of Denton before returning to Christ United, coming full circle. David is a commissioned deacon, looking forward to ordination. David and his wife Linda have two adult daughters, Kate and Rebecca, and a cocker spaniel, Watson.

dfinley@cumc.com

Pastor Emeritus

Reverend Don Underwood served 37 years as Senior Minister of Christ United and is now serving as Pastor Emeritus – Director of Donor Relations. Rev. Underwood received his Bachelor’s Degree from Southwestern University in Georgetown, Texas and his Master’s of Theology from the Perkins School of Theology at Southern Methodist University in Texas. Rev. Underwood and his wife Bobby have two children, Adam and Joshua. Don enjoys quarter horses, hunting and is an instrument-rated private pilot.

 

Don’s books “The Long View” and “Pray Like Jesus” are available Amazon.

don@cumc.com