Meet Our Staff

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth Hounshell

Lead Pastor

Liz Hounshell is the pastor of Zebulon United Methodist Church, where she was appointed in June 2020. Liz is thrilled to be a pastor. She answered the call to attend seminary in 2010 and began her education at Duke Divinity School in the fall of 2011. She graduated in 2014 with a Master of Divinity degree. It was a little tough being at Duke since she is a devoted UNC fan. However, Liz did attend UNC-Chapel Hill for her undergraduate studies where she received a nursing degree in 1984.

Liz returned to Duke more recently. In May 2025, she graduated from Duke Divinity School with her Doctor of Ministry degree. Her thesis is entitled Signs of Hope: How Declining Rural United Methodist Churches Can Be Revived.

While in seminary for her Master’s degree, Liz was a pastoral intern at Wendell United Methodist Church in Wendell and also at Bailey and Pleasant Grove United Methodist Churches in Bailey. How fitting that she would later be serving as a pastor in nearby Zebulon!

Liz became an elder in The United Methodist Church when she was ordained at the North Carolina Annual Conference in Greenville, NC, in June 2016. At that time, she was serving Jarvis Memorial United Methodist Church, also in Greenville, as an Associate Pastor for Mission and Empowerment. Most recently, Liz served as the pastor of two congregations, Salem and Mt. Carmel United Methodist Churches. Salem is in Goldsboro, and Mt. Carmel is in Pikeville.

Before attending seminary, Liz worked as a public health nurse and as a project coordinator for a small building business. She also served as Minister of Christian Education at North Raleigh United Methodist Church, where she and her husband were members for 25 years.

Here’s a little more about Liz: She is originally from Hissborough, NC. She enjoys traveling, hiking, reading, writing and going out to eat. She also likes to watch sports events and , just as a reminder, cheer for the Tar Heels. Liz has traveled to the Holy Land three times and was fascinated by all the biblical sites she got to see.

Liz is so grateful for this incredible opportunity at Zebulon UMC. When she is not at ZUMC, she enjoys time with her family including her two granddaughters, Heidi and Ellie!