Sam Dixon

Who is Sam Dixon?

Samuel Williams Dixon, Jr. was the Deputy General Secretary of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. He died in Port-au-Prince while being rescued after the 2010 Haiti earthquake.

Dixon was the son of Samuel Dixon Sr. and Mildred Dixon, and had three sisters. He graduated from Statesville High School, attended the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill and received his Doctor of Ministry degree from Chicago Theological Seminary.

Dixon began his ministry in 1975, and was pastor of several North Carolina churches over the following 15 years, including Swepsonville United Methodist from 1980 to 1984, and at churches in Sneads Ferry, Durham, and Swansboro.

From 1990 to 1996, Dixon was on the staff of the United Methodist North Carolina Annual Conference, doing special assignments. He returned to being a pastor from 1996 to 1998, spending two years at the First United Methodist Church of Roanoke Rapids, North Carolina.

Dixon's 11-year career with the General Board of Global Ministries, which oversees UMCOR, started in 1998.