by Paul Devine
Dr. Vincent Charron walks out the challenge of being a high-capacity leader with his students in the way he runs his courses. “I set the bar and they meet me at the bar,” he says, explaining his teaching style. “I tell them that school may be tough but ministry is tougher.” When his students leave his courses, Dr. Charron says he is determined that his students leave better than they came in, better prepared for ministry, have a better sense of who they are, and better able to articulate their thought processes. Not everyone sees the value in Dr. Charron’s technique right away. Dr. Charron relates that one semester, he received unexpected pushback from a student. However, the student signed up for one of his classes in the next term, to Dr. Charron’s surprise. In the initial meeting, the student indicated that when he saw Dr. Charron was the instructor that he knew that he had to take the course.
Charron has a deep and diverse background in leadership. He combines fourteen years in the Army, with another 10+ years in various church leadership roles. “I proudly served for 14 years,” he says. When he sensed his time in the military was over, he took on an administrative role at Manna Church Fayetteville/Ft. Bragg in 2009. From there he spent five years as a senior pastor in upstate New York before returning to North Carolina.
Along the way, Charron was energetically pursuing education in leadership. Over 10 years he completed a Bachelor’s in Religion, an MA in Leadership, and finally a MDiv in Leadership. Just when Dr. Charron felt he was done with school, one of his mentors came to him with a new offering, a doctorate in ministry that was focused on his area of interest, church revitalization. Charron was interested, even chuckling to himself about how perfect it was for him. But he was also wary of taking on more schooling and was not sure what his wife of 28 years, Tanya, would think. In the end, he and Tanya decided the opportunity was too good to pass up. He completed the degree in two years and graduated with highest distinction with his fourth Liberty University degree in May of 2020.
Shortly after graduating, Dr. Charron re-connected with Manna U and one of his mentors, former Manna University president Dr. Steven Crowther. The timing was right and Charron began setting the bar for Manna U students, teaching several leadership courses every year.
Dr. Charron also quickly found a place to apply the skill set acquired in his doctoral program. He joined Manna U doctoral program director Tom Johnson at Manna Church’s Sanford NC site. Johnson was in the process of reviving a church and Dr. Charron joined as associate pastor in 2021. He has also established a business where he and his partners offer coaching and consulting to churches. Charron is a strong advocate of systems and has found himself applying some of his training with local businesses as well.
For Dr. Charron’s current life is the fulfillment of a vision he had as a fourteen-year-old and new convert, where he was the one to bring life to dark places. It took many years, but he is now in the role of revitalizing churches and training others how to bring life to dark places.
