Rev. John W. Hagen, Jr. formerly of Gwinnett County, has assumed duties as pastor of Cokes Chapel United Methodist Church in Sharpsburg. He becomes the 90th pastor of the 165-year-old church on Lower Fayetteville Road.

Born in Nampa, Idaho and raised on a cattle ranch, Hagen received a bachelor's degree in theology from Walla Walla College in Washington State and is currently a student at Candler School of Theology at Emory University. He moved to the Atlanta area in 1978 and was pastor of the Austell Seventh-day Adventist Church in Austell, Ga. He also served at Smyrna Seventh-day Adventist Church and Faith Community Church, both in Smyrna, Ga.

Before entering the ministry, Hagen owned and operated his own commercial real estate development and brokerage company. He was a nationally recognized specialist in 1033 tax-deferred exchanges. In 1974, he was honored as the Exchanger of the Year for the state of Idaho and in 1988, he received the same honor for the state of Georgia. He was also involved in the development of residential and recreational subdivisions.

For the past nine years, Hagen and his wife, Brenda, have been in ministry at White Chapel Memorial Gardens, a cemetery they owned and operated in Gwinnett County. They served the families in their community during times of crises and grief by developing special Christmas programs, Easter sunrise services and grief recovery programs, as well as other support activities to help families in grief.

The Hagens have four grown children, John, Christopher, Tammy and Kristie.

Hagen says he is excited to be back in church ministry again.

"I love Coweta County," he said. "It's one of the friendliest places I've ever been. The people are just great and I'm glad to be a part of this community.