by Jacob Sanchez, Fort Worth Report
September 24, 2026
A new pastor will lead Fort Worth-based Pastors for Texas Children as its founder takes the group’s public education advocacy national.
The Rev. Holly Gaskill Bandel is the nonprofit’s new executive director. She takes over from the Rev. Charlie Johnson, who founded the group in 2013 as a way to connect faith leaders and their congregations with public education advocacy.
In a news release, Bandel said she is grateful for the opportunity.
“I have seen firsthand what happens when congregations build genuine relationships with their neighborhood public schools,” she said. “Our schools are at the heart of our communities and supporting the children, educators and families they service is an important expression of our faith.”
Bandel is the pastor of First United Methodist Church in Sachse, about an hour northeast from Fort Worth between Garland and Wylie.
A native of Wylie, Bandel earned a bachelor’s degree in social work from the University of North Texas and a master’s from Duke Divinity School.
She was ordained an elder in the United Methodist Church’s Horizon Texas Conference in 2003. She has been involved with Pastors for Texas Children since 2018.
Johnson said Bandel will lead the organization into its next chapter.
“Holly understands both the church and the public school classroom, and she knows how powerful it can be when people of faith come together in support of children and their neighborhood schools,” Johnson said.
Johnson will now focus on a new national organization called Pastors for Children that will emulate the Texas group in states nationwide and in Washington, D.C.
Jacob Sanchez is education editor for the Fort Worth Report. Contact him at jacob.sanchez@fortworthreport.org or @_jacob_sanchez.
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