Dr. Henry E. Roberts served First Church for 22 years as Senior Minister. In 2006, he retired from the ministry after serving 40 years in the Alabama-West Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church but went on to serve the community as the President of Sacred Heart Health Care Systems Foundation. Upon his retirement, the church gave him the title Pastor Emeritus and named the Henry Roberts Activity Center in his honor.
A native of Alabama, he completed his undergraduate studies at Huntingdon College in Montgomery, Alabama. He received his graduate degrees: Masters of Theology (1968) and Doctorate of Ministry (1978), from Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia.
He and his wife Jane have two daughters – Ann and Rebecca, and three grandchildren Katherine, Walker, and Rebecca Ann.