Pastor. Placemaker. Rooted in listening.

Luke Lingle is a United Methodist pastor, placemaker, and social entrepreneur whose work lives at the intersection of faith, community development, and economic activation. He co-founded New Chapter Ventures to help churches and civic institutions rediscover the potential already present in their people, properties, and neighborhoods.

For more than fifteen years, Luke has served congregations and communities across North Carolina, repeatedly encountering the same challenge: churches often possess extraordinary assets but lack a practical pathway to transform those assets into lasting community impact. New Chapter Ventures was created to build that pathway.

Prior to launching NCV, Luke led the Church and Community Placemaking Lab at Duke Divinity School's Ormond Center, where he developed curriculum and guided congregations through processes of discernment, listening, and asset-based community engagement. As Executive Pastor at Central United Methodist Church in Asheville, he helped lead one of NCV's foundational case studies—the transformation of Bethesda UMC into Haw Creek Commons, a community hub supporting local businesses, nonprofits, and neighborhood life.

Luke believes churches are not simply owners of property, but stewards of place. His work integrates theological imagination with practical execution, helping organizations move from curiosity to action through structured processes of alignment, validation, financing, and activation.

Grounded in the Benedictine tradition of listening, Luke sees placemaking as a spiritual practice of uncovering the gifts God has already placed within a community. Alongside his ministry, he holds an MBA and has led pilgrimages to Iona, Scotland, drawing from ancient Christian practices to inform modern community renewal.

Luke lives in Asheville, North Carolina, with his wife Annie and their four children.