Meet Our Keynote Speakers for JAM 2026
Rev. Jennifer Sowell is the UCC National Ministries’ Associate General Minister for the Love of Church. She was recently elected to this position at a special online meeting of the General Synod on May 9, 2026.
Rev. Sowell has over 20 years of proven pastoral experience as Senior Pastor and Associate Pastor of United Church of Christ congregations in three Conferences. Her experiences in programmatic design and implementation are intergenerational. She has served in small town congregations, in large congregations and brings a broad experience and understanding of the church that reflects the diversity of the wider church. She currently serves as the Senior Pastor of St. John United Church of Christ in Collinsville, IL, a town of approximately 24,000 people, east of St. Louis, Missouri, in the Illinois South Conference.
St. John is a 500 member ONA church, with a history of progressive vision and programming which continues under the leadership of Rev. Sowell, with a staff of ten persons and dozens of volunteers. As senior pastor she supervises the staff team and collaborated with church leadership to revise staff job descriptions and the employee handbook. She is also responsible for working with the church board in developing and implementing the budget. Rev. Sowell organized the strategic planning process with the congregation to implement the vision for the congregation’s future in the community. And, she led the congregation through the final stages of the Open and Affirming discernment process which resulted in a positive vote.
Rev. Brian Frederick-Gray is an ordained minister in the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and currently serves as the Director for Justice and Advocacy Ministries for Disciples Home Missions (DHM), a role he began in September 2023 Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). In this position, he leads DHM’s coordinated efforts in refugee and immigration ministry, climate change and environmental justice, and racial justice initiatives, while empowering congregations to use their voices and actions for greater justice and mercy Christian Church (Disciples of Christ)+1.
He also holds a part-time role as Director of Mission Support & The Peace Intern Program with Disciples Peace Fellowship, where he strengthens connections with the wider church and equips young adults as ambassadors for peace and justice Christian Church (Disciples of Christ).