GRACE CHURCH - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Director of Care Ministries
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Recovery Ministries Campus Pastor, Fort Myers Central Campus
Arlene Jackson got sober in 1985 and turned her life of sex, drugs and rock and roll over to the care of Jesus a few years later. Because of her unique experiences, she has a passion for lost and hurting people, "the people that nobody else wants and nobody else sees."
Arlene came on staff at Grace Church in January, 2005 and became the Pastor of Connect and Form Ministries after serving on staff for a year as Celebrate Recovery Ministry Leader. As Connect and Form Pastor, Arlene loved getting a shot at helping people connect to God, to who they are in Christ, and to other Christ followers, and participating and watching them grow to be fully devoted disciples of Jesus, ready to serve him at home and in the world.
Arlene began her journey to become a United Methodist Pastor in 2004 and was licensed by the United Methodist Church as a Local Pastor in 2009. She completed her five year Course of Study at Duke Divinity School in 2015. She first served full time as the Campus Pastor for the Fort Myers Central Campus in downtown Fort Myers, Florida, which has a vibrant and growing ministry to the urban local community, including many without addresses.
Today, Arlene is the Pastor of Recovery Ministries serving all of the campuses of Grace Church, including several vibrant Choose Recovery ministries as well as dozens of traditional anonymous recovery groups that meet at different campuses of Grace Church and including a growing ministry with people who are exiting incarceration.
Arlene is a born New Yorker who has also lived in Dallas and Los Angeles County, California. She moved to the "small town" of Cape Coral in 1990. Arlene is married to Chris Jackson, and their blended family includes five grown children as well as four awesomely incredible not to mention beautiful and charming grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Director of Children 's Ministries
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance & Administration
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Worship & Spiritual Formation
Job Titles:
- Director of Student Ministries
Job Titles:
- Director of Reach, Send, and Fresh Expressions
Job Titles:
- Director of Connect Ministries
Jorge Acevedo loves Jesus Christ and his Church. Touched by the grace of God at seventeen, he was never the same. Rescued from a life of addictions, his greatest delight is connecting people to Jesus and the Church.
Jorge is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a multi-site, United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida with three campuses (Cape Coral, Fort Myers Shores, Fort Myers Central). Grace Church is recognized as having one of the largest and most effective recovery ministries in America. From 1992 to 1996, he served as Executive Pastor at Christ Church United Methodist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; from 1988 to 1992, as the Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee, Florida; from 1984 to 1988 as Minister of Youth and Children at Trinity Hill United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.
Jorge is a 1984 graduate of Asbury College where he received a Bachelor of Arts Degree majoring in Bible. He is also a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity Degree. Jorge was ordained as a Deacon in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in May 1986, and an Elder in May 1990.
Jorge was the 2001 recipient of the Denman Evangelism Award from the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church given to a pastor for excellence in evangelism. In 2007, He was named the Distinguished Alumni of the Year at Asbury Theological Seminary. In 2009, the Foundation for Evangelism named Jorge the 2009 Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church. He was a 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference and a 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the General Conference. Jorge serves on the Southeastern Jurisdiction and Florida Conference Episcopal Committees.
Jorge co-authored Sent: Giving the Gift of Hope at Christmas (Abingdon Press, 2015). He also authored Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World (Abingdon Press, 2013) and co-authored The Heart of Youth Ministry (Bristol House, 1989). He has also written for the United Methodist Publishing House, Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine and Our Faith Today.
Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge at the age of four months, moved with his family to the United States where he was raised. Jorge is married to Cheryl Montgomery. Their oldest son, Daniel is married to Courtney who gave them four beautiful grandchildren, Mia, Levi, Seth and Zoe. They also have a younger son, Nathan.
Job Titles:
- Tech Coordinator
- Worship / Tech Coordinator
Job Titles:
- Exceptional Entrepreneur Program Director
- Exceptional Entrepreneur Program Director / Fort Myers Shores
Job Titles:
- Director of Recovery Ministries
Job Titles:
- Director of Digital Production
Job Titles:
- Pastor, Fort Myers Shores Campus
Shari Lacey pastors the vibrant Fort Myers Shores campus in East Lee County. She loves Jesus! Shari's ministry began in 1983 when she became a lay speaker in The United Methodist Church and traveled South Florida. She had a dream job when she served the Florida Conference as manager of the South Florida United Methodist Camp (now Riverside Retreat). She spent ten happy years developing retreat experiences, overseeing summer camp programs, managing the facilities and walking the trails in what she calls "a little bit of heaven."
A recovering alcoholic and addict, Shari drew on her experience, strength, and hope to counsel others with substance abuse issues at the Hope Biblical Counseling Center. Today she is as dedicated as ever to carry the message, and has a passion to reach her community with the hope and healing found in 12 Step recovery.
Shari came on staff at Grace Church in 2009, was licensed as a Local Pastor, and appointed to the Fort Myers Shores Campus in Fall of 2012. Her calling is both local and global. Shari has traveled to Nicaragua and India with Grace Church missions teams. Her heart has been captured by the beautiful people she has worshipped and worked with, and she keeps her passport updated to be ready when the next call comes.
Shari is married to Neil Johnson. Her children, Bridget Dinneen and Joshua Wisdom are a blessing, and her grandsons Lucas and Jasper are the cutest, smartest boys in the world.
Job Titles:
- Director of Grace Kidz & Small Wonders Preschool
Job Titles:
- Administrative Assistant & Ministry Assistant
Job Titles:
- Pastor of Youth Ministries
Job Titles:
- Adjunct Instructor at Asbury University
- Lead Pastor
- Leadership Coach for Spiritual Leaders
Wes Olds is an ordained elder in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He is a 1993 graduate of The University of Kentucky and received his Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2002. Prior to coming to Grace Church in 2006, Wes began a multi-cultural, urban church called The Rock-La Roca United Methodist Church in Lexington, KY (2002-2006). While there, he co-founded Lexington's "Room in the Inn", a ministry of hospitality and shelter for homeless men. From 1997-2002, Wes was a Pastor with Youth and Evangelism at Centenary United Methodist Church in Lexington. From 1994-1997, Wes was Pastor with Youth at Christ United Methodist Church in Fort Lauderdale, Florida and from 1991-1994 was the Director of Youth Ministries at Versailles United Methodist Church in central Kentucky.
Wes has served as an adjunct instructor at Asbury University, a ministry mentor with Asbury Theological Seminary and has been a contributing writer for several projects with Group Publishing and United Methodist Communications. He has been a guest speaker and worship leader for retreats at local churches and conferences for youth and adults. Wes is currently a member of the executive team of the South West District Committee on Ministry, the South West District Operational Team and is the chairperson for the Florida Conference Church Vitality Committee.
Wes is a leadership coach for Spiritual Leaders, Incorporated (SLI) training pastors on creating generative leadership environments. Through SLI, Wes has facilitated yearlong incubators for over 75 pastors in Florida, Kentucky, and Kansas and provided training to leaders throughout the United Methodist Church.
Wes is married to Becky and they have one teenage son named Caleb. Wes loves music and plays guitar, enjoys fishing, sports, history and hanging out with his friends and family.