CGPI Spotlight
- Matt Aragon Bruce
- 2 days ago
- 3 min read
We are thrilled to announce that we have four of our five mentors in place. We hope to soon announce our fifth mentor, who will come from our partnership with the Justice Center for Sacred Theological Studies (JCSTS, formerly known as Johnson C. Smith Theological Seminary). The four mentors who will guide our third class of emerging preachers bring years of experience and wisdom from preaching and pastoring across the Synod.
Rev. Brenna Overland
Brenna Overland serves as Head of Staff and Pastor of First Presbyterian Church of Bay City, where she has led the congregation with love and joy for the past five years. Now in her tenth year of ordained ministry, she has served congregations across the country, bringing a deep love for preaching, pastoral formation, and the everyday work of building healthy, hopeful communities of faith. She holds a Master of Divinity from Fuller Theological Seminary, where she was awarded the Parish Pulpit Preaching Fellowship upon graduation, allowing her to study models of successful preaching in post-religious societies. Brenna is honored and excited to serve as a mentor for the Synod of the Covenant’s Cultivating the Gift of Preaching initiative and looks forward to supporting emerging preachers as they grow in confidence, theological depth, and joy in proclaiming the gospel.
Rev. Brad Sheppard
The Rev. Brad Sheppard is from the Presbytery of Cincinnati and is the pastor of Immanuel Presbyterian Church where he has served since 2018. Throughout twenty-five years of ministry Brad has served the church and the world in a variety of ways—working with young adults as a college chaplain; supporting the homeless; and serving Presbyterian congregations. He is a graduate of Furman University and Princeton Theological Seminary. He lives in Centerville, Ohio, with his wife, Rev. Terry Kukuk, and their two sons and three cats. He enjoys writing, photography, gardening, travel and spending time outside. He is an avid baseball fan and passionately follows the Atlanta Braves. All in all, Brad strives to live his life in service to Christ and others with all the energy, intelligence and imagination he can muster.
Rev. Jeri Baker
The Rev. Jeri Baker is from the Presbytery of Mackinac was until recently pastor of two churches in Mackinac presbytery, Hessel and Rudyard, and has significant experience in both midsized and small congregations, having served churches in Illinois, Ohio, and Michigan. She currently serves the presbytery on the Commission on Ministry and as a teacher in the Mighty Mac CRE Academy. She earned her M.Div from Western Theological Seminary and is enthusiastic about sharing her love of scripture in a contagious way. She and her husband, Richard, have 3 children and 4 grandchildren. She loves to travel both overseas and in the USA.
Rev. Dr. Joseph Novak
Joseph Novak is the Senior Pastor and Head of Staff at the First Presbyterian Church of Flint, Michigan (fpcf.org) where he has served since 2016. Joseph has experience in small church ministry, having previously pastored the First Presbyterian Church of Ithaca, Michigan. He is passionate about teaching and preaching having earned a Ph.D. in Liturgy and Homiletics from Fuller Theological Seminary, where he taught several courses in preaching and worship. Joseph serves the Lake Huron Presbytery as a Pastor to the Pastors, assisting and encouraging clergy and CRE leaders in his region. He enjoys baking, reading, listening to music, and is a devoted fan of Arsenal Football Club. Joseph and his wife Katie live in Flint, Michigan where they are raising their five boys and two cats.
Grace and peace,
Dr. Matthew J. Aragon Bruce
Program Director, Cultivating the Gift of Preaching