Bishop Keith Cowart
Bishop Keith Cowart, D.Min., presides over the Free Methodist Church USA along the Eastern Seaboard and in the South and Midwest. He also provides ecclesiastical accountability for our missions work in Europe, the Middle East, and the UK/Ireland in partnership with the Free Methodist Church USA General Conference. He was first elected as bishop at General Conference 2019, and he was re-elected and approved as lead bishop in 2023. He previously served as the superintendent of the Southeast Region Conference after 21 years as the founding lead pastor of Christ Community Church in Columbus, Georgia.
His educational experiences include doctoral and graduate degrees from Asbury Theological Seminary and a bachelor’s degree from Georgia Southern University. He is married to Pam Cowart, and they have two sons, Andrew and Aaron (Hannah Mae), and several grandchildren.
Bishop Kaye Kolde
Bishop Kaye Kolde presides over the Free Methodist Church USA in the Northeast Great Lakes region and the Central Midwest. She also provides ecclesiastical accountability for our missions work in Asia and Latin America in partnership with the Free Methodist Church USA General Conference. She was elected to the Board of Bishops at General Conference 2023 after serving since 2019 as the lead pastor of The Arbor Church in Spring Arbor, Michigan. She has enjoyed coaching for discipleship systems inside and outside the Free Methodist Church, and previously served Sage Hills Church in Wenatchee, Washington, as the executive pastor of ministry, and several other pastoral roles.
Her educational experiences include doctoral studies at Northern Seminary in Theology and Leadership, and undergraduate and graduate degrees from the University of Pennsylvania. She is married to Dr. David Kolde, and they are the parents of a son, Gray, and a daughter, Emi.
Bishop Kenny Martin
Bishop Kenny Martin presides over the Free Methodist Church USA along the West Coast (including Alaska and Hawaii) and in the South Central U.S. and Upper Midwest. He also provides ecclesiastical accountability for our missions work in Africa in partnership with the Free Methodist Church USA General Conference. He was elected to the Board of Bishops at General Conference 2023 after starting the Kingdom Cathedral church plant in San Bernardino, California, and serving since 1991 as a Free Methodist pastor in California, Indiana, Maryland, and Missouri.
His educational experiences include studies at Greenville, Spring Arbor, and Mid-America Christian universities. He is married to Rev. Estelle Martin, and they have two daughters and several grandchildren.
Bishop Emeritus David Kendall
David W. Kendall has served as Pastor, Superintendent and Bishop in the Free Methodist Church, providing leadership in the U.S., the continent of Africa, and the Middle East. Bishop Kendall’s passion for ministry centers on two primary calls: first, to communicate the Scriptures as God’s Word in faithful and relevant ways to our world today and second, to assist God’s people to be truly the church in the 21st century. Bishop Kendall received a Bachelor of Arts degree (Philosophy and Religion) from Spring Arbor College (Spring Arbor, MI) in 1976 and Master of Divinity degree (Biblical Studies) from Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY) in 1979. In 1984 he graduated from Union Theological Seminary (Richmond, Virginia) with a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies, New Testament.
He also enjoys writing and seeks to build up the church through the printed word as well. He contributes regularly to Christian periodicals and endeavors to maintain an active life in the blogosphere. He is the author of Follow Her Lead, a 2019 Publication; God’s Call to be Like Jesus: Living a Holy Life in an Unholy World, a 1999 publication, both of Light and Life Communications, and Co-Author of, The Female Pastor: Is There Room for She in Shepherd?, also a Light and Life publication in 2005.
He is married to Lavone, who has taught special needs persons in the public schools and the church. They have three daughters who with their husbands have given them, their families and the world, nine grandchildren. The Kendalls reside in Indianapolis, Indiana.
Rev. Dr. David Bauer
David Bauer is an ordained elder in the Ohio Conference and has served under pastoral appointment there, but most of his professional life has been invested in the academy. He has a B.A. from Spring Arbor College, an M.Div. from Asbury Theological Seminary, a Ph.D. from Union Theological Seminary in Virginia and has done post-doctoral studies as a visiting scholar at Princeton Theological Seminary.
Since 1984, David has been a member of the faculty at Asbury Theological Seminary. He is presently the Ralph Waldo Beeson Professor of Inductive Biblical Studies and dean of the School of Biblical Interpretation at Asbury Seminary. He is active in the Wilmore (Ky.) Free Methodist Church, serving as team leader for ministry to seminarians. He also serves as the coordinator for the Free Methodist Fellowship at Asbury Theological Seminary.
In addition to the Study Commission on Doctrine, David serves on the board of The Word is Out Ministries. He has served on the executive committee of the Institute for Biblical Research, and has been co-chair of the Matthew Group and the Hebrews Consultation of the Society of Biblical Literature. His website on inductive study of the Bible is inductivebiblicalstudy.com.
Rev. Kayleigh Clark
Kayleigh Clark is a lover of Jesus and his church. She is an ordained elder in the Free Methodist Church and a ThD candidate at Kairos University. Her studies focus on restorative theology with a particular emphasis on religious trauma, spiritual abuse, congregational collective trauma, and clergy health and wellbeing. Her current dissertation research seeks to understand the impact of collective trauma on congregational health and flourishing. She is the founder of Restor(y) a resourcing, training, and consulting ministry dedicated to partnering with local churches on the journey towards healing. Kayleigh lives in Maryland with her husband Nate and their son Timothy where she has the privilege of shepherding a wonderful group of people at The River, a dinner church that meets in her living room. When she is not writing, studying, or imagining ways towards a healthier church, Kayleigh can be found outside with her family or in pursuit of the best local chai tea latte.
Rev. Dr. Allison Coventry
Allison Coventry is reflective practitioner who values the intersection of experience with solid research. Shecompleted my Doctor of Ministry (DMIN) degree in 2013 at Northeastern Seminary. Her dissertation title is: “Immersion in a Culturally Intelligent Biblical Worldview: Becoming effective and responsible participants in God’s mission.”
She is a pastor serving in Seattle and filling a variety of roles. The most important part of her ministry is investing in people, having spiritual conversations, and seeking to engage our neighborhoods and world in ways that lead to health and wholeness.
Rev. Dr. Bruce N.G. Cromwell
In addition to SCOD, Bruce helps lead two scholarly communities, Ecclesiademy and Graduate Students’ Theological Seminar (GSTS), both of which involve Free Methodist persons with graduate degrees. He has served on the denominational Committee for History & Archives, has been Vice President of the Free Methodist Urban Fellowship, and represents the FMCUSA on the Catholic-Evangelical Dialogue.
Bruce has his B.A. from Greenville College, and both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Historical Theology (Patristics) from St. Louis University.
He and his wife, the Rev. Dr. Mindi Grieser Cromwell, have two sons, Levi and Bennet.
Dr. Elisée Ouoba
Elisée Ouoba is an Associate Professor of Biblical Studies at Spring Arbor University. He has a PhD in Biblical Theology from Wheaton College, IL and a ThM in Biblical Studies from the Bangui Evangelical School of Theology in Central African Republic.
Elisée served as missionary in the city of Bangui where he taught full time at the seminary and preached in various churches. Prior to serving in Bangui Elisée was a Bible College professor and an Associate Pastor in his home country, Burkina Faso. His research focuses on biblical theology and hermeneutics in the context of world Christianity. He and his family are active members of the Spring Arbor Free Methodist Church.
Edward Song is an Associate Professor of Philosophy at Westmont College in Santa Barbara, CA, where he has taught since 2013. Ed has a BA from Yale, an MA from Oxford, and a Ph.D. from the University of Virginia. Prior to arriving at Westmont, he and his wife taught for 7 years at Louisiana State University.
Ed teaches and writes on matters of moral and political philosophy, philosophy of law, and public policy. He is particularly interested in inequality, political theology, the efficacy of free markets, and in more practical public policy related issues regarding poverty. Ed and his family worship at the Free Methodist Church of Santa Barbara.