Frederick Douglas Powe, Jr. is the Director of the Lewis Center for Church Leadership and the James C. Logan Professor of Evangelism at Wesley Theological Seminary. Prior to joining Wesley Theological Seminary, Dr. Powe taught at Saint Paul School of Theology (2004-2013) and in the Religion and Philosophy Department at Spelman College (2002-2004).
Dr. Powe is an ordained elder in the Baltimore/Washington Conference of the United Methodist Church. He holds a Doctorate of Philosophy in Systematic Theology from Emory University (2004), a Master of Divinity from Candler School of Theology, Summa Cum Laude (1998), and a Bachelor of Arts from Ohio Wesleyan University, Magna Cum Laude (1987). Dr. Powe has served local congregations as Theologian-in-Residence at University UMC in College Park, Maryland (2013-2019; as the Associate Pastor of Centennial UMC in Kansas City, Missouri (2007-2013); as a guest preacher at Wesley Heights UMC once a month (2007-2011); and as the Director of Christian Education at Central UMC in Atlanta, Georgia (2000-2004). He
also facilitates workshops at churches around the country.
A forerunner in African American evangelism, Dr. Powe’s contributions to the field include: Not Safe for Church: The Ten Commandments for Reaching new Generations (Abingdon Press, 2015), New Wine, New Wineskins: How African American Congregations Can Reach New Generations (Abingdon Press), Transforming Evangelism: The Wesleyan Way of Sharing Faith, co-authored with Henry H. Knight, III (Nashville: Discipleship Resources, 2006), “Such A Great Cloud of Witnesses: Evangelistically Vital Churches,” in God Delivers Me: A Model from Strengthening the Black Church for the 21st Century (Nashville: Abingdon, 2008), “Hearing The Voice of Our Neighbor: A Voice From the Other Side,” in Loving God, Loving Neighbor: Ministry with Questioning Youth (Xlibris, 2008), “Emerging Possibilities for African-American Worship,” in Africana Worship (TN: Discipleship Resources, 2007), “Is Liberation the Starting Point for an African-American Theology of Evangelism?” (Union Quarterly Review, 62:1-2 ).
Dr. Powe was born in Canton, Ohio to Frederick D. Powe, Sr., and Betty Lee Powe. He is married to the Rev. Dr. Sherri E. Wood-Powe and they have one son, Frederick Douglas Powe III.