REV. ADRIENNE ZACKERY
In life there are moments that will define and redefine the trajectory of our lives. Such happened to Rev. Adrienne M. Zackery while attending her cousin’s graduation from Southern Methodist University’s Perkins School of Theology in Dallas, Texas as she received her call to ministry. It was truly an audible voice of the Lord that she said. “I am calling you to a higher level and it begins in seminary!” Without wrestle, Rev. Zackery responded with an application and subsequent admission in to Fuller Theological Seminary School of Theology and graduated with a Masters of Divinity
During her time at Fuller, Rev. Zackery was assigned to an internship at Crossroads United Methodist Church which proved to be life changing. Rev Zackery has served in five (5) appointments as Pastor (1) Crossroads United Methodist Church, (2) Calvary United Methodist Church, (3) Pastor of Multi-Language Congregation- Garden Grove United Methodist Church and St. Paul United Methodist Church in Los Angeles. Currently, she is the Senior Pastor at Crossroads United Methodist Church in Compton.
Rev. Zackery call to urban ministry stems from her professional duties as a Social Worker and her born desire to inspire everyone to live their best lives. She has lead a Community Initiative and collaboration to allow persons in Compton with criminal records to get a fresh start by getting their convictions expunged. This program has earned recognition from the Mayor and City Councilpersons of Compton and the collaborative efforts of law firms, volunteers and a coalition of pastors. Her efforts to build community ministry leaves people with hope and possibilities.
A native of Los Angeles, she attended elementary, middle and high school in Los Angeles graduating from Washington High School. Upon high school graduation, he attended UC Irvine where she pursued and earned a Bachelor’s degree in Social Ecology and also while in attendance served as a founding member of the Lambda Sigma undergraduate Chapter Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc.
Rev. Zackery has completed her dissertation in the Doctor of Ministry program at Fuller Theological Seminary with a concentration on Youth and Family Ministry. She has been blessed as the mother of three adult sons. She has been anointed with the gifts of preaching, prayer and pastoral ministry. The scripture that embodies her ministry is “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in your will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ” Philippians 1:6.
REV. NAJUMA SMITH-POLLARD
Rev. Dr. Najuma Smith-Pollard is native of Southern California. She became a member of First AME Church in Los Angeles in September of 1989; a move that changed her life forever. While there, under the leadership of Rev. Cecil L. “Chip” Murray, she immersed herself in the church’s ministries, in addition to serving in ministries beyond the walls of the church.
Dr. Najuma accepted her call to ministry in 1996 and says, “going into ministry was just the next level of service for me.” Dr. Najuma was ordained as a Deacon in 1996 and as an Itinerant Elder in the AME Church in 2000. Since that time, she has served as Assistant Pastor and Pastor in AME churches in Los Angeles, Orange and Riverside counties. Today, Dr. Najuma is the proud Founder and Pastor of Word of Encouragement Community Church, near Downtown Los Angeles.
She currently serves as Program Manager for the USC Cecil Murray Center for Community Engagement, where she combines her experience as a pastor and expertise as a community leader to run programs that train pastors to take on civic engagement work. Additionally, she is the Executive Director for the Southern California School of Ministry. She works closely with the vast Faith community in Los Angeles, on community development and civic engagement work. In connection to her social justice work, Dr. Najuma founded a Sexual Violence Awareness & Training Program, named “It’s Not Okay” [www.itsnotokay.org]. The purpose of this program is to equip faith leaders with the tools to engage and address the issue of sexual violence within the local church and community.
Dr. Najuma holds a Bachelor of Science in Management from Pepperdine University, a Bachelor of Theology from the Southern California School of Ministry and a Masters of Business Administration from Woodbury University. In addition, she has received Certification from the “Passing The Mantle” program on Civic Engagement and Community Development from USC. She also holds a Doctorate in Ministry, from United Theological Seminary.
On the lighter side, she is affectionately known as “Rev Juju,” has several hobbies including reading, going to movies, skiing, snowboarding, writing and traveling. And, she is wonderfully married to Felix Pollard and they have three sons Daniel, Dillon and Dorian.
Through her pastoral assignments and Word of Encouragement ministry (W.O.E.), Dr. Najuma shares the good news of the Gospel with parishioners, the community at large and internationally. She is grateful to be able to share her gifts, time and talent with ministries abroad.