Who We Are

 

Rev. Dr. Jackie Frazier Roese, Founder

Dr. Jackie Roese grew up working on her family farm in upstate New York. She focused that work ethic in pursuing her Masters and Doctorate degrees while raising three children. She has taught the scriptures and trained other women to do the same for more than 30 years.

She served as the Teaching Pastor to Women in a large church in Texas. While there she envisioned, wrote, and oversaw the development of over 15 bible studies studied by women around the world. In 2008 she became the first female to preach at her church and became a part of the Sunday morning preaching team.

In 2012, Jackie founded The Marcella Project, an organization committed to reshaping the view of women. The Marcella Project’s goal is to ennoble women (lift up to dignity as Jesus intended) through Scripture-focused teaching, training, and dialogue.

 

Amanda Clark, Board Member

  • Amanda Clark pastors Branches Vineyard Church in Northern Indiana. She loves Jesus and hands-on culturally relevant ministry. She’s passionate about sharing meals around the table and building community through meaningful relationships. Amanda has been privileged to study at Northern Seminary and holds a Masters in New Testament Theology.

    Amanda is married to Justin, who is a talented preacher, worship leader and video producer. Justin and Amanda have served in ministry together in Vineyard churches since 2007. 

    When she isn’t prepping for a sermon, you might find her in the kitchen, or at the Farmer’s Market. Amanda enjoys spending time with her parents and her seven siblings, or anyone, really – she’s a people person!

     

 

Karen Smith, Board Member

  • Karen Fletcher Smith is a multidisciplinary artist whose work explores the intersection of creativity and spirituality. Through oil painting, photography, and watercolor, she seeks to uncover and share the beauty found in nature, art, and faith. She is the artist in residence through Fuller Seminary’s Brehm Center and St. Cornelius Episcopal Church in Belton, TX. She is also currently illustrating a book called Veiled Women with Dr. Scot McKnight and Dr. Lucy Peppiatt.

    In addition to her visual art, Karen enjoys writing and guest preaching, blending her artistic talents with spiritual insights. She previously worked at several churches and Young Life.

    She has a Master of Arts in Women and Theology from Northern Seminary and has been a contributor to the Visual Museum of Women in Christianity.

    She has presented at the Christian Scholar’s Conference; Swift Lament: Pop Liturgy for Ecclesiastical Wounds, in which she spoke on lamenting church hurt through exploring the five stages of grief and Taylor Swift lyrics.

    She has been a guest on the Jackie Always Unplugged podcast, The Alabaster Jar podcast, and a host on The Wonderers podcast, a production of Feed My Sheep in Temple, TX.

    She enjoys traveling with her husband and three teenage/young adult children. You can find her preaching with a paintbrush here.

 

Peter Wells, Board Member

  • Dr. Peter Wells received his Doctorate in Medicine from the Indiana University School of Medicine, completed his Internship and Residency in Internal Medicine at Vanderbilt University and a Fellowship in Cardiology and Electrophysiology at the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center where he then served on the faculty. He spent the next 15 years as the Director of the Cardiology Fellowship Training Program at Baylor University Medical Center. Over 30-plus years of work Peter has done teaching, research and writing as an expert in cardiac electrophysiology. He has been interested in the roles of men in the church and the family and has co-led seminars and men’s retreats. He and his wife, Linda, have done extensive research on leadership roles in the Church and coauthored a position paper on women as elders. Linda and Peter have two grown children, Derek (31) and Camille (24). No grandchildren, but two grand-dogs. (And Peter loves to fly fish!)