Jersey City First Wesleyan Church
201 Woodlawn Avenue, PO Box 15596
Jersey City, NJ 07305-0596
Lead Pastor – Pastor Donavon Shoemaker has served at
FWC since June 1972. A native of Indiana by birth, he is
a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary. He is married
to Viola (Vi) Mayhle who moved to Jersey City as a teen
from Western Pennsylvania and accepted Jesus as her
Savior and Lord right here at FWC. Upon high school
graduation she enrolled at Marion College (Indiana
Wesleyan University) where she met Donavon who was a
ministerial student. They married in 1969. Vi taught first
grade in the Jersey City Public Schools until retiring in
2012. They have three sons, eleven grandchildren and one
great-grandchild. Email: dshoemaker@jcfwc.com
Lay Minister Gracie Cooper -- Lay Minister -- Sick,
Shut-ins, Community Outreach, Evangelism, and Helps.
She oversees our Saturday food distribution and the
soup kitchen as well as reaches out to the sick, shut-
ins, seniors, and missing in action. She is mother of two
daughters, Tamika and Triese, and four grandchildren,
Davon, Maurise, Nirea, and Jordan.
Pastor of Discipleship Ministries and Preaching – Rev.
Melissa Everett has been a part of FWC all her life.
She sensed her calling to ministry after graduation from
Rutgers University and pursued ministerial studies at
Wesley Seminary, graduating in 2015. She was ordained
in 2020. She teaches at the Michelle Obama School in
Newark, NJ. She is married to Carl Everett and has
one son, CJ.
Pastor of Community Outreach Ministries, Preaching,
Teaching – Rev. Phyllis Isaac came to FWC more than
twenty years ago. She is a life-long Jersey City native.
She was ordained in June, 2022. She has a son, Micah.
Lay Minister John Robinson -- Minister John co-directs our
Youth Ministry and preaches. He is a scientist working in the
pharmaceutical field as well as an entrepreneur. He is married
to Julia Ewart Robinson and they have two children, Jonathan
and Janelle.
Lay Minister Troy Gibson, Sr. -- Preaching, Worship Leader.
Min. Troy began attending FWC as a young man.
He is married to Cynthia Green Gibson and they have four
children, Troy, Jr., Kristina, Aaron, and Adam along with two
grandsons, Troy III and Cairo. He works at 21 Century Fox in
NYC.
Maureen Kamaishah is a lay preacher/teacher, along with
prophetic gifting. Maureen came to the U.S. as a young
adult from Kenya and began attending FWC while living
around the corner from the church. She is married to Moses
Mirui and has a daughter, Nelly.
Photo
coming
soon
Lay Minister Rachel Guthman -- Worship Leader, along with
prophetic gifting. Min. Rachel has been at FWC her entire
life. She is a music instructor in the Jersey City Public
Schools.