MEET OUR PASTORS

MARVIN G. SPENCE, PASTOR

Marvin G. Spence was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, one of eight children of John and Annie Bell Spence. He attended Milwaukee Public Schools and is a 1975 graduate of Rufus King High School. 

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He began a personal relationship with Jesus Christ through his involvement in the church as a youth.  With his deep passion, he realized God's calling of his gifts and graces, answering the Lord’s call in his teens.  Marvin was licensed as a Baptist minister in 1989 by Reverend Dr. John Williams, pastor of Berean Baptist Church.  Reverend Spence has studied at numerous institutions including UW-Milwaukee and Milwaukee School of Engineering. He’s earned a Bachelors of Business Administration and Liberal Arts from Concordia University, a Bachelors of Arts in Christian Education from Milwaukee Theological Institute and a Bachelors of Arts in Theology from Covington Theological Seminary in Rossville, Georgia. 

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After completing Methodist licensing at Iowa Licensing School (Dubuque, IA) and ministerial studies at Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary (Evanston, IL) and The University of Indianapolis (Indianapolis, IN). Reverend Spence journeyed to the United Methodist Church in 1991 where he served as Associate Pastor of St. James UMC in Milwaukee, WI.  In 1995, he was asked to serve as pastor of Henderson Avenue UMC in Beloit, WI.

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In 1999, Pastor Spence was appointed to Albright UMC in Milwaukee, WI.  Here, he was successful in assisting cross-cultural communities of faith move to appreciate one another's culture in Christ.  It is also here that he instituted the Milwaukee Pan-Methodist Fellowship, leading workshops on Evangelism and Prayer.  The Cabinet of the Wisconsin Annual Conference appointed Pastor Spence to Solomon Community Temple UMC in June 2004, where he rekindled the flames of a discouraged ministry.  Because of his passion and leadership, he has presided over two churches simultaneously several times. In 2015, he concluded his twenty-one year journey with the United Methodist Church serving the congregations of The Church of the Good Hope UMC and Aldersgate UMC.

Upon its organization in early 2015, Pastor Spence was asked to shepherd the flock of Ascension Fellowship Church. He was formally installed in November 2015 and continues to serve as Senior Pastor.   He has also completed a year of Clinical Pastoral Education at Alexian Village Senior Living Center in Milwaukee, WI  and works with the Running Rebels Organization as a mentor to troubled youth.

Pastor Spence likes to think outside the box with respect to ministry. Among his creative endeavors are the establishment of Sidewalk Sunday School, where the church goes outside its walls and sets up church in the community streets, as well as The Wisconsin Pan-Methodist Celebration, which brought the AME, CME, AME-Zion and United Methodist families together for food, fun, fellowship, and worship. He also implemented Saturday Bopping Class, which allows people of faith to safely dance while simultaneously exercising and evangelizing.

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Marvin celebrated 43 years of marriage with his high school sweetheart Zenobia (Keys). God has given them three daughters, all having received their Master’s or Doctoral degrees, three sons-in-law and four adorable granddaughters. The Spence’s service to others also led them to become foster-parents while caring for their own children.

“Our hope and vision is to serve the community both spiritually and physically, by word and witness,” says Pastor Spence.  This hope sustained vision and spiritual renewal has impelled the ministries under Pastor Spence to preserve its mission and ministry in a hurting world.