Pastor Josephine “jo” Wolder

Pastor Josephine “Jo” Wolder is a native of Greenville, MS. She accepted her call to preach in 2012 and was ordained an Itinerant Deacon in the African Methodist Episcopal Church at the Illinois Annual Conference by Bishop John R. Bryant in 2015. She received her first pastoral appointment to serve as Pastor of Bethel AME Church in Des Moines, IA in 2019.

Pastor Jo has been actively involved in church all her life and hails from a family of preachers. At an early age her parents instilled in her the value and importance of being in relationship with Christ and serving the Lord. Throughout her life she has served in just about every aspect of church ministry, with music being her passion. At the age of 4 she song her first solo in church and has been actively involved in the music ministry ever since as a choir member, soloist and a choir director.

Pastor Jo’s favorite scripture is Proverbs 3:5-6, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your path.” She has tried to model her life through this verse and believes this verse has carried and sustained her throughout her life!

Pastor Jo is a bi-vocational pastor and has a 30-year career in the field of auditing. She is currently a Director of Internal Audit at a financial institution in Des Moines, IA and holds the professional designations of Certified Internal Auditor (CIA) and Certified Fraud Examiner (CFE). She is a magna cum laude graduate of Jackson State University, Jackson MS with a BS in Accounting.

Pastor Jo has been wonderfully married to the Rev. Gordon E. Wolder for 25 years and is a big proponent of family. They are the proud parents of 2 children, LeMarius and Sigourney and have 3 wonderful grandchildren, Seth, Jai’ana, and Olivia.