Panelist

Jorge Acevedo loves Jesus Christ and His church. Touched by the grace of God at 17, Jorge was never the same. Rescued from a life of addictions, his greatest delight is connecting people to Jesus and the church.

Jorge is the Lead Pastor at Grace Church, a United Methodist congregation in Southwest Florida with three campuses (Cape Coral, Fort Myers Shores, Fort Myers Central). Grace Church is recognized as having one of the largest and most effective recovery ministries in America. Jorge has served in various pastoral roles: 1992 – 1996, Executive Pastor at Christ Church United Methodist in Fort Lauderdale, Florida; 1988 – 1992, Associate Pastor at First United Methodist Church in Kissimmee, Florida; 1984 – 1988, Minister of Youth and Children at Trinity Hill United Methodist Church in Lexington, Kentucky.

Jorge is a 1984 graduate of Asbury College where he received a Bachelor of Arts, majoring in Bible. He is also a graduate of Asbury Theological Seminary with a Master of Divinity. Jorge was ordained as a Deacon in the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church in May 1986 and an Elder in May 1990.

Jorge was the 2001 recipient of the Denman Evangelism Award from the Florida Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church, an award given to a pastor for excellence in evangelism. In 2007, he was named the Distinguished Alumni of the Year at Asbury Theological Seminary. In 2009, the Foundation for Evangelism named Jorge the 2009 Distinguished Evangelist of the United Methodist Church. He was a 1996, 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the Jurisdictional Conference and a 2000, 2004, 2008 and 2012 delegate to the General Conference. Jorge serves on the Southeastern Jurisdiction and Florida Conference Episcopal Committees.

Jorge co-authored Sent: Giving the Gift of Hope at Christmas (Abingdon Press, 2015). He also authored Vital: Churches Changing Communities and the World (Abingdon Press, 2013) and co-authored The Heart of Youth Ministry (Bristol House, 1989). He has also written for the United Methodist Publishing House, Circuit Rider magazine, Good News magazine and Our Faith Today.

Born in Puerto Rico, Jorge, at the age of four months, moved with his family to the United States, where he was raised. Jorge is married to Cheryl Montgomery. Their oldest son, Daniel, and his wife, Courtney, have four beautiful children: Mia, Levi, Seth and Zoe. They also have a younger son, Nathan.