General Assembly 2024 (July 12-15 in Cincinnati, Ohio) is a family event, where all ages are welcome. “I encourage you to bring your family,” says Bishop Lynn Thrush of the Great Lakes Conference. “I know many stories of young people who have come to General Assembly and have found it very meaningful; it’s been out-of-proportion influential in their lives.”
As July approaches, we are thrilled to announce the leaders of our nursery, children, and youth ministries: Rachel Ulloa, Joy Brown, and Marissa Cowan. Along with a qualified team of volunteers they will lead impactful programming for children and teens, leading them consider our theme, “Formed to Follow.”
Rachel Ulloa
Rachel Ulloa will lead the nursery ministry.
Rachel grew up at Highland BIC in West Milton, Ohio. She lived in NYC for several years, serving the BIC church and working at a local charter school. She served in Honduras through BIC U.S. World Missions’ STEP program where she taught at a bilingual elementary school and gained fluency in Spanish. There she also met and married her husband, Ronal.
Today, Rachel and Ronal live in Pleasant Hill, Ohio, with their four children. Rachel homeschools her children and teaches kindergarten at their homeschool co-op. Each summer, she serves as assistant director of Memorial Holiness Camp. Rachel’s passion is to serve Jesus by serving others, and she is excited to lead the nursery ministry at General Assembly this summer.
Nursery ministry is for children two years old and younger.
Joy Brown
Joy Brown will lead the children’s ministry.
Joy has served as the Pastor of Worship and Family Life at Amherst Community BIC Church in Massillon, Ohio, for 14 years. Her passion is to see people of all ages grow in their knowledge and understanding of God’s great love for them and live their lives to honor God. She brings this passion into her work with children as she hopes to open their eyes to the amazing power of Almighty God.
As a wife, mother, aunt, worship leader and teacher, Joy has watched God transform the hearts of children. To her, it is beautiful to watch a child grow to love the Lord and live their life for God even at a young age. She believes God has a beautiful plan and purpose for the life of every child and it is a joy for her to come alongside as children discover this God-given purpose. It is with great excitement and prayerful anticipation that she brings this enthusiasm to the children at General Assembly 2024.
Children’s programming is for students age three through fifth grade.
Marissa Cowan
Marissa Cowan will lead the youth ministry.
Marissa is a full-time therapist for young adults who have recently aged out of foster care in Lexington, Kentucky. While earning a masters in mental health counseling from Asbury Theological Seminary, she served as the youth pastor for Plowshares BIC. She also worked closely with Open Door BIC and Kingdom Life Fellowship to serve the youth of Wilmore, Nicholasville, and Lexington.
She is excited to bring her decade of youth ministry experience to the teens at General Assembly 2024 and create a space for fun, fellowship, and formation.
Youth program is for students in sixth through twelfth grade.
Register for General Assembly
All attendees participating in any part of the day programming must register, including nursery-aged participants, to ensure an adequate child-to-adult ratio. Those who desire to only attend the evening sessions are free to attend without registering. We hope you will register and bring your whole family with you!