Guest Speaker: Rev. Joe Ella Darby
Assistant to the Pastor for Discipleship
First Baptist Church Capitol Hill

The Reverend Joe Ella Darby is a native of Mason, Tennessee, born to The Rev. Bertha Darby and the late Rev. Dr. Joseph Darby Sr. and. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree in Human Ecology with a concentration in Child Development, and a Master of Science degree in Social
Work from the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. In 2012, she earned the Master of Divinity degree from Columbia Theological Seminary in Decatur, Georgia.

In 1999, Rev. Darby accepted the call to preach, including the call to full-time ministry, and after the completion of her graduate program, she joined the staff of InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. During the course of her eight years on staff with InterVarsity, she directed the  Collegiate Black Christian Fellowship at the University of Tennessee–Knoxville. In this capacity, she experienced the joy of developing student leaders and student leadership teams. Rev. Darby served in various roles and worked as the Youth Director at Mount Olive Baptist Church in
Knoxville, Tennessee, where she was licensed to preach in 2005. She was ordained by Dr. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. at First Baptist Church, Capitol Hill in Nashville, Tennessee, in 2013.  Rev. Darby has served in inner-city mission work as well as foreign missions in Antigua in the Republic of Guatemala, Ghana, West Africa, Kenya, East Africa and Tanzania, East Africa.

Currently, Rev. Darby is the Vacation Bible School Coordinator at the Sunday School Publishing Board of the National Baptist Convention, USA, Inc., in Nashville. Rev. Darby is an active member—serving as Assistant to the Pastor for Discipleship—of First Baptist Church, Capitol
Hill where Dr. Kelly Miller Smith Jr. is Pastor. She is also a PRN chaplain with Alive Hospice. She enjoys walking, puzzles, traveling, and spending time with family and friends. However, what Rev. Darby wants known most is that she loves Jesus and desires for others to experience real intimacy with the living God.