Board of Directors

 Delphine Allen  Associate Pastor - The House of the Lord

Delphine Allen is the Pastor of Intercessory Prayer at The House of the Lord.  She is the founder of Green Meadows Ministries, LLC and recently published her first book: The Fragrance of Prayer: Time Alone in the Presence of God.  She is married to Elder Wesley Allen and is the mother of two children- an adult daughter and a teenage son.  In her spare time she enjoys traveling to the beach, reading historical books and gardening.  She is very excited to serve on the Board of Love Akron because she senses it is a catalyst for positive change in this region.  She has a tremendous burden and passion to see the body of Christ come together to accomplish His purposes for the greater good of our churches and communities.  She especially believes that each city or geographic region has a special or unique calling that can best be accomplished when the local pastors, congregations, and community leaders join hands across ethnic, gender, and denominational lines.

 Dennis K. Butts, Sr. Senior Associate Pastor -The House of the Lord 

Pastor Butts acknowledged his call to the ministry in August of 1974. In August of 1975, he and his wife joined The House of the Lord, which at that time was a small ministry started by Pastor F. Josephus Johnson, AKA Pastor Joey Johnson.  Pastor Butts was ordained as a minister of the gospel of Jesus Christ in April of 1978. In January of 1980, he left his job in the secular world to work full time in the ministry as a staff pastor at the House of the Lord.  He also serves as the Executive Director of Beth-el Fellowship of Visionary Churches where Bishop F. Josephus Johnson serves as the Presiding Bishop. Pastor Butts enjoys gospel music, singing, traveling, skiing, racquetball and conducting seminars in the area of marriage and family, men's retreats, and personal leadership development. But most of all he loves the Lord, his family, the people of God, preaching and teaching the Word of God, experiencing genuine worship and ministering to hurting people at their level of need.  He has been married 34 years to his childhood sweetheart, Jewrusha Butts.  Jewrusha presently works right along her husband in ministry and is intricately involved in Women's Ministry at The House of The Lord. They have two adult married sons, Paul Butts (Kena) and Dennis Kelsey Butts, Jr., (Millicent), and two grandchildren, Makaya and Dennis III. 

 Robert Dejournett  Director of Community Relations & Diversity -Summa Health                          System

Robert has been employed by Summa Health System for 21 years as Director, Community Relations & Diversity.  Robert is responsible for developing and implementing community relations plans that connect the system and Summa Western Reserve Hospital with its target communities.  He also assists the VP of Diversity & Community Relations with advancing Diversity throughout the company and is accountable for obtaining routine community feedback across primary and secondary markets.  His experiences as a minister, as well as personal knack for bringing people together for one common goal, have guided Robert in his efforts to serve the community.  As the Youth Director for his church, Robert successfully led the youth departments of eleven churches in the Akron district toward achieving common goals and activities that would efficiently accommodate the needs and schedules of all locations.  He is married to Charlene DeJournett, and they have 4 daughters- Matelyn, Franshawn, Shatelle & Sharday- and 1 son, Ryan.

 Jay Halley Senior Associate Pastor - The Chapel

When Jay Halley graduated from Ohio State University and began working as a county extension agent in Licking County, Ohio, it didn’t take long for his interest in vocational ministry to develop.  This interest led to training at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School.  Jay now serves as Senior Associate Pastor at The Chapel, giving oversight to the core value of Mission, which includes the departments of Local/National Missions, Global Ministries, and Connections.  Previously he provided leadership to Chapel adult ministries with special emphasis on outreach, discipleship, assimilation, and community.  More recently he initiated the Christ-centered, holistic ministry in southern Mozambique, part of the Chapel’s Fresh Passion effort.  He also helped launch the externally/locally-focused ministry of Chapel Community Service (CCS).  Personal, relational evangelism continues to be a special interest and practice of his.  Jay and his wife, Annette, have been married 24 years and are parents to Daniel, Matthew, and Anna.  Jay enjoys road cycling, reading, hiking, and time with family.  Pastor Halley says of Love Akron: “For some reason, as individual believers or as local churches, we drift toward isolation.  Maybe we are too busy or too inward or just too fuzzy on the strength of unity and united fronts.  I am on board with Love Akron because its design is to help us do what perhaps does not come naturally.  Differences among us?  Sure.  Praying, serving, loving, standing in the name of Christ?  Absolutely.  Ministering to greater Akron?  Together, of course.”

  Scott Myers President - S.D. Myers & The Utopia Report

Scott Myers is married to Gina Burk and is the father of two grown daughters, Ahren and Ariel.  He works at the family business, S.D. Myers Inc., where he is currently CEO and Board Chair, and publishes the Akron area eutopia Report (www.akroneur.com) which posts new ministry and community stories every week.  Scott has been involved with Pastor Ford and Love Akron since its beginning.  He attends Bethany UCC where he teaches the Middle School Sunday School class.

 Mike Kraynak Senior Pastor - St. Luke's Anglican Church

Reverend Mike Kraynak is the Senior Pastor at St. Luke’s Anglican Church in Fairlawn.  He considers himself to be somewhat of a “spiritual mutt,” as he attended Catholic school for 12 years, spent 4 years at a Southern Baptist College and another 7 years at 2 different seminaries, and ended up being an Anglican Priest.  Mike is married to Carol and is the proud father of 5 daughters.  His favorite verse is Ephesians 2:8-9 because, “It is only by God’s grace that I have been rescued by His love.  It’s by His grace that I have been called to lead the community at St. Luke’s…”

 Joe Schoblocher Senior Pastor - Emmanual Christian Assembly

Pastor Joe Schoblocher is the Senior Pastor at Emmanuel Christian Assembly in Barberton.  He has been on staff at ECA since 1983.  He ministered at a local church plant in North Canton from 1990 until assuming the pastorate at Emmanuel in 1996.  Joe is also the Chaplain of the Barberton Fire Department and is actively involved in the community, working alongside of other pastors.  His heart is to see the churches united and laboring together to further the Kingdom of Jesus Christ.  Joe and his wife, Cathy, enjoy spending time with their four children and one grandchild.  In the midst of their busy lives with ministry and family, they also make time to ride their bikes on the Erie Canal towpaths.

 Miriam Walker Director of Church Services - Arlington Church of God

Miriam Walker is the Director of Church Services at the Arlington Church of God.  She enjoys assisting ministry leaders in the recruiting and training of workers for various ministries, coordinating the prayer ministries of the church, and leading a Wednesday afternoon worship service called, “Power Up”.  She works closely in ministry with her husband of 14 years, William, who is the Director of Evangelism at Arlington.  When she is not busy working for the Lord she enjoys baking treats for her family and sewing. Miriam loves to preach the word of God, and her favorite scripture is I Timothy 3:16. “The most powerful book that I have read, that impacted my life other than the Bible was The God Chasers by Tommy Tenney.” Miriam and William have three lovely children: Hannah, William VI, and Manson.