About

Dr. Brian L. Powell serves as Superintendent of the Kentucky District Church of the Nazarene, providing leadership to a network of more than 100 congregations and ministry centers across the Commonwealth. The Kentucky District spans metropolitan areas, small cities, and rural communities, reflecting the diverse contexts in which the Church seeks to live out its mission.

Prior to his current role, Dr. Powell served as lead pastor of Decatur First Church of the Nazarene in central Illinois, where the congregation embraced a renewed vision for community engagement and experienced meaningful growth. From 2005 to 2013, he was the lead pastor of Amplify Church in North Carolina. During his tenure, Amplify developed a strong missional identity and saw significant growth, earning recognition in GROW Magazine’s Top 50 church growth list multiple times.

Dr. Powell has served as an adjunct professor in the School of Theology and Christian Ministry at Olivet Nazarene University since 2016. In addition to his academic work, he brings a broad range of pastoral experience to the classroom. From 1998 to 2005, he served in local church ministry as a church planter, associate pastor, and youth pastor, formative roles that shaped his commitment to leadership development, discipleship, and missional engagement.

He holds a Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) from Nazarene Theological Seminary, a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, and a Master of Theological Studies (M.T.S.) from Houston Graduate School of Theology. He earned his Bachelor of Arts from John Wesley College, graduating as valedictorian.

Dr. Powell is deeply passionate about equipping pastors, planting churches, and cultivating missional leadership. He enjoys traveling, reading, writing, playing guitar, riding motorcycles, the outdoors, and lifelong learning. His greatest joy, however, is being a papaw.

Brian and his wife, Heather, met in middle school, began dating in high school, and were married in 1991. Heather is a registered nurse with extensive experience in nursing home administration, consulting, and management. Together, they are the parents of four children—Jake (married to Emily), Amaya, Kacey, and Lilah—and the proud grandparents of Jesse and Zoe Jane.