Annual Session 2026

The Rev. Dr. Miriam Méndez is a native New Yorker of Puerto Rican descent with a deep and longstanding connection to the American Baptist Churches. With over 25 years of dynamic leadership across pastoral ministry, regional work, spiritual direction, mentoring, seminary teaching, and community engagement, Rev. Méndez has developed a rich and multifaceted perspective on church leadership. She has served in various pastoral roles, including interim pastor, co-pastor, lead pastor, associate pastor, and church planter, which has equipped her with unique insights into the complexities of ministry.

Rev. Méndez has also made significant contributions to theological education, serving as adjunct faculty at George Fox Evangelical Seminary in Portland, Oregon, for 15 years. There, she taught courses in spiritual leadership, reconciliation, and prayer, nurturing the next generation of leaders. Her commitment to leadership development extends beyond the classroom, as she has mentored young women and men, empowering them to build Christ-centered communities dedicated to serving locally, regionally, and globally. This passion led her to participate in the 3rd Lausanne Younger Leaders Conference in Jakarta, Indonesia, where she mentored emerging leaders from over 30 countries.

In her role as Executive Minister for ABCNJ, Rev. Méndez collaborates with local churches on a variety of critical issues, including conflict resolution, pastoral search committees, leadership development, and revitalization efforts for declining churches. Her approach has always been rooted in building strong, collegial relationships with church leaders, and strengthening ties within the region. Before her tenure in New Jersey, she served as the Associate Executive Minister for the American Baptist Churches of the Central Pacific Coast in Oregon, where she also planted Esperanza Church, the first bilingual (Spanish/English) congregation in the region.

Rev. Méndez’s dedication to empowering women, emerging leaders, and advocating for justice has led her to serve on various boards, associations, and committees, including the American Baptist Home Mission Societies, American Baptist Women in Ministry, the Interfaith Movement for Immigrant Justice, and Word Made Flesh—a nonprofit organization committed to serving Jesus among the most vulnerable of the world’s poor. Additionally, she was a founder and member of the Board of Directors of the Oregon Latino Action Agenda, an organization that empowers Latinos to take on civic leadership roles. She is also a member of the New Jersey Coalition of Religious Leaders, which aims to build informed relationships and collaborate around sacred values united in action for the Common Good. 

Her educational journey includes a Bachelor’s in Business Administration from National Louis University, Evanston, IL, a Master of Divinity and Spiritual Director certification from George Fox Evangelical Seminary, and a one-year residency of Clinical Pastoral Education at Emmanuel Hospital in Portland, Oregon. She holds a certificate from the Unid@s for Oregon Leadership Program, a program unifying established and emerging Latino leaders for systems of change. She recently completed her Supervision Certification for Spiritual Directors with the Companioning Center in Oregon.  She is currently completing her Doctorate in Leadership at Portland Seminary.

Rev. Méndez has a lifetime of engagement and ministry with American Baptists, a deep spirituality, and a servant's heart. Her work and experience with cross-cultural communities have prepared her to serve and lead in a manner that honors the humanity of all of God’s creation. Rev. Méndez invites others into a growing awareness of God’s constant and transforming presence in their lives. She loves being curious with others about how God is calling us to be the Church for such a time as this. She has learned that the gifts, skills and abilities she has come out of keeping her life grounded in Christ. In her time with the Holy One, she embraces new ways of thinking and behaving that help her create healthier relationships, ministries, and leadership.

Daniel A. Cali was born in Santa Fe, Argentina, into a Christian home where faith was a way of life. His grandfather served as pastor of the local church. Daniel accepted Christ as his Savior at the age of ten and was baptized two years later — the foundation upon which his entire life would be built. At eighteen, God's call to pastoral ministry became undeniable. 

Daniel pursued He earned a Bachelor of Theology and Biblical Sciences at the International Baptist Theological Seminary in Buenos Aires and a Master of Theology at the Latin American Theological Faculty (FATELA). He pursued doctoral studies at the New York Theological Seminary in New York City. It was at the seminary that he met Estela Wutzke, who has been his faithful partner in life and ministry ever since. Together, they have two children: Bryan (19), an Aerospace Engineering student at Purdue University who serves the Lord by playing the piano, and Alyson (16), a current high school student at Morris Knolls who was selected for the Stanford University Summer Program Scholar and serves the Lord as a flutist and vocalist. 

In 2016, Daniel answered the call to serve as Senior Pastor of the Hispanic Baptist Church in Denville, NJ. He currently serves as Pastor of the Hispanic Baptist Church and the Bible Fellowship Church of Denville, NJ. Since 2022, he has served on the Board of Hispanic Access Foundation. Years ago, he partnered with the Luis Palau Evangelistic Association and Rotary Club International in service to the broader community. During the summers of 2023 and 2024, Daniel conducted firsthand research on the Protestant Reformation and the impact of church mission and faith in the 21st century, traveling the Reformers’ Route through Germany, Switzerland, England, Spain, Italy, and France. This journey deepened his love for the Church and her history and clarified how present conditions directly impact the theology of the church of Christ.

Pastor Jared is a lifelong Monmouth County resident who has served as a pastor in the county for more than 20 years and has been part of several church plants. He currently serves as pastor of First Baptist Church of Red Bank and Branch Church, two congregations working together in a unique Kingdom collaboration to share the love of Christ throughout Monmouth County and beyond.

He is the founder and CEO of TheFeastNJ, which includes Dinner Church and the Heartwarming Center for Women, ministries that serve neighbors experiencing food and housing insecurity.

He holds a Doctor of Ministry from Missio Seminary. Jared and his wife, Kimberly, have been married for 17 years and have three children.

Rev. Dr. Elizabeth "Liz" Ríos is an ordained minister, educator, author, and nationally recognized leader whose ministry equips churches to embody the liberating gospel through justice, discipleship, and community transformation. An Afro-Boricua theologian, she integrates mujerista and barrio theology with over 35 years of experience in pastoral leadership, church planting, and leadership development, helping congregations faithfully engage the social, cultural, and spiritual realities shaping their communities.

Dr. Ríos is the founder of Passion2Plant, one of the nation's few church-planting networks founded and led by a woman, and of The Passion Center, an online faith community and leadership training hub. She also directs the Lilly Endowment-funded Púlpito Fellows program, equipping Latina/o pastors to leverage digital ministry for biblical justice and transformational leadership.

A sought-after speaker and mentor, Dr. Ríos has served as a pastor, nonprofit executive, higher education administrator, and consultant. She is Adjunct Faculty at Fuller Theological Seminary and serves on the board of Sojourners. Through her scholarship and ministry, she challenges the Church to move beyond charity toward solidarity, cultivating communities that bear visible witness to Christ's justice, healing, and hope.

For more information: https://elizabethrios.com/about