Join us for worship, led by Rev. Doris Barron-Shell.

Born in Pensacola, FL, Doris Barron-Shell was raised by her grandparents in the small town of Atmore, AL.  She dedicated her life to Christ and she has not looked back since accepting the call to pastor and to preach in 1993.

 She is the wife to Irvin David Shell, a loving, beautiful husband and is the mother of two wonderful sons and the grandmother of six beautiful energetic grandchildren.   

Before attending seminary, she initiated several ministerial programs.  Rev. Barron-Shell is the originator of WBRU’s 360 Degree Sunday Morning Gospel Hour, a student run radio program at Brown University in Providence, RI.  This program started in 1988 and is still in existence today.  She is the founder of the Minority Health Collaborative.  An advocate program for providing healthcare information and connecting emergency care providers for all who do not have access to proper healthcare.  The program is now housed at Miriam Hospital, Providence, RI. 

After attending seminary in 2008, Rev. Shell received her Master of Divinity Degree (2011) in Hermeneutics and New Testament, as well as, her Doctor of Ministry degree in Christian Leadership and Hermeneutics.   Both Degrees received from Andover Newton Theology School in 2018 (now ANTS at Yale Divinity School).   She is the recipient of the Claude Black Scholarship Award for Preaching and is also the recipient of the Preachers Award given for Outstanding Preaching.  These awards are given from Andover Newton Theology School and the Boston Theological Institutes respectively.

 Rev. Shell is noted in the annals of history in the Baptist Churches of America.  She is the very first African American female preacher to ever preach from the pulpit of the historic First Baptist Church of America.  She is also the founder of The Preachers Club of Boston.  This club offered participating seminarians from ANTS, Harvard Divinity School and Boston University School of Theology the ability to sharpen their preaching skills and to be reviewed by a panel of local preachers, faculty, and students.