Pastor

Pastor Novella Denise Smith was born in Baltimore, Maryland. Raised in a Jamaican household.  Between July 2016 and September 2021 she was assigned to the Metropolitan Seventh-day Adventist Church in Hyattsville, Maryland, as its Youth Pastor.  As a result she has had the pleasure of serving in that assignment with Pastors Trevor Kinlock  (2016-2021) and Alex Royes (2016-2017).   During that time frame the trio served together in Evangelistic campaigns, community engagements, leadership conferences, baptisms and the launch of  two worship services per Sabbath.   Pastor Smith was ordained into gospel ministry by the Allegheny East Conference of Seventh-day Adventist on July 3rd, 2020. In October 2021, Smith became the Senior Pastor of the Beacon Light Seventh-day Adventist Church in Annapolis, Maryland.

Pastor Novella Denise Smith genuinely desires to see all people function at their maximum potential. Thus, she encourages all to seek God for clarity, to be honest with themselves, to serve, and to grow.

Prior to becoming the Youth Pastor of Metropolitan, Smith was a youth leader there. She was appointed as an elder at the age of 19 and was ordained as such at the age of 20. She has served Metropolitan as an Elder (12 years), Teen Ministry Leader (3 years), Pathfinder drum corp leader (7 years), youth Bible study teacher, and many other mentoring and leadership roles.

Pastor Smith graduated from Washington Adventist University in 2011 (Bachelors of Science in Health Care Administration).  She has worked in various business sectors of healthcare to include claims reconciliations, Human Resources and Accounts Management- in the Nursing Home, Assisted Living, Home Health and Prosthetic and Orthotic sector.   In 2015 she received a (Masters of Arts in Religion with an emphasis in Ethical Leadership) from Washington Adventist University.  January 2022-Grief Recovery Method Specialist. From the Grief Recovery Institute.  Director of Complete View Services (Grief Coaching).

As an employee of the Allegheny East Conference she has served the Washington Metro Area Ministerium as its Youth Liaison and has led the Teen Tent during its camp meetings.

Pastor Smith has had the humble opportunity to preach and serve in three mission trips with the Metropolitan SDA Church Mission Team.  Her first trip was to Loiza, Puerto Rico, preaching nightly with the assistance of an interpreter.  The Puerto Rico mission took place after the disastrous hurricanes-Irma and Maria.  Thus, the city of Loiza had sustained major damage.  The mission team was successful in rebuilding a roof of a house, building a covered meeting gazebo, distributing staple food items/toiletries and various gifts to those in need and new tires for the car of the local pastor.

Led by the Spirit, the second mission trip she participated in was to La Ceiba, Honduras in 2019.  The mission included a building project, medical care, evangelistic outreach and creative children’s programs and community food distributions.

Her third mission trip was organized as a youth response to hurricane Michael to Panama City Beach, Florida.  They served a men’s shelter and a women’s recovery house.

Pastor Smith also led the church in several other hurricane relief efforts to Texas, St. Thomas, St. Croix., Bahamas, Dominica, Antigua and Barbuda.  As a result 31 barrels of relief items were shipped to those regions.

One of Pastor Smith’s areas of responsibilities included the adoption of a community center and two public schools.  She was successful in securing a total of $25,000 in grants to meet the needs in those schools.  Yearly, the schools receive back to school supplies, spring gift bags for the students, each school has had an assembly sponsored by the church and responded to an emergency request during the COVID-19 pandemic.

 

The youth division provides back to school supplies, community block parties, conducted school assemblies, organized financial literacy training and a barber academy for the community center.

In 2021 the Life Skills Academy (Hyattsville) was formed to teach life skills to youth in the area. The first course was Auto Detailing. Which Pastor Smith taught as she is the owner of an interior auto detailing company (Deep Style Detail, LLC). The second course that began was: Barbering Basics.

Pastor Smith is a participant on the Hope Channel’s Talk Show: Let’s Talk. She also serves as a  writer for the North American Division of Seventh-day Adventist Women’s Ministries blog called Gorgeous to God and enjoys being the creator and host of the in-house media production Does God Care? -Testimonials about life altering experiences.

Her hobbies include Card Making, auto detailing, Nikon Photography, traveling, floral arranging, and spending time with her niece and nephew.