JESUS CHANGES EVERYTHING
IS HAPPENING
MILWAUKEE, WISCONSIN - USA
Meet Darlene Jones-Grams
Her Story – Gospel Leadership in Milwaukee
Her Leadership
Her Legacy & Impact
Every Revival Starts With You
Urban Worship Music Director
Milwaukee Gospel Singers – Friday Night Live @ St. Marcus | Jesus24365 Ministry
“This is not performance. This is praise.
This is not the spotlight. This is sanctuary.”
— Darlene Jones-Grams
​​Use your God-given gifts to glorify Jesus
through music, sacred housing, and meals that carry the Gospel.
Her Story
For more than 30 years, Darlene Jones-Grams has served as Urban Gospel Worship Music Director with St. Marcus Lutheran Church, and now leads the Milwaukee Gospel Singers – Friday Night Live @ St. Marcus, inspiring revival and gospel leadership in Milwaukee.
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Her calling began as a child when Pastor Lovell Johnson asked what she wanted to do in church. Her answer was immediate: “Sing in the choir.” She never stopped.
Raised on the timeless voices of the Hawkins Singers, Shirley Caesar, Mississippi Mass Choir, and her mother’s records, Darlene’s musical diet was Gospel-fed and Spirit-filled. By high school she was singing in a 100-voice choir with fearless joy — preparing her to lead ensembles of every size with confidence and grace.
Her Leadership
As Urban Worship Music Director for Milwaukee Gospel Singers – Friday Night Live @ St. Marcus, Darlene isn’t just directing notes — she’s encouraging souls.
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Her leadership is defined by a no-drama, high-love culture. She lives out Matthew 18:15, resolving conflict with grace and directness. She will not hand out solos to those unprepared in heart. “If they’re fooling themselves,” she says, “they’re not ready.”
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And yet, she is a gentle giant in the Spirit — full of patience, laughter, and wisdom. She leads not alone but with others, welcoming a rotating directorship model where leaders co-create for Christ’s glory.
“Gospel music is more than notes and rhythm — it’s sacred work of formation.”
— Darlene Jones-Grams
Her Legacy & Impact
Though she laughs at the title “Matriarch in Christ,” Darlene has truly become that — not by loftiness, but by legacy. She has taught music and guitar at St. Marcus, guided singers through decades of gospel waves, and mentored countless young leaders.
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She longs to be life-giving, not drained — to see the vision move from paper into Spirit-led rehearsals, sacred fellowship, and choirs that work and worship as one.
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When asked what young gospel leaders need most, she answers:
“To be around more spiritual people. To see it lived. To see the struggle. To see people fight through. To see what it means to follow Christ in real life.”