Joe Iovino Named 2025 Communicator of the Year

Joe Iovino serves as the team lead for denominational content strategy at United Methodist Communications. Since 2014, he has been a devoted and proactive leader within the agency that serves communication ministry by crafting stories and resources to help members and leaders forge forward in faith as United Methodists.

Joe has been instrumental in keeping United Methodists informed and inspired as he oversees UMC.org and ResourceUMC.org - the official denominational websites. Ever mindful and observant, he breaks new ground and takes deep topical dives to ensure denominational content meets the needs of members and leaders across the connection.

Joe empowered members to understand matters surrounding the 2020/2024 General Conference in advance, during, and after the historic event. He managed the team tasked with the Commission on the General Conference’s landing page and ensured timely updates to the ADCA page and other pages that guided members throughout the meeting. Since the conclusion of the 2020/2024 General Conference, Joe has played a pivotal role in helping educate members and leaders on the impact and rollout of legislative decisions that unfolded at the session. Most notably, Joe has played a key role in helping to shepherd multilingual Regionalization resources to provide the necessary and relevant information for decision-making surrounding this important issue.

Joe created and produced the award-winning “Get Your Spirit in Shape” podcast that continues to feature casual conversations with leaders, authors, and others who offer spiritual nutrition and exercises for everyday life. He also launched "The Recap" video series, which offers concise information that started as a response to questions about the current state of the church and has since become a continuing monthly offering.

Joe is the consummate teammate and servant, always willing to make himself available to assist the mission of UMCom and The UMC. He is patient, understanding, and ever watchful and active in addressing the needs, nuances, sensitivities, and unique timeframes of the Church, while ensuring that all members feel welcome and engaged in the life of The UMC.

On the personal side, Joe continues to communicate in word and deed about the importance of family and finding balance to enjoy the gifts God has bestowed. To decompress, he finds joy as he roots for the New York Mets, goes motorcycling, listens to Bruce Springsteen, or watches Ted Lasso. Even in these recreational activities, he takes note of life lessons and insights that he imparts to others in meetings, presentations, and official content.

On his personal website, Joe shares that "I’m on a mission to bridge the gap between faith and the fast-paced reality of the 21st century. As a writer, I’m passionate about sharing insights on what it means to live as a faithful follower of Jesus in today’s everchanging world."

Joe Iovino lives out this calling every day in his role at UMCom, and all who have had the privilege to know or work with him have seen examples of his leaning into this mission. Joe Iovino is the personification of an excellent communicator in all the many facets of that title.