Irwyn was born and raised in Brooklyn, NY. In 1987 he met the former Ms. Kim Shepard-El and they were married in 1992. Following his graduation from City College of NY in Harlem with a Bachelor of Engineering in Electrical Engineering, he began his professional career as a systems engineer and project engineering manager in the Washington-Baltimore Metropolitan area.
Irwyn sensed a call to ministry and earned his Masters degree from Reformed Theological Seminary, Washington, DC on a part-time basis while continuing his engineering career. Following his graduation in 2006 Irwyn helped plant City of Hope Presbyterian Church in Columbia, MD.
In 2016, he received the Doctor of Ministry degree from Covenant Theological Seminary. His dissertation was on Identity Formation in Diverse Churches. He firmly believes that the ministry of reconciliation demonstrated in the local church by the gathering of people from diverse backgrounds, cultures, and ethnicities, is the natural outworking of a rich covenantal theological commitment.
As the former Executive Director of the GraceDC Network Institute for Cross-Cultural Mission in Washington, DC. Dr. Ince worked to share his vision to equip churches and ministries with the confidence and competence to welcome others the way Jesus Christ welcomes us. His work at the Institute focused on developing the next generation of Christian leaders for cross-cultural ministry.
Irwyn is a Qualified Administrator for the Intercultural Development Inventory (IDI®) and certified in the Cultural Intelligence (CQ) Assessment tool.
Teaching Elder Irwyn Ince was unanimously elected moderator by the 46th PCA General Assembly – the first African American elected to the position, in 2018.
In 2021, the Permanent Committee of Mission to North America unanimously elected Teaching Elder Irwyn Ince to be MNA Coordinator. In 2022 he was appointed as Adjunct Professor of Pastoral Theology at RTS.
Irwyn is author of The Beautiful Community: Unity, Diversity, and the Church at Its Best, published in 2020 by InterVarsity Press.
Irwyn and Kim have been married for 30 years are the proud parents of four wonderful children and two beautiful, precious granddaughters. In addition to his passion for his family and for ministry, Dr. Ince enjoys coffee and Kettlebells.
