Presenters and Panelists

Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau is the South Pacific Evangelical Region’s General Secretary, appointed in 2019 at the General Assembly in Jakarta. Rachel has been a board member of the New Zealand National Alliance for 7 years, and co-director of the South Pacific WEA Women’s Commission for the last 5 years. In 2017, Rachel was asked to join the WEA Structure Framework Taskforce, and in 2020 she was a member of the WEA Roadmap 2030 Taskforce. Rachel has extensive experience in strategic international and national governance across government, church, business, and community.

Graham Aylett spent 14 years working with Mongolia TEE, serving churches with small-group, in-context, church-based training. He loves to see churches equipping all their members as disciples of Jesus, involved in God’s mission. He’s been a member of the Asia Theological Association’s Commission for Accreditation and Educational Development since 2014. He was involved with ICETE’s dialogue between formal and nonformal theological education and was invited to become an ICETE Board member this year. He’s currently General Secretary of the Increase Association, whose purpose is to connect and strengthen church-based training movements across Asia and beyond.

Don Barger serves as the Global Consultant for Scripture Engagement with the International Mission Board. He has more than 20 years of experience in orality, church planting, and leadership training. For the past two years, Don has studied how information and influence spreads in large cities around the world. His ongoing research explores avenues for effectively sharing the gospel in these urban settings using these same communication models. Most recently, Don has pivoted his focus to include the intersection of artificial intelligence and missions.

Chris and Jan Beard have led Peoples Church Cincinnati since 2001, serving on staff since 1992. They share a burden for making the church like heaven on earth. Captivated by Matthew 24:14 and Ephesians 2:15, the church has united to become a “racially reconciling, generational rich, life-giving church, flourishing in the heart of Cincinnati.” Peoples Church and Network yearns to see this gospel of the Kingdom heal historical fractures between Black and White believers and to intentionally include the nations, so the world will experience Jesus as Redeemer, Reconciler and Restorer. Peoples enjoys over 42 nations serving the King together as a “one new humanity” body.

Matthias K. Boehning serves as Co-Director of the World Evangelical Alliance Sustainability Center, Permanent Representative of the WEA to the United Nations in Bonn, Germany, and Chief Diplomat for Thomas Schirrmacher, WEA Secretary General. He has an academic background in development economics and business administration and has studied in Germany and South Africa. Furthermore, he is Managing Director of PIRON Global Development, an agency for project management, fundraising, consulting, and communication services with offices in Bonn, Germany and Accra, Ghana, assisting clients in international development cooperation, humanitarian aid and faith-based charitable work.

Esme Bowers lives in Cape Town and serves the chairperson of the Evangelical Alliance of South Africa. She is director of the WEA’s Church and Community Department and has served in many capacities with the WEA. She has also served as international secretary for the Lausanne Movement for 4 years, hosted the 3rd Lausanne Congress at Cape Town 2010 and retired as board secretary in 2015. As a social justice activist, she is engaged in issues of racism, sexism and poverty and advocates for the ‘whole church taking the whole gospel to the whole world.”

Rev. Emerson L. Boyce, a native of Barbados and a “BarTrin” by marriage and association, has been engaged in active Christian ministry since 1976. He is the founder and president of GospeLife Ministries; a church ministries consultant, missions practitioner, and certified Christian Meeting Professional (CMP); a leadership development trainer; and a director of Prison Fellowship of Trinidad amd Tobago (PFTT). Emerson has planted and revitalized congregations and is a frequent lecturer and speaker on issues of leadership, evangelism, organizational development and innovative thought on church life and mission. Currently he serves the Evangelical Association of the Caribbean (EAC) as its Secretary General and CEO.

Darrell L. Bock is Senior Research Professor of New Testament Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary in Dallas, Texas and serves as Executive Director of Cultural Engagement at the Hendricks Center for Christian Leadership there. Darrell has authored or edited over forty-five books, including a New York Times bestseller in non-fiction, numerous works on Jesus and the gospels, and the recently released Cultural Intelligence: Living for God in a Diverse, Pluralistic World. In addition, he does occasional work for Christianity Today, He is married to Sally and has three married children (two daughters, one son), three grandsons and two granddaughters.

Bruce Bruinsma, founder of Envoy Financial, brings over 40 years of specialized experience to the table in Christian retirement planning. His expertise has been instrumental in establishing businesses that sustain ministries and missionary communities not just in the United States, but also across Europe and Asia. Holding an MBA from UC Berkeley, Bruce is the driving force behind the Retirement Reformation, a movement designed to redefine retirement as an active, purpose-driven life stage. A prolific author and a sought-after media expert, Bruce, along with his wife Judy, is deeply committed to living a fulfilling and impactful retirement in Colorado, all while serving God’s Kingdom.

Janet Buckingham lives in Ottawa, Canada and has served as the Director of Global Advocacy for the World Evangelical Alliance since July 2021. She is also the executive editor of the International Journal for Religious Freedom, the flagship publication of the International Institute for Religious Freedom. Janet is a Professor of Political Studies at Trinity Western University with a research focus on religious freedom law in Canada and internationally. She is also the co-director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Vancouver). She has a doctorate in public law from the University of Stellenbosch, South Africa.

Ovidiu Bulzan was born in Arad, Romania in 1953 and graduated from the School of Architecture with honors in 1975. In 1976, Ovidiu joined the national five-man team that started disciple making in Romania with the Navigators. After the 1989 revolution, he became the senior pastor of Golgotha Baptist Church and in the subsequent years completed his M.Div and PhD. Between 1996 and 2004, Ovidiu was a professor at Emanuel University of Oradea, then their Vice President of Academic Affairs. Since 2008 he has discipled leaders of the Romanian evangelical diaspora of Central Europe.

Henry Cappello has garnered 40 years of experience in leadership of international organizations, investing a significant amount of time into motivating and raising up today’s leaders for the world of tomorrow. Henry is the founding director of several global organizations, including Arise International, Caritas in Veritate International and Caritas in Veritate USA, as well as Global2033—an alliance of organizations to bring Faith, Formation and Follow-Up to the next generation by 2033. Hundreds of thousands of young leaders have been touched and influenced and encouraged in more than 46 nations in five continents.

Born in Taiwan and educated in Canada, Samuel Chiang first worked with Ernst & Young before graduating from Dallas Theological Seminary, where he currently serves on the board. Samuel lived with his family in Hong Kong for 25 years, where he served the church in China and later the global church, travelling to over 90 countries, teaching, coaching, and consulting in 40 of them. He is published extensively on orality and other disciplines. Certified in Systemic Team Coaching, Samuel tends to executives and their teams. He has co-founded 16 companies and previously served as CEO of Seed Company. He is presently Deputy Secretary General for the World Evangelical Alliance.

Rei Lemuel Crizaldo concurrently serves as the Theological Commission Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) and the theological education network coordinator of Tearfund UK in East and Southeast Asia. He is on the faculty of the seminary of the Iglesia Evangelica Metodista en las islas Filipinas (Evangelical Methodist Church in the Philippine Islands) and is also a published author with several books, including Boring Ba Ang Bible Mo? (Is Your Bible Boring?), which won the ‘Filipino Reader’s Choice Award.’ He is a licensed professional teacher with an MA from the College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines – Diliman.

Alan Cross is pastor of Petaluma Valley Baptist Church in Petaluma, CA and is author of When Heaven and Earth Collide: Racism, Southern Evangelicals, and the Better Way of Jesus (NewSouth Books). He has worked in immigration advocacy and ministry for many years, has led development projects and mission work in North India and Haiti, and is currently doing doctoral work at Fuller Theological Seminary with a focus on how evangelical churches around the world can best receive immigrants and refugees. He has written for the New York Times, Time Magazine, and others. Alan leads the Migration sphere for the Global Strategy Forum.

Pastor Juan Cruz was born on December 17, 1982. He is Argentinean, but today he is living in Paraguay with his family. He’s been married to Carolina for 20 years, and they have three children: Abigail, Juan Cruz Jr. and Tatiana. He is a President of the Vuelve a Soñar Association and the Funda Joven Foundation, NGOs working to prevent problems and carry out social projects in such areas as suicide, bullying, and sexual abuse. He is also president of the Latin Evangelical Alliance, which encompasses 22 nations, working to advance the gospel in unity with national alliances.

Martin Deacon is president of Teach Every Nation (TEN), a ministry using video-based training called the Bible School on Wheels. TEN is training pastors and leaders in over 80 Global South countries and in 10 major languages. The TEN campus in South Africa has trained 7,000 leaders who have launched over 5,000 church-based Bible schools. Martin is married to Anneli, graduated from Dallas Seminary and has lectured at the Baptist Theological College, University of Johannesburg, Haggai, Equip and Walk Thru the Bible.

Martin Dieckmann from Germany has been the Chief Executive Officer of House of Hope since 2014. House of Hope is an international social mission and relief organization that strives to help those who find themselves in times of crisis or on the fringes of society. An interdisciplinary, international team, House of Hope is represented in different cities in Germany, such as Frankfurt and Göttingen, and in Israel. Hope Hubs and disaster relief teams are based in Germany, Poland, and Ukraine.” Martin is married and has one child.

Dr. Ylli Doçi has served in Christian ministry since graduating from university in 1995 and has held multiple leadership roles in Albania and abroad. In 2003 he graduated from Denver Seminary with a Master of Arts degree in philosophy of religion. He completed doctoral studies in 2018 in social anthropology, focusing on inter-religious dynamics. Ylli is one of the founders of the Cornerstone Church of Albania and has served as chairman of the Inter-Religious Council of Albania, which is composed of top representatives of the five recognized religions in Albania. Dr. Doçi is currently the European director of the International Leadership Foundation.

Connie Main Duarte works in Global Ministries for BGC Canada and lives in Portugal. She is the General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance; a pastor at the Meeting Point, a Baptist church in Estoril, Portugal; a board member of the World Evangelical Alliance; and the chair of Crescer com Amigos, an association that works with vulnerable children in the Portuguese school system who need care and extra attention to be successful in school. She is involved in staff training for the GBU Portugal. She speaks at conferences around Europe.

Born, raised, and converted to Christ in Geneva, Switzerland, Olivier was trained in graphic arts before doing a Discipleship Training School with YWAM, followed by two Bible schools in Dallas, TX, and Sydney, Australia. Olivier developed the Alpha courses in French-speaking Switzerland (1997-2010). In March 2007, Olivier received a “Godly visitation” in Sydney, with the clear objective to celebrate the 2000 years of the resurrection at Easter 2033 and the decade of the resurrection (2023-2033). Ever since that time, Olivier’s work has been centered on seeing the vision’s fulfillment. So far he has traveled to more than 60 countries and met with heads of churches and movements.

Aiah D. Foday-Khabenje is country director for Children of the Nations – Sierra Leone and immediate past General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa. Prior to this, he served as General Secretary of the Evangelical Fellowship of Sierra Leone. He holds a Ph.D. from South African Theological Seminary, a D.Min. from Asbury Theological Seminary, an M.A. from Wesley Biblical Seminary in the USA, and a BSc, and an MBA from the University of Sierra Leone. He is a Fellow of the Association of British Dispensing Opticians (FBDO). He is author of Competencies for Leading in Diversity and Byang Kato: Life and Legacy of Africa’s Pioneer Evangelical Theologian.

Dwight Gibson, Chief Explorer for The Exploration Group, guides executives on growth expeditions in the model of the historic explorers. Dwight holds degrees from Wheaton College Graduate School and Indiana Wesleyan University and a certificate in Executive Development from the Johnson School at Cornell University. Dwight is the board chair of the Simpson Park Camp Meeting Grounds Association, serves on the Simpson Park Annual Camp Meeting Committee in Michigan, serves on the scholarship committee of the Wheaton College Graduate School, and is board chair emeritus of ChinaSource, Dwight is married with three young adult children and lives outside Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Ricki Gidoomal serves as EVP, Academic & Partner Services for Whole Word Institute. He also serves the Lausanne Movement as catalyst for orality, and he co-authored Master Storyteller: God’s Oral Communication in the Bible and Hebrew Tradition (COS/Lausanne). He graduated from the University of Oxford with an MA (Oxon) in Russian and linguistics and has extensive experience in business and non-profit leadership, communications and marketing. Ricki has lived, worked, and ministered in English, Russian, Spanish and Hebrew contexts. Currently Ricki and his wife live in Oxfordshire, UK with their three teenage children.

Mark Greene has been a pioneer in workplace ministry and whole-life discipleship for over 30 years. His books on work and everyday discipleship include Thank God’s It’s Monday, Transforming Work, Making Disciples for the Workplace and Fruitfulness on the Frontline. A former New York adman, Mark became vice-principal of the London School of Theology, and then served for 21 years as executive director at the London Institute for Contemporary Christianity, founded by John Stott. He is now their mission champion, focused on writing, speaking and resource development. He is married to Katriina, a Finn, and they have three adult children.

Dalen Harrison is the co-founder of Ole Holdings, Inc., a strategic holding company providing sustainable innovations to address challenges of individual nations so as to enable technology independence, a pathway toward graduation from IGO assistance and economic empowerment for each person in the country.
Dalen has been at the cutting edge of television technologies for the last twenty-eight years. He was responsible for the first social media-enabled TV network, the first interactive advertising campaigns across cable and satellite operators, and many other innovations. These innovations have demonstrated huge audience participation rates and 300% growth in advertising dollars over standard advertising rates when customers engage directly with the advertising.

Desmond Henry is a missional thought-leader, professor of missiology, author, and speaker who serves the global church in evangelism and mission. Desmond is married to Lara and has three daughters; they reside in Johannesburg, South Africa. Desmond is a Catalyst for Proclamation Evangelism at the Lausanne Movement and is the chairman of Conspectus, the theological journal of the South African Theological Seminary. He serves as the international director of the Global Network of Evangelists for the Luis Palau Association.

Dr. Gary G. Hoag serves as President and CEO of Global Trust Partners. The purpose of GTP is to multiply faithful stewards and mobilize peer accountability groups to build trust and grow generous local giving to God’s work. This service springs from extensive international ministry, a desire to empower national workers, and his personal commitment to dedicating his life to encouraging Christian generosity. He received his Ph.D. in New Testament from Trinity College, Bristol, UK. He teaches at seminaries around the world, speaks widely, posts daily meditations, and has written or contributed to more than ten books.

Victor Hou serves as Associate Vice President for Global Advance at the International Mission Board. Victor has over 30 years of experience working with global organizations to leverage strategic opportunities for sustainable results. As AVP, Victor works with organizational and field leaders to address the challenges of gospel poverty around the world.

Ben Jack is the global head of Advance, a partnership between the Message Trust and the Luis Palau Association that seeks to equip, encourage and empower the church for evangelism and stir up the gift of evangelism. An evangelist for more than two decades, Ben has written or contributed to a dozen books on evangelism—including If Jesus Is the Answer … What Is the Question?—and is also known as DJ Galactus Jack. Ben serves on the Global Network of the Evangelists Council and on the UK Evangelical Alliance’s Evangelism Advisory Group. He lives in Manchester, England with his wife Naomi, daughter Halle and their pug Toshi. I assume this is what EAUK means.

Todd M. Johnson, PhD, is the Eva B. and Paul E. Toms Distinguished Professor of Mission and Global Christianity and co-director of the Center for the Study of Global Christianity at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Johnson is research associate at Boston University’s Institute for Culture, Religion and World Affairs, leading a research project on international religious demography. He is co-author of the World Christian Encyclopedia (2nd and 3 rd editions), co-editor of the Atlas of Global Christianity, and series editor (with Ken Ross) of the 10-volume Edinburgh Companions to Global Christianity series. He is co-editor of the World Christian Database and the World Religion Database (Brill).

Ali Kalkandelen is pastor and the present chairman of the Protestant Churches Association in Turkey and head pastor of the Avrasya Church Network. Born and raised in Turkey, he has an undergraduate and a master’s degree in psychology from Istanbul University and Denver Seminary, Colorado, USA. He has been married for 29 years to his wife Pervin. They have two children, İlayca (24) and Birce (22). Ali and his wife, along with pastoring, are active in both local and international ministries, Christian TV programs, and ministry training schools. He is also author of the book God’s Message of Love.

Edwin Keh is the CEO of the Hong Kong Research Institute of Textiles and Apparel. He also teaches supply chain operations in the Operations, Information and Decisions Department of the Wharton School, University of Pennsylvania. Edwin had a career as senior executive with several international consumer goods and retail companies. He also worked for the United Nations High Commission for Refugees. Edwin is on the advisory board of multiple social enterprises, research organizations, and NGOs and served on the board of Whittier College, CA and the Expert Panel for H&M Foundation’s Global Change Award.

Rev. Dr. Sam D. Kim is a Harvard-Trained ethicist and the co-founder of 180 Church. He was appointed as a research fellow in global health and social medicine at the Center for Bioethics at Harvard Medical School and was part of Harvard Catalyst, where he explored the inequities surrounding health, immigration, and social policies. He lives in NYC with his wife Lydia and his two sons, Nathan and Josh. His first book, A Holy Haunting, won the ’23 International Book Award for best book in Religion: Christianity. He has written for Christianity Today, EMO, Seminary-Now and the YouVersion on the Bible App.

Dr. Manfred W. Kohl has served in many senior roles in theological education and has personally visited a total of 495 theological institutions. In his academic capacity, he has published over 120 books and articles and has received numerous awards and honorary doctorate degrees. During the course of his ministry, he established the Christian humanitarian organisation World Vision in several European countries and founded Re-Forma, an institution that has set a global standard for non-formal theological education. He also founded the Galilean Movement, which calls for an additional one million women and men for biblical ministry each year.

Born and raised in Bolivia, Dave served in Brazil with OCI/Sepal for 20 years. He has worked in disciple-making since 1974, and in training and mentoring pastors and leaders since 1984. He wrote over twenty books for small groups and co-authored the Discipleship Bible in Portuguese and Spanish. His vision is “healthy disciple-making pastors; healthy disciple-making churches.” David mentors leaders of these movements in ten Latin American countries. He leads Discipling and Pastoring of Pastors (DPP) and works with Evangelical Alliance leaders in the Decade of Disciple-Making (DoDM) in Latin America. He is married to Debbie and has four grown children.

James Kramer is CEO and co-founder of Commissioned, Pneuma33 Creative and World Changer Foundation. James believes Christians should be on the leading edge of technology, innovation and design. He believes heaven holds the answer to every problem our world faces and that Christians fueled by the power of the Holy Spirit can transform every sphere of culture. Over the last decade, James has helped position hundreds of businesses into greater levels of growth and impact in their industries. With clients ranging from serial entrepreneurs to multi-billion-dollar companies, James has a proven track record in recognizing market opportunities and effective brand strategies.

Peter Markovich Kremeruk is a pastor and leader of the Evangelical Alliance in Uzbekistan (EAU). He has been in ministry since 1994 and was called to be a pastor in 1997 even in the face of being fined and convicted for illegal worship. In 2001, he obtained legal status for his church, the Mercy Evangelical Church, and led it for 14 years before being elected to the head position in the EAU. Today he works with 20 different nationalities across Uzbekistan, impacting society through sports, medicine, business, media, social work and more.

Jurie Kriel is currently part of the senior leadership of Shoreline Church in Austin, Texas and leads NXT Move, which is tasked with gathering Christian leaders to turn around the negative trajectory of Christianity in the next generation. Seeing duplication and siloed thinking as the greatest obstruction to fulfilling the Great Commission, Jurie serves as the Director of Collaborative Action with the Lausanne Movement. Jurie has preached and facilitated strategic change as a leadership consultant in 36 US states and 48 countries. Jurie and Karin have been joyfully married for 23 years and are blessed with two boys, Joshua and Ethan.

John Langlois joined the WEA staff full-time upon graduation from seminary, working with the Theological Commission. Two years later WEA had a major financial crisis when all staff lost their positions, as a result of which John went back home in the island of Guernsey, Channel Islands, to start a new law practice (now the largest offshore law practice in the world) to finance his continuing WEA work, which he has continued ever since. In 2008 the WEA General Assembly designated him as International Council Member Emeritus for life, the only one since the WEA was founded in 1846.

Georgie Lee’s career spans over 50 years in journalism, stockbroking, and investment banking. After graduating with an honors degree in business administration from the National University of Singapore, Georgie honed his skills in journalism with Singapore’s national newspaper, the Straits Times, and subsequently, with the Financial Times of London as its Singapore correspondent. He then worked as a stockbroker and investment banker at leading Asian financial institutions. George and his son, Galven, authored a bestselling 300-page book, Unfolding His Story, on the history of the charismatic movement in Singapore. He continues to contribute regularly to Christian publications in the area of faith, work, and business. George is the Immediate Past President of Gatekeepers Singapore, a marketplace ministry, and an elder of the Chapel of the Holy Spirit, an Anglican church that he helped plant in 1979.

Jonathan E. Lim is a physician-turned-entrepreneur, investor, filmmaker and philanthropist dedicated to revitalizing people, planet and perspective in the healthcare, media and entertainment industries. He has been the chairman and CEO of three biotech companies that have gone public and reached valuations exceeding $1 billion, including currently serving as Chairman and CEO of Erasca, which he co-founded in 2018 with a mission to erase cancer. Jonathan is also a managing partner at City Hill Ventures, venture partner at ARCH Venture, film producer at City Hill Arts, philanthropist at City Hill Foundation, and member of Redeemer Presbyterian Church in San Diego.

Dr. Peirong Lin is a theologian and a passionate human development professional. She has been the WEA Deputy Secretary General for Operations since March 2021. Prior to being the deputy, she was human resource director and research coordinator for the World Evangelical Alliance’s Department for Theological Concerns. She brings with her a unique mix of praxis and theory. Besides working with World Vision in the Asia-Pacific region, she has studied at university institutions on three different continents, obtaining a bachelor’s degree in business administration, a master’s degree in organizational leadership and a PhD in theology and religious studies.

Since 2004 Grant Lovejoy has been Director of Orality Strategies for IMB, where he is a member of IMB’s global strategy leadership team. Grant leads a team that develops heart-language Scripture resources in appropriate media, especially for Bible-less languages and oral cultures. He also advocates for contextualizing church leadership training and theological education for oral cultures. Since 2009 Grant has overseen IMB’s outreach to 34 million culturally-Deaf people around the world.Grant has been a pastor to students, church planter, pastor, and seminary professor. He has contributed to and co-edited five books, including Biblical Hermeneutics (2d ed., 2002) and Making Disciples of Oral Learners (2005).

Dr. Theresa Lua is director of the WEA Global Theology Department and General Secretary/Accreditation Secretary of the Asia Theological Association, a network of about 390 theological institutions from 33 countries all over Asia and beyond. For ten years she served as dean of the Asia Graduate School of Theology-Philippines, a consortium of eight theological schools offering doctoral programs. She is a board member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) and Re-Forma. She has also been appointed by the Commission on Higher Education in the Philippines as a member of the Technical Committee for Christian Formation.

Beniamin Lup is a lawyer and advocate; as the Eastern European regional director of Walk Thru the Bible, he planted churches and defended religious freedom in Romania. He holds a law degree in constitutional law and a master’s degree in criminal science from the Western University of Timisoara, he also graduated from the Romanian Diplomatic Institute in international relations. Together with Uncaged, Benjamin opened a sanctuary for the rehabilitation and reintegration of survivors of human trafficking in the Timisoara area of Romania. He serves in both Romania and the Republic of Moldova, focusing on fundamental rights and freedoms and the prevention of trafficking in persons.

Ruslan Maliuta currently serves at OneHope, a global ministry that helps children engage with God’s story, supporting several networks, including the World Evangelical Alliance. Since 2019 he has facilitated a global task force for WEA’s Decade of Disciple-Making. Ruslan has over 22 years of experience in full-time ministry, working with churches, NGOs, and networks. Since 2013 he has been called to global ministry through traveling, speaking, and serving leaders in more than 40 countries. He is a co-founder of the World Without Orphans movement. Ruslan is actively pursuing unity among Christian movements in working towards a shared vision.

Dr. Zenet Maramara serves as board chair of Global Trust Partners. She engages with Christian organizations that advance accountability, mobilizing God’s resources, creation care, and integral mission. Zenet is the founding president of the Christian Stewardship Association and one of the founders of Christians in Conservation and the Christian Council for Transparency and Accountability. She is a professor of biblical stewardship and resource development at Bakke Graduate University (BGU) and Asian Theological Seminary. She has multiple master’s degrees in education, journalism, and divinity plus an MBA and a D.Min. in transformational leadership from BGU.

Dr. Jay Mātenga is director of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Global Witness department and executive director of the WEA’s Mission Commission. Jay also leads Missions Interlink NZ, the missions alliance in Aotearoa New Zealand. Jay is of mixed New Zealand Māori and European heritage, and his Māori roots are particularly influential in how he serves the global church in missions. Jay draws on his indigenous perspective, experience, and research in his leadership responsibilities to encourage unity in diversity, which matures us in Christ through the tensions of difference.

Dr Master.O. Matlhaope is the General Secretary of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA).The AEA is involved in integral mission, theological and Christian education, leadership training, accreditation of theological education, publishing of Christian materials, amplifying evangelicals’ voice through podcasts and broadcasts, relief and humanitarian activities, advocacy, standing with persecuted Christians and building resilience against challenges, all with a particular focus on reaching youth. Master is passionate about seeing the gospel baton passed well to future generations of Christians.

Mary-Catherine McAlvany is co-vice chairman of the Global Strategy Forum, for which she also spearheads the arts and entertainment team, and she also serves as co-artistic director of the Wildwood Dance Project. She is a member, choreographer, and theater director for Merely Players Theater Company in Durango, Colorado. Mary-Catherine studied musical theater at Humphrey’s School of Musical Theater, contemporary dance in London at Trinity Laban Conservatoire of Music and Dance, ballet at Boston Ballet Academy, and the visual arts at Oxford and at Glassell School of Art. A graduate in philosophy and theology from Boston College, Mary-Catherine is also an associate member of Keble College, Oxford.

Terri Miller serves as global church ambassador for the National Association of Evangelicals, North American Regional Coordinator with the World Evangelical Alliance, and a ReachGlobal area leader for Europe with a focus on resourcing and training. She has called Minneapolis, Johannesburg, Wheaton, Hefei (china), and Moscow “home” and currently resides in Bloomington, Minnesota.

Dr. Angela Moore has been married to Todd for 25 years and has hosted weekly Bible studies for more than 23 years at home and at her faith-based dermatology clinic and clinical research center. She is Christian Medical Dental Association Dermatology Section Chair and editor for the Journal of the American Academy of Dermatology Clinical Pearls Section. As clinical assistant professor at Baylor University Medical Center, Angela has been principal Investigator in over165 clinical trials, has authored more than100 publications and has co-edited 2 dermatology textbooks. She has lectured and led mission trips to more than 50 countries. Her passions are workplace ministry, global disciple making, and generosity.

Dr. Todd Moore practiced colon and rectal surgery for more than 15 years before retiring to focus on ministry. Todd is Via (formerly CMM) board chairman and has served as an elder of Central Bible Church (CBC), Fort Worth, for 12 of the past 17 years. Todd graduated from CBC’s two-year theological training course. He teaches on Sundays and hosts weekly Bible studies. After extensive training by Seed Company, Todd received certification as a Bible translation consultant. He has done medical outreach and translation checking in more than 60 countries. Todd has been married to Angela for 25 years, and they reared sons Drew and Luke in Texas. They are passionate about global disciple-making.

Werner Nachtigal is an evangelist with a passion to reach people with the gospel. He is the international president of GO Movement, through which over 120 million Christians worldwide have been mobilized to share the gospel. In 12 years, more than 66 million people have made a decision for Christ . Werner’s evangelistic booklets and tracts have had a cumulative print run of over 275 million. He and his wife Birgitta live in Berlin and have three grown children.

A graduate of Moody Bible Institute, Northwest Nazarene University and George Fox Evangelical Friends Seminary, Ray Neu is deeply committed to lifelong learning. Ray has designed oral and visual learning systems for several global ministry partners. His passion for empowering those who love God’s Word, yet lack an opportunity to enter formal theological school drives innovative approaches to creating sustainable, culturally reproducible theological training. It has also earned him the moniker of ‘The Story Doctor.’ Ray’s current role is as director of orality coaching at Spoken Worldwide, where his team trains tens of thousands of people each year.

Dr. Michael A. Ortiz serves as Vice President for Global Ministries and Associate Professor of Missiology and Intercultural Ministries at Dallas Theological Seminary. He oversees the seminary’s language programs (Chinese and Spanish), free online programs, international student development and discipleship, research on global pastoral training, and worldwide training of pastoral leaders. Michael also currently serves as international director for the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education, and as vice president for the South Central Region of the Evangelical Missiological Society. He’s been married to Kathy for over thirty-five years, and they have two adult children.

Nick Parker is the global partnerships lead for the evangelism ministry Christian Vision (CV). After studying public relations, Nick spent four years working in the production and events industry before joining CV’s community department in 2013. Initially, he served as a community specialist before being promoted to community manager. In 2022 Nick stepped into his new role as global partnerships lead, looking at how CV can strategically partner with churches, ministries and individuals to further the gospel. He is married to his wife of ten years, Kerryn, and they have two sons, Caden and Roman.

Dr. Jeremy Perigo is professor of theology and worship arts at Dordt University and a visiting lecturer and research supervisor at Regent University and London School of Theology. Additionally, he has taught on worship in diverse global contexts for the past two decades. He has a doctorate in worship studies, which focused on the contextualization of Christian worship in Middle Eastern contexts. Jeremy ministers internationally as a worship leader, preacher, saxophonist and theological educator. He hosts Worship/Theology, a podcast focused on faith and practice. He lives in rural northwest Iowa, USA with his wife and three daughters.

Dr. Timo Plutschinski, an evangelical theologian and business strategist, is director of the World Evangelical Alliance´s Business Coalition and chairman of the Global Strategy Forum. Furthermore, he is on the advisory board of the Christian Economic Forum and represents the WEA at the Commission of the Churches on International Affairs at the World Council of Churches. Additionally, Timo has launched both the WEA Global Foundation Fund and the WEA Charity Fund and serves as partner of MIC Corporate Finances, which provides a global mergers and acquisitions platform focusing on company transactions. He lives with his family in Nice and Côte d´Azur.

Jonatan Proietti is the Latin Global Network of Evangelists director for the Luis Palau Association. He works to raise up a network of evangelists in every Spanish-speaking country and to celebrate and accelerate every expression of unity in the church. He also serves as the interpreter for Andrew Palau in all his Hispanic outreaches and is on the pastoral team of a Baptist church in his hometown . In 2022, he was confirmed as the Latin Evangelical Alliance’s executive director. He is also a member of the National Executive Committee of the Argentinian Evangelical Alliance.

Simpson Rebbavarapu was born in the small town of Ongole, India and was raised in an orphanage. He became engaged in Scripture-based missions outreach and was called to the ministry during the teenage years, with a mission to reach the lost people without God’s word. For many years, Simpson has worked on audio Scripture translations so that communities can have access to the gospel in their heart language. He set up a mission organization in India in 1992, providing access to Scripture for millions of Indians in several languages, and currently his efforts are extending to language communities in Africa and Asia.

Eduardo Retta serves as director of the Global Institute of Leadership for the 22 countries in the Evangelical Alliance of Latin America (AEL). He is an advisor to the AEL board of directors. Eduardo knows the region well, having served as a consultant to global brands there—Citibank, FedEx, General Motors and others. He previously served in full-time Christian ministry in 14 countries in Latin America with the ministry Operation Mobilization. Retta graduated from Texas A&M University and Dallas Theological Seminary. He also served as a citizen diplomat for the US Department of State’s International Visitor Leadership Program.

Shawn Ring has an extensive history as a technologist, business leader, speaker, connector, and Bible Translation and healthcare advocate. Shawn brings over 28 years of experience in international and domestic business, with startup growth exceeding $130M in annual revenue in B2C and B2B models. Shawn is a second-generation pastor and holds an MBA in international business and a bachelor’s degree in information technology, data communication, and global networks from American Intercontinental University. He currently serves as CEO and president of Avodah, Inc. and is passionate about the blend of ministry, business, and the local church.

Before reading theology at Ridley Hall Theological College, Cambridge, Kina worked in the fashion industry and was involved in several entrepreneurial ventures. She holds a Master’s degree in Theology, Ministry & Mission – which included research on the subject of Christian Entrepreneurship. Her research led her to undertake interviews with 50 Christian entrepreneurs in the UK, with the work being the topic of a published book she co-authored with Richard Higginson – A Voice to be Heard: Christian Entrepreneurs Living out their Faith. Kina is passionate about empowering women and supporting educational programmes in developing countries.

Chansamone Saiyasak, PhD/DMin., serves in the Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (EFT), chairing its Working Committee for Developing New Generation Leaders. As the president of the Asian Society of Missiology and the SEANET (Buddhist-Missiological) Forum leader, he has led, challenged, and galvanized Asian indigenous missional thinking and practices. As founder and president of Mekong Evangelical Mission, Mekong Bible Seminary, Charisa Technological College, and Nathan Company in Thailand, he has mobilized and trained national leaders of mainland Southeast Asia to evangelize, disciple, and plant churches, as well as engage in missional business, education, and community development, for over 30 years. He’s married to Piyapon.

Yolande Sandoua, from the Central African Republic, is assistant to the dean of Bangui Evangelical School of Theology and also a PhD candidate in missiology. She is in the process of opening a Christian bookstore and is interested in training, equipping and empowering Christians.

Samuel Richmond Saxena is an Indian educator, musician and eco-theologian. He enjoys advocating for creation care, science and theology and is presently serving as director and associate professor at the Centre for Advanced Religious Studies, North East Christian University, Nagaland. Samuel is also an academic consultant at Caleb Institute, Gurgaon. He has done postdoctoral studies at Fuller Theological Seminary, USA and holds a PhD in ecotheology from SHUATS in India. He is an honorary secretary of the Theological Commission of the Evangelical Fellowship of India and a member of the WEA Theological Commission, World Evangelical Alliance. He is also a project officer with the WEA Sustainability Centre.

Justin Schell is passionate about serving God’s church and its mission in the world. He is the director of executive projects for the Lausanne Movement as well as the US director for the Union School of Theology. He studied mission and biblical theology at Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary and business administration at EDHEC Business School. Justin is author of Come and See: A History and Theology of Mission, as well as the forthcoming The Mission of God in the Short Studies in Biblical Theology series. He is husband to Megan and daddy to Henry and Evie. They are members of Evergreen Church in Tulsa, Oklahoma, USA.

Archbishop and Prof. Thomas Schirrmacher, PhD, DD (born 1960) has been the World Evangelical Alliance’s Secretary General since 2021. He is also president of the International Council of the International Society for Human Rights. Until 2021, he was the WEA’s Associate Secretary General for Theological Concerns (Theology, Theological Education, Intrafaith and Interfaith Relations, Religious Freedom, Research), and director of the International Institute for Religious Freedom (Bonn, Cape Town, Toronto, Colombo, Brasilia), the largest research network for religious freedom and against persecution of Christians and other religions and world views.

Dr. Brad Smith is chancellor of Bakke Graduate University (bgu.edu), which has students, faculty, and alumni in over 80 countries. Brad is also serving as interim director of the WEA’s Alliance Engagement Department and directs its Global Institute of Leadership (GIL). The GIL provides regionally contextualized events, resources and relationships for national alliance leaders to grow as leaders, train their teams, serve their members and provide their own expertise to mentor other alliance leaders in their region. Brad is married to Debby, and they have three children in their twenties.

Sarah Starrenburg is part of the senior leadership team of United Bible Societies, an NGO operating in almost every country and territory. As the executive director of Global Collaboration , she helps to drive global cooperation and alignment to advance mission impact. She is also the organisation’s representative to the United Nations, coming alongside like-minded partners to advance human flourishing. Sarah also loves working with purpose-driven organisations and teams to increase strategic effectiveness, whether through governance and strategic input or by providing coaching and training as a certified InterCultural Intelligence facilitator.

Brian Stiller was raised in a minister’s home on the Canadian prairies. His education: Horizon College (Bible diploma), University of Toronto (undergraduate and graduate – Wycliffe College), Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (doctoral). Vocationally: staff with Youth for Christ in Canada, including being president; president of the Evangelical Fellowship of Canada; president of Tyndale University & Seminary. Since July 1, 2011, as Global Ambassador for the World Evangelical Alliance. Stiller is founder and former editor-in-chief of Canada’s national magazine, Faith Today. He hosted a national weekly television program Cross Currents and is the author of numerous books.

David Sutherland is the CEO of International Care Ministries, working with 20,000 slum churches in the Philippines. Research has shown that at the end of ICM’s four-month Transform program, ultra-poor participants experienced a 107% increase in income, a 36% reduction in illness, and a 16% increase in family satisfaction, plus sizable increases in church attendance and understanding of salvation by grace. ICM has graduated more than 1.8 million Filipino family members from this four-month Transform program. ICM has recently expanded into Uganda and Guatemala and hopes to add five additional countries in the next three years.

Dr. David Swarr serves as president and CEO of Whole Word Institute. David grew up in the Middle East and has lived and worked on five continents. He has a rich background in cross-cultural leadership including senior positions in multinational companies, NGOs, and academia. He holds a PhD in intercultural organizational leadership. David is committed to accelerating access to the whole Word for people of all languages, whether written, oral, or signed. David and his wife Sharon have two adult daughters and twin grandsons. When not on an airplane, they split their time between Israel and the US.

Dato Dr Kim Tan is the chairman of SpringHill Management, a private fund management company specialising in biotech and social venture capital investments. He has been a pioneer of social impact investing for over 20 years and is a partner in several social impact funds. He was the founding chairman of NCI Cancer Hospital (Malaysia) and is a pro-chancellor of Surrey University (UK) and a Fellow of the Royal Society of Medicine (UK). He was the recipient of the Guildford Roll of Honour (2014) and the UK Beacon Award for Impact Investment (2017) and has authored six books.

David Kirwa Tarus serves as executive director for the Association for Christian Theological Education in Africa (ACTEA), a project of the Association of Evangelicals in Africa. Previously, he served as a lecturer and deputy principal at AIC Missionary College, an affiliate institution of Scott Christian University. Through ACTEA, David equips future generations of Christian Leaders in knowledge and depth and works to increase the number of theologically trained pastors in Africa.

Bishop Efraim Tendero is a global ambassador of the World Evangelical Alliance (WEA), which represents 130 countries and serves 600 million evangelicals worldwide. Previously he served as Secretary General and CEO of the WEA for 7 years, National Director of the Philippine Council of Evangelical Churches (PCEC) and as President of the Philippine Relief and Development Services (PHILRADS) for 22 years. He received three honorary doctor of divinity degrees from Asian Theological Seminary, FEBIAS College of Bible, and International School of Theology-Asia. He is married to Dr Sierry Soriano-Tendero and they are blessed with four children and two grandchildren.

Shelley G. Trebesch (PhD, Fuller Theological Seminary) serves as the global chief of staff for International Care Ministries (ICM). In her 30 years of experience, she has moved between academics (assistant professor of leadership and organization development at Fuller Theological Seminary) and organizational leadership (vice president for capacity development, Prison Fellowship International; global director for member development for OMF International). An active consultant, trainer and seminar leader, Shelley has facilitated complex change processes and developed leadership curricula for churches and organizations around the world.

Mele Tu’iano is from the island of Tonga and currently a student at the Whole Word Institute in Jerusalem, Israel. Her studies have shown her how critical the Bible translation movement is to evangelization and the importance of collaboration among people who provide Bible translation products. Mele’s vision now is to establish a school in Tonga for full Bible translation in its native languages, with audio recordings and other resources for the younger generation and deaf people.

Simoun Ung has an extensive background in international business in the Asia-Pacific region, as both a professional in the financial industry and a successful entrepreneur. He is the president and CEO of OmniPay, Inc., the Philippines’ leading issuer of prepaid payment cards, and an innovator for financial inclusion. Simoun is deeply involved in ministry work. He is the president and CEO of Wycliffe Associates, Inc., headquartered in Orlando, Florida. He is an elder of Grace Christian Church of the Philippines. He is also board advisor and past chairman of Wycliffe Bible Translators Philippines, Inc.

Joseph Vijayam is the founder and CEO of Olive Technology, and the executive director of India Collaboration. He earned a BS in computer science from Biola University, California and an MBA in information systems from Georgia State University. He serves as Catalyst for Workplace Ministry for the Lausanne Movement and on the boards of TENT India, Partners International, and India Collaboration. Along with his focus on global IT solutions, Joseph has years of experience in Christian ministry worldwide and is an advocate for workplace ministry that strives to affirm the missional role of workers everywhere.

An engineer-turned-pastor with a master’s degree in theology, William Wagner spent thirty-five years as a missionary to Eastern and Western Europe, the Middle East, and North Africa. During that time, he completed two doctoral degrees, one from the University of South Africa and one from Fuller Theological Seminary. During his ministry he has started nine churches in four countries, helping to start two seminaries in Europe and one international university. William has written seven books and served as the second vice president of the Southern Baptist Convention for one year. He is a member of the board of the Global Strategy Forum.

Mark Wagner was born in Albuquerque, New Mexico, in 1964 and grew up as a missionary kid in Salzburg, Austria. He studied at Baylor University and South western Baptist Theological Seminary in Texas, from which he earned a PhD in missions. Mark is also the director of the PhD program at Olivet University. He is the author of three books. He currently lives in South Tyrol, Italy with his wife, Carrie Menees, whom he married in 1993 and their two daughters, Kate and Natalie.

Nupanga Weazana, originally from the Democratic Republic of the Congo, serves in the Central African Republic as president of Bangui Evangelical School of Theology (BEST), a school founded by the Association of Evangelicals in Africa to serve all of Francophone Africa. He earned a PhD in Old Testament studies from the University of Pretoria in South Africa and has made several contributions to the Africa Bible Commentary as well as writing several books. He is an ordained pastor and is working very hard to link theological training with the mission of the church.

Derek Webster, Ph.D. serves as president of Missions Door, a global missions organization focused on identifying, resourcing, networking, and encouraging local multipliers. He is an author, teacher, and former lead pastor at a multi-campus church, and he has planted several churches internationally. Derek teaches and consults with hundreds of leaders globally on leadership, culture, and mission. His expanding family includes three grandchildren.

Jan Wessels is missions pastor of the Christian Reformed Bethelkerk in Veenendaal, the “Buckle of the Bible Belt” in the Netherlands. He also serves as international director of Faith2Share (Oxford), a global disciple-making missions network, and General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance (Bonn). Jan studied theology in the Netherlands (BTh) and South Africa (MTh). He and his family lived for 18 years in Botswana, serving the Reformed Churches as missionaries among the Naro people. They now live in the Hague, where his wife Beppie is city pastor of the Havenkerk, an intercultural and missional community in the Schilderswijk.

Dr. Jim Wilder is a clinical psychologist and neurotheologian at Life Model Works, an author, and an international speaker who develops ways to apply brain science and Christian practices that help all those who encounter the church to be drawn to and transformed into the character of Christ. He helps existing relational networks build joy, suffer well, love enemies and grow a mature community with the resilience to overcome trauma under the guidance of Christ’s Spirit.

Cris Auditore Zimmermann is an entrepreneur and business owner who has set up more than 20 companies in 5 different countries. As a German lawyer, he went into real estate investing, buying apartment complexes, hotels and commercial spaces. Cris also built a catering and food delivery business and co-founded an urban mission organization with his brother. His love for Italy and the Renaissance has led him to take a deep dive into researching the history and influence of the Medici family. He has since launched a personal and business development company based on the pillars of success learned from generations of the greatest of Florentine patrons.

Presenters and Panelists​

Rachel Afeaki-Taumoepeau

Graham Aylett

Don Barger

Chris Beard

Matthias Boehning

Rev. Esme Bowers

Emerson L. Boyce

Darrell L. Bock

Bruce Bruinsma

Janet E. Buckingham

Ovidiu Bulzan

Henry Cappello

Samuel Chiang

Rei Lemuel Crizaldo

Alan Cross

Juan Cruz

Martin Deacon

Martin Dieckmann

Ylli Doçi

Connie Duarte

Olivier Fleury

Aiah Foday-Khabenje

Dwight Gibson

Ricki Gidoomal

Mark Greene

Dalen Harrison

Desmond Henry

Gary G. Hoag

Victor Hou

Ben Jack

Todd M. Johnson

Ali Kalkandelen

Edwin Keh, MH

Sam D. Kim

Manfred W. Kohl

David Kornfield

James Kramer

Peter Markovich Kremeruk

Jurie Kriel

John Langlois

Georgie Lee

Jonathan E. Lim

Peirong Lin

Grant Lovejoy

Theresa Lua

Beniamin Lup

Ruslan Maliuta

Zenet Maramara

Jay Mātenga

Master Matlhaope

Mary-Catherine McAlvany

Terri Miller

Angela Moore

Todd Moore

Werner Nachtigal

Ray Neu

Michael A. Ortiz

Nick Parker

Jeremy Perigo

Timo Plutschinski

Jonatan Proietti

Simpson Rebbavarapu

Eduardo Retta

Shawn Ring

Kina Robertshaw

Chansamone Saiyasak

Yolande Sandoua

Samuel Richmond Saxena

Justin Schell

Thomas Schirrmacher

Brad Smith

Sarah Starrenburg

Brian Stiller

David Sutherland

David Swarr

Dato Dr Kim Tan

David Tarus

Efraim Tendero

Shelley G. Trebesch

Presenters and Panelists