FOR ALL THE WORLD
A call to step beyond our comfort zones pg. 4
WHERE THE GOSPEL TAKES ROOT
How Alliance workers and Mongolian leaders are planting seeds of faith for generations to come pg. 26
SEND US AGAIN One couple’s journey of following God across all the world pg. 12
In 1914, at the start of World War I, French leaders were alarmed to see the German army advancing. There were immediate fears that Paris would be captured. Caught off guard, military leaders scrambled to figure out a way for troops to be mobilized quickly to the front lines.
It was all hands on deck.
The strategy? Taxi drivers volunteered to transport troops, 6,000 of them, to the front lines. Proudly, 600 taxis lined up for the 40-mile trip—twice! Each taxi carried five soldiers.
It was a proud moment. Everyone had a role. Taxi drivers included.
They were all in for the mission.
Today, there are close to 650 Alliance international workers who are on mission living in dozens of countries, not to defend a country but to communicate the best news ever—the forgiveness and compassion of the Lord Jesus. Through word and deed, they are sharing the hope provided by our Heavenly Father: “In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade” (1 Pet. 1:3b–4a).
We send our international workers to least-reached peoples and places that can be challenging and difficult. The vast majority of people living in these regions have never heard of the living hope that is freely available to all who put their trust in Jesus. Instead, they live with the reality that Paul writes of in Ephesians 2:12: “separate from Christ . . . without hope and without God in the world.”
There is no mission more important than delivering the hope that only Jesus can provide. And the mission takes all of us. Together, we have the high calling—the privilege—of participating in God’s mission today: All of Jesus for All the World. It’s all hands on deck. Everyone has a role.
Some will be on the front lines; others will be the “taxi drivers,” sending and supporting frontline workers. Together, we have eternal impact, delivering hope to people who so desperately need it. When that happens, the name of Jesus is lifted up, and God’s family grows.
Each year, Alliance people participate in the Great Commission Day Offering. It’s one way to be all in for the mission. In this issue of Alliance Life, you’ll see how we as an Alliance family can partner in delivering hope in difficult places all around the world.
Mary and I are making another gift, grateful for the opportunity to extend the hope that has changed our lives. We invite you to join us in the joy of giving so that others may know and experience the hope that only Jesus can give.
It’s all hands on deck!
Jonathan Schaeffer President of the C&MA
Connon
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MAY/JUN 2026
FOR ALL THE WORLD
A call to step beyond our comfort zones by Rob Bashioum | pg. 4
THE REGIONS BEYOND by A. B. Simpson | pg. 8
TOZER ANTHOLOGY
Compiled by Harry Verploegh | pg. 9
FREE VERSE
Quotes from the Kingdom | pg. 9
12 Acts 1:8
SEND US AGAIN
One couple’s journey of following God across all the world | by Emily Smith | pg. 12
REMEMBERING THE FAITHFUL
Honoring the sacrifice of early Alliance pioneers | by Lorie Huneycutt | pg. 16
YOUR GENEROSITY IN ACTION
True Worshipers | by John Bils | pg. 20
WHERE THE GOSPEL TAKES ROOT
How Alliance workers and Mongolian leaders are planting seeds of faith for generations to come by Hannah Packard | pg. 26
BOARD SUMMARY LETTER by Thomas George | pg. 38
PRAYER IS PRIMARY
Requests from Alliance workers | pg. 39
ALLIANCE FAMILY NEWS
Personnel changes, obituaries, and classified ads | pg. 40
by
by Rob Bashioum
Our God is a pursuing God. This aspect of His character is clear from the very first pages of Scripture to the very last—His love reaches, expands, and chases us down. You can see it in one of the most familiar passages in the Bible, which says, “For this is how God loved the world: He gave his one and only Son, so that everyone who believes in him will not perish but have eternal life. God sent his Son into the world not to judge the world, but to save the world through him” (John 3:16–17, NLT). This gift is for everyone, the entire world, everyone who will believe.
Paul echoes this idea in Romans when he writes, “‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ But how can they call on him to save them unless they believe in him? And how can they believe in him if they have never heard about him? And how can they hear about him unless someone tells them? And how will anyone go and tell them without being sent? That is why the Scriptures say, ‘How beautiful are the feet of messengers who bring good news!’” (Rom. 10:13–15, NLT). This good news, that the gift of salvation is available for everyone, becomes a challenge as Paul points out that the only way for people to call on the name of God is if they have heard His name. This message is for the whole world, and the Church—as God’s people—has
the responsibility to go and tell everyone about Him. This is why we continue to send people to all the world with the good news of Jesus.
It’s important to recognize that the landscape of Christianity looks very different today than it did in Jesus’ day or Paul’s day. The gospel initially took root there in the Middle East, North Africa, and Asia Minor—this is where Christianity was born in those first centuries. It began to move west into Europe, and over time, that became the new center of Christianity. The gospel expanded into Canada and the United States, and perhaps for a time this was the center of the faith. Today, we celebrate that the center of Christianity has moved down to the global South, where God is at work in profound ways throughout Africa, South America, and Southeast Asia. The Church is vibrant. It is growing. And wherever the Church embraces its missional identity, the gospel continues to spread to more people and to new places. Why? Because our God is a pursuing God. His reach is far and wide, and we are invited to bring the message of the truth of Jesus to everyone, everywhere.
There’s a story from Jesus’ life that gives us a profound lesson on His pursuing nature. It says: “So he left Judea
The Kingdom of God advances when we find the courage to step out and over.
In this story, Jesus models for the future Church the importance, the calling, to leave our localized comfort zones. The most comfortable thing for most people is to stay within our familiar places among familiar people. But the Kingdom of God advances when we find the courage to step out and over. Jesus models this for us, dismantling divides and bringing living water to those outside His own community.
Just before He ascended to heaven, Jesus commissioned us, His Church, to go and do the same. He says, “You will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you. And you will be my witnesses, telling people about me everywhere—in Jerusalem, throughout Judea, in Samaria, and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8, NLT).
For the disciples, Jerusalem made sense—it was the center of the Jewish community. Judea made sense; this is where Jesus was born, where many of his friends and family were from. But Samaria? The ends of the earth? This commission was shocking to the followers of Jesus when it was first given. Yet Jesus demonstrated this type of life. And as His followers, we are still called to all the world, everywhere. Even to the places we don’t expect, to the people that we don’t really care to be around, to those who are far away and difficult to reach. Anywhere there are humans created in the image of God, we are called to go, to send, to pray.
and returned to Galilee. He had to go through Samaria on the way. Eventually he came to the Samaritan village of Sychar, near the field that Jacob gave to his son Joseph” (John 4:3–5, NLT). Jesus had to go through Samaria, the Gospel writer says. Well, let me tell you—Jesus didn’t have to go through Samaria.
If you look at a map of the region, you will see that the shortest route from Judea to Galilee is through Samaria. But religious Jews in Jesus’ day would never take that shorter route. Instead, they traveled an extra 23 miles around the region to keep their distance from Samaritans, who were considered apostate and unclean. There were deep levels of ethnic and religious hatred between the Jews and Samaritans. Yet Jesus had to go through Samaria—not because of logistics but because the Father asked Jesus to go, and therefore in obedience, He went through Samaria.
While there, Jesus didn’t just pass through on the interstate. He got off at the exit and talked to the locals. And His first contact wasn’t just any local—it was a Samaritan woman, an outsider in her own community. Jesus broke down multiple barriers, all while He was just passing through.
As The Alliance, we are a global Acts 1:8 family. When our movement began in New York City in the late 1800s, it was because God called someone beyond a barrier of comfort to care for immigrants. From the earliest days, the work expanded from the neighborhoods to the nations as Alliance people gathered to send workers to the ends of the earth. Within just the first few years, over 180 people were sent to 12 countries. By the turn of the century, Congo, Palestine, the Philippines, Japan, and China were among the first countries those early missionaries were sent to. And as the years went on, people found Jesus and churches began to sprout. The result is the global Alliance World Fellowship, which is present in 88 countries with 6.7 million believers worshiping Jesus in over 24,000 churches. Each nation is an independent church with local leadership, but together we all embrace our missional identity, sending more than 1,700 international workers from 29 national churches.
Our church, Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon, has the privilege of supporting dozens of U.S. Alliance international workers. Let me tell you about what God is doing around the world in five distant locations where we partner.
First, go with me to Manchester, England, where one in three people were not born in the United Kingdom.
The nations have come to Manchester! We partner with Envision workers who are running a coffee shop and community center called The Giving Tree. An international church also meets in their building, which was once an old pub. The baristas at The Giving Tree are trained by a woman sent by churches in Hong Kong, and a Chinese Alliance Church just around the corner provides prayer and volunteer support. This community center is in the middle of a diverse neighborhood with a high concentration of Pakistani and Arab residents, and right across the street is a major university. It is a true picture of all nations reaching all nations.
Next is Kosovo, where there are two community centers run by Alliance workers we trained and sent. One couple we support is in the middle of language study and ministers at one of the centers. The other couple ministers at the CrossFit center, a class-based fitness facility that provides community development and holistic health. They are building relationships that can carry the weight of the gospel. These workers are looking forward to a coffee shop attached to their CrossFit facility that is about to open and a church plant that is about to launch.
In Indonesia, we partner with CAMA Services workers who focus on relief and development. In the aftermath of flooding in the region, Alliance workers responded with disaster relief because the gospel is more than a declaration, it is also a demonstration. One CAMA team brought in the pumps and machinery to dig out the mud and debris from over 30 homes. These workers are also active with creation care initiatives to help ensure that severe flooding doesn’t become the new reality for people in this country.
In a region of West Africa at the crossroads of three countries, there are hundreds of local Alliance churches. But terrorism is on the rise, and food insecurity and economic hardships are worsening. Millions of people have been displaced, and many of them are Christians struggling to survive. Aid organizations connected to the national Alliance churches are on the ground, empowering local churches to provide prayer and food to those who have been displaced. Please pray with us for God to be at work in this region.
Finally, travel with me to the Middle East. In a city where there was little-to-no witness of Jesus only 20 years ago, God is at work. There is a vibrant underground church that has formed, and people are finding Jesus in powerful ways, including through dreams and visions. These believers are experiencing freedom in the Holy Spirit in profound ways, and they are being persecuted for it—beaten, imprisoned, constantly threatened, and blacklisted so they can’t find jobs. But hardship is only increasing the growth of this movement. Over 110
people have been baptized in this little city in the last two years.
All of Jesus for All the World isn’t a slogan. It’s our calling—and it takes all of us. We are called to step out of our personal comfort zones, to share God’s love and truth with all we meet.
The Kingdom of God is advancing, both globally and in our own cities. The missional work of the Church in all the world is not just in the far corners of the world; it is also right outside your door. As an Alliance family, may we continue to pray faithfully for our international workers serving in difficult places. May we continue giving sacrificially and consistently to the Great Commission Fund and to specific workers and projects we feel called to support. May we continue to be open to God’s call wherever He would lead us. And may we be willing to step outside our comfort zones in our neighborhoods, workplaces, schools, and communities.
The same Holy Spirit who empowered the Early Church empowers us today. The same God who pursued the Samaritan woman is still pursuing the hearts of people in every corner of the world. And He is inviting us to join Him outside our comfort zones. Just as God’s great love for the world compelled Him to send His Son to seek and save those who are lost, so, too, is He sending us.
Rob Bashioum is the lead pastor of Salem Alliance Church in Salem, Oregon, where he and his family moved after a decade of ministry in the Middle East. Rob develops leaders through Missio College, formerly Reach Training Institute, and pastors an incredible community of believers who care deeply about their neighborhoods and the nations.
by A. B. Simpson
To the regions beyond I must go, I must go, Where the story has never been told; To the millions that never have heard of His love, I must tell the sweet story of old.
To the regions beyond I must go, I must go, Till the world, all the world, His salvation shall know.
To the hardest of places He calls me to go, Never thinking of comfort or ease; The world may pronounce me a dreamer, a fool, Enough if the Master I please.
Oh, you that are spending your leisure and pow’rs In pleasures so foolish and fond, Awake from your selfishness, folly, and sin, And go to the regions beyond.
There are other lost sheep that the Master must bring, And to them must the message be told; He sends me to gather them out of all lands, And welcome them back to His fold.
Compiled by Harry Verploegh
If faith must depend upon a man knowing enough of the historical evidences to arrive at a scholarly belief in the deity of Jesus, then there could only be a relatively few people saved.
I do not have to be a scholar, a logician, or a lawyer to arrive at belief in the deity of the Lord Jesus Christ, for the Holy Spirit has taken the deity of Christ out of the hands of the scholars and put it in the consciences of men.
The Spirit of God came to lift it out of the history books and write it on the tablets of the human heart.
Missionaries go to the jungles where the most primitive men and women cannot read and write. When they proclaim the story of Jesus, when they preach the good news of Jesus Christ as the final answer to sin, the Holy Spirit is faithful in His witness of sin and righteousness and judgement.
Those primitive people have never heard of Rome or Greece. They have no idea where Jerusalem is. They never heard of Abraham or David. But when the missionary tells the story of Jesus and the cross and forgiveness of sin, they will begin to tremble and sweat with conviction for they know they are sinners. When those Stone Age people put their faith in Christ they are transformed, made good and clean and humble and right.
—from Echoes from Eden. Originally published in Alliance Life on June 12, 1996.
“And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations, and then the end will come.”
—MATTHEW 24:14
“It is not so much the case that God has a mission for his church in the world, as that God has a church for his mission in the world. Mission was not made for the church; the church was made for mission—God’s mission.”
—CHRISTOPHER J. H. WRIGHT
“May God be gracious to us and bless us and make his face shine on us—so that your ways may be known on earth, your salvation among all nations. May the peoples praise you, God; may all the peoples praise you.”
—PSALM 67:1–3
“Christ not only died for all: He died for each.”
In Mongolia, the use of color has a deeper symbolism than mere decoration. Shades of red, yellow, green, blue, and white are most often used, representing things like strength, joy, growth, and wisdom. White, which symbolizes sacredness and purity, is seen here in the snow that blankets the roof. Pray for the Mongolian people that more and more would accept Christ, whose scarlet blood washes hearts, making them as clean and white as snow (see Isa. 1:18).
One couple’s journey of following God across all the world
by Emily Smith
One early morning late last May, groggy-eyed and slightly confused as to exactly what day of the week it was, I strolled through the sun-beamed halls of the Greater Columbus Convention Center on my way to an already-bustling hotel café, looking for a couple whom I had yet to meet. After a quick glance around the dining room, I was soon greeted with two hugs and the smiling faces of Julian* and Sophia*—two international workers with The Alliance who were, along with myself and thousands of others, attending the Alliance General Council that week. Espressos in hand, we chose a table, and I soon realized that no matter how demanding, energetic, and whirlwind-like I thought my week at Council was, the two of them had me beat by a long shot.
Julian and Sophia had spent the year prior to Council packing up their lives in Central Asia, where they had spent the past nine years as international workers, and had since been traveling and speaking all across the United States on home assignment. Within the 72 hours following us sitting down to coffee at Council, they would be landing in Costa Rica to begin language study for a new chapter as international workers in Paraguay— where they would be moving a mere eight weeks later.
Though their paths to The Alliance and becoming international workers looked different—Sophia through God’s nudge to further her education before going overseas and Julian through a connection with an Alliance church elder who mentored him—they both ended up at Alliance Theological Seminary (ATS), where they met and together began pursuing their dreams to serve the Kingdom beyond the United States.
For the nine years following ATS, Julian and Sophia would call Central Asia home. There, they would go on to learn the local language, have conversations with many people inside the majority religion, and establish a gospel presence in a second city there through a non-governmental organization. As they grew roots in this Central Asian country, the primary question driving their ministry was: What needs exist here? A focus on a meaningful, impactful presence in their community led them and their team to develop an educational sign language program for hearing parents of Deaf children, as well as a CPR and water safety project after finding out that drowning was the lead cause of child deaths in their area.
Sophia also found a unique niche by which to enter into daily evangelism: “One of the things that was really powerful [was that] in 2021, I got an exercise teaching certification, and out of that I was able to teach classes at a local counseling center run by believers. And while they are believers, they couldn’t always share really openly, but they invited me in and said, ‘Well, because you’re a foreigner, we can give you free reign to kind of do whatever you want.’ And so, through my classes, I always had a theme Psalm for the day; and as we were moving, I would invite people to pray and release things to Jesus, just allowing people to experience the presence of the Lord. Because in their mindset, God is really far off and really disconnected.”
As Julian and Sophia continued seeking out the deepest needs of the community they were in, they also began working with a local church to create a safe space for people in ministry—particularly pastors and church leadership—because of how few believers surrounded them. “We really believe that the local church is such an import-
ant part of the story that God is writing in Central Asia, and we want her to be healthy and strong,” Sophia tells me. Through hospitality, they were able to provide rest and care for these people immersed in church ministry.
Julian and Sophia continued to grow valuable roots in their Central Asian community and, in 2019, went on home assignment to the United States to visit family and speak at various churches. As 2020 hit and travel shut down, their plans were changed, and the unexpected extra time stateside was spent living on a farm in Indiana, allowing them to lean into silence and solitude. This resulted in Julian taking many prayer walks. “I just really had a sense that the Lord was saying, I’m preparing you for something new,” he shared. “And at that time, I had no idea what that meant. And we were getting ready to go back to Central Asia, so I said, Well, Lord, we just don’t know what that means, but we’re going to be faithful and we’re going to go back to what we think You’re calling us to this season. So that meant going back to Central Asia.”
Once much of the chaos of 2020 had blown over, Julian and Sophia returned to their country and eventually, in 2022, their team welcomed two women sent to Central Asia from the Chilean Alliance. Although they were already a multigenerational and multi-focused team, they lacked a deeper multicultural makeup that these women helped to provide. Through their presence, they were able to establish a broader Spanish-speaking community there—the significant existence of which they had all been unaware. These Spanish conversations and spaces enabled them to bring gospel presence where Americans had significant barriers. And through this accessibility, they caught a vision for how God might move in Central Asia through non-American workers.
Around the same time, God was also working in Sophia’s heart, speaking to her through a prayer meeting while she wrestled with the little spiritual fruit seen among the local people. “Just this gentle whisper came: It’s going to take them seeing My people from every nation, tribe, and tongue. And I began to think through how the spiritual climate in the country had changed as not only us, but other teams, had begun to welcome people from Latin America and Africa and other parts in Asia, because [the local people] could no longer say, ‘Oh, well your God is just the God of America.’ They were literally being faced with the truth and reality that our God is the God of all people.”
By January 2023, the couple together felt that God was releasing them to begin exploring something different— so they decided to begin looking at new opportunities with The Alliance.
“So, we became aware of this unique opportunity in Paraguay to train, equip, and mobilize Latin Americans wanting to go to the ends of the earth,” Julian shares. “And so, as we read the description of what they’re hoping to do and the whole idea of raising up more workers, we felt really excited. We began to pray. At that moment, it was just us; nobody else knew. At one point, we were sitting with our Chilean teammates, and all of a sudden one of them says, ‘Hey, do you guys know about the work that's happening in Paraguay?’ When she was done explaining everything, she kind of looks at me and goes, ‘I think you guys should go there. I think you guys will be a good fit.’”
So, after eight weeks of language study in Costa Rica, Julian and Sophia went to Paraguay.
With a realtor, they embarked on a journey of house-hunting—which at first only left them with options that were either much too small or still under construction. After a long day of searching, their realtor texted: “I know you really want a house . . . but there’s this apartment that I can’t get off my mind. Would you be willing just to look at it?” They agreed to see it the next day.
“So, we elevator up, up, up, and they open the door. And one of the first things that you see is this stairwell upstairs . . . and on the railing of our stairwell is carved wood. It’s a very similar feel to being in Central Asia. And we just kept going through the house—the light fixtures that they chose, the colors that they have on the wall; there were all these little things that were like, Oh, this feels like home. This feels like a place that we’ve been before, even though we’ve never been here. And that was a really sweet gift.”
Julian continues on, “The other thing about that story was that I was talking with the manager of this apartment. And as we’re talking, he asked us about our work. So, we were open . . . and then the guy says, ‘Oh, the last people who were renting this apartment, they were missionaries, and they were from Canada.’ So, then we found out they were missionaries from The Alliance in Canada and just hear this—they were doing the ministry of Samuel House that we’re doing now.”
CASA DE SAMUEL
Samuel House—known as Casa de Samuel—is a collaboration between the Canadian Alliance, the U.S. Alliance, the Chilean Alliance, and the Paraguayan Alliance. A beautiful blend of culture and partnership, the team trains and equips international workers to be sent from Latin America to the ends of the earth. Casa de Samuel is the organization behind why Julian and Sophia now reside in Paraguay—through Samuel House, the couple gets to focus on developing and preparing international workers to go where Americans can’t evangelize as effectively.
Back when first making their decision of whether to remain in Central Asia or go again, moving to Paraguay to equip effective disciples, one question lingered in their minds: Where would they make the most Kingdom impact?
“[We asked ourselves], ‘Is there a space for us to be a part of more people from more places going into more places?’ Really that idea of All of Jesus for All the World, and gospel access for and from all people,” Sophia shares. “And that hit us so hard because it was so clear. We can stay in Central Asia, and we can continue to do our ministry, but we’re only two people and our circle can only be so big. But if we can go to Paraguay and be part of sending wave after wave of workers, that just gets so much bigger. That Kingdom impact possibility is so much larger. So it just became really clear that the Kingdom mattered.”
“At the end of the day, it’s not about us,” Julian tells me. Sophia continues, “Some of those 3.4 billion [unreached] people are in places where our American passports can’t reach. But those people still matter to God.”
*Name changed
Emily Smith is an editor and copywriter at the Alliance National Office. Emily earned her bachelor of arts from Iowa State University in 2021 and moved to the Columbus, Ohio, area post-graduation as part of a church-planting team ministering to the city of Columbus and campus of Ohio State.
by Lorie Huneycutt
All throughout Scripture, we can see God calling His people to remember. While we use this word often in the context of recalling personal memories, in Scripture it is often used as a command—to be intentional in learning something specific from previous generations. For a directive used so much throughout Scripture, we could conclude that the Lord must have great purpose and intention in reminding us so often to remember. As a denomination, it is honoring to remember the early pioneers who so valiantly trekked across the world with dedication so that the gospel would “be preached in the whole world as a testimony to all nations” (Matt. 24:14b). And by bearing witness to their
stories, it reminds us of the tremendous responsibility we still have today to carry out the Great Commission with the same fervor and commitment.
One such specific time in our history to be remembered involves a group of Swedish missionaries sent by The Christian and Missionary Alliance who lost their lives in the Boxer Rebellion in northern China in the late 1800s. These Swedish C&MA missionaries had been recruited by evangelical theologian Fredrick Franson, who was Swedish himself. Franson was a man who had a strong belief in working with other Christians to spread the
gospel, regardless of denominational affiliation. It was said of him, “His was a burning missionary heart. His fervent love for the Lord and for souls drove him on from country to country regardless of the dangers and the risk to his own life.”
Franson met A. B. Simpson at a missionary conference in Omaha, Nebraska. After corresponding with him for a while and learning about abundant funding for C&MA missionaries to be sent to China, he suggested to Simpson that they collaborate because he felt he could recruit a significant number of missionaries from Sweden. An agreement was made, and Franson successfully recruited and sent out two large groups of missionaries in 1893, followed by a third group in 1896, bringing the total number of Swedish missionaries from the C&MA in northern China at that time to around 60. They were posted in various locations, including within and near the border of current day Mongolia. (Before Mongolia was an independent country, it was one of several provinces in northern China.)
With meager budgets for living expenses, the missionaries there were successful in learning the language and culture, planting churches, and building relationships with local Chinese Christians. They were known for bringing a unique type of evangelism to the field. Through music and their joy in the Lord, they were
said to have had methods akin to those of the Salvation Army. They would go out into the streets and countryside with their musical instruments, singing and playing, never failing to gather an audience. It was their joy that attracted the crowds.
In the 1890s, the entire country of China had been in upheaval leading up to the Boxer Rebellion. The rebellion was initiated in one of the northern provinces in 1899 by a secret society called the Yihequan, who became known as “Boxers” because of their devotion to martial arts. The Boxers became convinced that recent disasters such as flooding and droughts in China were a result of the Chinese leaving their own religion for Christianity. They saw Christianity as a cultural intrusion and felt that punishment had been brought to their land because of it. And so, the Boxers set out to rid the country of all foreigners, especially targeting Chinese Christians and foreign missionaries. The Qing dynasty, which covered much of northern China, was ruled by the Empress Dowager, who shared in the Boxers’ resentment of foreigners during that time. She sided with them, declaring that all foreigners should be killed. There were even reports of posters put up throughout the streets, encouraging people to kill the missionaries and burn their chapels.
Aware of the risks in staying with all the unrest in the country, with unwavering commitment to the gospel, the C&MA missionaries chose to stay in China. Several of the missionaries were based at the headquarters of the Swedish Alliance mission, located in Inner Mongolia, including Carl and Augusta Lundberg. They were met with a lot of resistance by the locals initially, as the Chinese people there had never seen any foreigners. But after much adversity, the Lundbergs were able to open a crude yet effective missionary station. They began to gain the confidence of the locals, and the mission became a place for them to go for healing. After a couple of years, the Lundbergs were assigned to a different station that was central to the district where missionaries from other locations would come for conferences, language training, and other events. Carl and Augusta were known to be very popular among their Chinese Christian friends.
Emil and Hanna Olson also came over with the initial group of Swedes and worked at the headquarters. Emil was made the local superintendent there and was said to be a “missionary’s missionary” because of his linguistic skills, practical disposition, and industrious energy. He is known for establishing a small printing company that was the first ever publishing company north of the Great Wall of China. It became a great evangelistic tool for the area and was also used to encourage local missionaries with God’s Word. Hanna was known to be an encouragement to single women in the area through counseling and prayer. She would also take her small children into the city to teach women about God in their homes.
It was on August 16, 1900, in the heights of the Boxer Rebellion that Carl wrote the following regarding their plight:
Our way to the coast is cut off. If we are not able to escape, tell our friends we live and die for the Lord. I do not regret coming to China. The Lord has called me and His grace is sufficient. The way He chooses is best for me. May His will be done. Excuse my writing, my hand is shivering.
And less than a week later, on August 22, 1900, he penned his last letter:
The soldiers have arrived and will attack our place. The Catholics are prepared to defend themselves but it is in vain. We do not like to die with weapons in our hands. If it be the Lord’s will, let them take our lives.
It was later that very same day that Carl, Augusta, and their two small children were cruelly slaughtered when the Boxers attacked their station.
Emil Olson had made plans to have his wife, Hanna, and other female missionaries moved to a safer part of China during the rebellion. But before he could have it arranged, the Boxers invaded. A survivor of the massacre reported that the Olsons were stoned to death by the Chinese army, including their three small children.
Numerous other missionaries like the Lundbergs and Olsons were mercilessly massacred all throughout northern China—a total of 239, which included 36 of the Swedish C&MA missionaries comprising 21 adults and 15 children. This was in addition to more than 32,000 Chinese Christians who also lost their lives in the rebellion. It was the largest ever martyrdom in the history of Christian missions, ushering in the most violent century of persecution of the Christian church.
While grieving these heartbreaking outcomes, we can still find hope in looking for how the Lord redeemed such horrific tragedies of some of the earliest pioneers. In fact, it was said that the rebellion paved the way for the preaching of the gospel throughout China, and the following years saw the greatest expansion of the church there. Historical C&MA documents recount: “The Swedish-Alliance work of North China, like the ministry of John the Baptist, was ‘a burning and shining light’ for a short season. Just as John’s ministry was important for the coming of Christ and led to many repentant hearts, so, too, the ministry of the Swedish evangels was amazingly successful, though brief in time. Their work was marked by the same intense devotion as that of John the Baptist but was also destined to be sealed by the martyrdom of many.”
Remembering can be challenging. Remembering can be uncomfortable. Remembering can take great intention. And yet—remembering is obedience. Remembering cultivates hope. Remembering helps us to persist as we seek how to personally engage with the Great Commission, creating Ebenezer stones for the next generation to remember and hope: “Yet this I call to mind and therefore I have hope” (Lam. 3:21).
May we have courage and confidence as we continue to share the gospel today. And may we have faith like that of Carl Lundberg, believing that just as the Lord has called us, His grace is sufficient.
Lorie Huneycutt is the assistant editor for Alliance Life magazine. A Toccoa Falls College graduate, she has served in church ministries and with Envision Cleveland. Lorie is passionate about amplifying the voices of overlooked populations and conveying the hope of Jesus through storytelling.
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by John Bils
The meeting room looked like an unfinished basement. The walls were bare, the concrete floor uncarpeted. I sat down on a plastic chair across from a student in flipflops, basketball shorts, and a neon green T-shirt that read, “Dare 2 Dream.” I had been told he goes by “Justin.” A few years ago, when he started studying English as a foreign language, he was encouraged to choose an English name to use in his classes. He chose his name because he had grown up listening to Justin Bieber’s music. Like many teenagers, he dreams of becoming a musician.
Last year, during a trip to a war-torn region of Southeast Asia, I spoke with Justin and other high school students to capture the stories of gos -
pel impact the Alliance family is making possible through years of faith-filled prayers and giving. I wanted students like Justin to describe in their own words how they have been affected by civil war, drug trafficking, systemic poverty, and other destructive forces plaguing their home country. I wanted to learn how they came to be separated from their families and placed under the care of Alliance workers serving in the region.
Most of all, though, I wanted to know how God is at work in these students’ lives, anchoring them through trauma and adversity, emboldening them to dream of better lives, and molding them into vibrant witnesses for the gospel’s advance in Southeast Asia.
Photography by John Bils
The youth center I visited—known as Silver Lining Humanitarian Youth Center (SLHYC)—houses around 30 students who are nearing the end of high school. They come from all over the country. Most have at least one living parent. Yet, because traveling outside major cities can be so dangerous, many students, I was told, do not intend to return to their hometowns until they have completed their studies.
All the students profess to have a personal relationship with Jesus. Some grew up in Christian households. Others did not but embraced Christianity only after arriving at SLHYC and getting immersed in the center’s rigorous spiritual regimen, which includes daily prayer meetings, student-led worship sessions, Bible readings, and church services that enable students to get involved with a worship band and tech team.
When I sat down to talk to Justin with the help of an interpreter, he attributed his development as a musician to the opportunities he has received at SLHYC to practice musical instruments and build rapport with other student worship leaders. During my week at the youth center, he demonstrated his growing versatility as a performer, playing acoustic guitar during some worship sets and keyboards during others.
For Justin, music provides a refuge from the strife and trauma he has been through. He had always aspired to become a musician but, until coming to SLHYC, could not afford his own instruments. He came from a large family and, because he was expected to prioritize the education of his younger siblings, dropped out of school after completing the eighth grade.
After dropping out, he considered using drugs to cope with depression over his crushed dreams and tumultuous home life. Substance abuse was nothing new to his family. At different stages of his childhood, each of his parents had struggled with alcoholism.
Attending SLHYC was appealing to Justin because he saw it as his best—perhaps only—opportunity to finish his education. When he arrived at the youth center, he realized he was weak and without faith. He had grown up attending church but admits now he didn’t know anything about God’s love. Through your giving and prayers, he has experienced God’s love and accepted the Spirit’s presence and guidance to become a new person in Christ. His life no longer feels hopeless, he told me. He now believes he can pursue a career in music to serve God and advance the gospel.
Yet his attachment to his hometown remains strong. Like most of the other students I spoke to, Justin desires to return to his village permanently someday and use his education, talents, and spiritual gifts to enrich the lives
of family members and other loved ones he left behind. If he attempted to travel back to his village now, though, he would be risking his life. On one visit home, airstrikes in the region forced him and his family to flee for cover in the surrounding forest, where he and his brother hid for several weeks. They slept on the wet forest floor and survived on only one meal per day.
Day after day, students like Justin confront the devastating effects of civil war, extreme poverty, and drug trafficking. They are in a vicious cycle of trauma, abuse, and exploitation—but through your giving, you can disrupt this cycle. To provide for the physical, intellectual, and spiritual needs of these students, visit cmalliance.org/give; select “a project you love/Find a project”; and type in “SE Asian Refugee Youth Center.” Learn more about Alliance strategic projects throughout the world in need of your prayers and financial support by accessing the 2025–2026 Strategic Giving Opportunities Gift Catalog at cmalliance. org/25-strategic-gift-catalog or by calling toll-free (866) 443-8262.
Throughout my week in Southeast Asia, Justin and other SLHYC students performed some worship songs in English and others in their native language, which I do not speak and have never studied. They often sang in booming voices with closed eyes and upraised hands. Even when I could not understand the lyrics the students were singing, I needed no interpreter to grasp the depth of devotion the Lord has inspired in them through His constant love, protection, and provision. With their impassioned singing, the students demonstrated they have become the “true worshipers” God desires for His Kingdom, those who worship the Father in the Spirit and in truth (see John 4:23).
On my last day at SLHYC, I attended the grand opening ceremony of a church planted on the top floor of the youth center. Justin and other students played all the worship sets, ran the tech booth, and performed traditional dances from their home regions. In a city saturated with temples and shrines to the country’s majority religion, the new church is an oasis of God’s truth and hope in a spiritually desolate land. I went to Southeast Asia seeking to capture stories for the Alliance family, which I am so honored and blessed to do in my role with the National Office. Ultimately, though, I was given a much greater gift than I expected. My visit to the youth center brought me an enlarged perspective on the Kingdom’s advance in Southeast Asia. I was given a glimpse of what the Kingdom will be like when it is filled with true worshipers united by the purpose, identity, and grace they have received from the Lord.
John Bils is a fundraising and campaign writer at the National Office. Recently married, he lives with his wife and stepson in Columbus, Ohio.
My name is Sephora.* When my husband and I became believers, we were disowned by our families. We moved to another village where we found a church to attend with our children. One day, terrorists descended on our village, murdering my husband at his local store and burning it down along with many homes.
My children and I fled and made our way to another town. It happened to be where my in-laws lived. They welcomed us, providing a meal and a place to sleep. However, when I woke up the next morning, my children were gone. When I asked my father-inlaw about them, his response was, “Your husband has children, but he is dead. So they are now our children. And they will never be Christians!”
I fled back to my own family but was also unwelcome there. Thankfully, I found a church to attend, and a church elder informed the Alliance international worker couple there of my need for a job and housing. They helped me by providing money for food and getting me enrolled at a sewing school. A church member even offered me housing in their courtyard. I felt so much despair when I first arrived there, but my new church family has helped to restore my hope. I even have hope that I will be able to reconnect with my children. I am thankful for the guidance and love of our Good Shepherd and for the kindness of His people!
*Name changed
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When you enroll in any of our online graduate degree programs, you will learn how to integrate your faith with your career in a pace that is convenient and fits into your schedule. Learning online doesn’t mean learning alone. In all of our online degree programs, you will build authentic lifelong relationships with faculty, advisors, and other students. YOU CAN DO THIS!
How Alliance workers and Mongolian leaders are planting seeds of faith for generations to come
by Hannah Packard
“To the ends of the earth.”
This evocative phrase from Jesus may conjure images in your mind—of lush jungles, remote islands, or vast deserts. It may also bring to mind not just places but people—a refugee living in Europe who is searching for peace and opportunity, a mother in Africa who desperately desires hope for her children, a family in Southeast Asia who needs true freedom.
For Alliance international workers Mark and Cinda Wood, this phrase reminds them of the place where they have served for the past 18 years: Mongolia.
With a rugged landscape of vast steppes, craggy mountains, and rocky desert, Mongolia is a uniquely beautiful part of the world. Just so with the Mongolian people, who are known around the world for their nomadic roots, circular homes, called gers, and master horsemanship.
Mongolia is also the least densely populated nation in the world, home to approximately 3.3 million people, half of whom live in the capital city, Ulaanbaatar. The entire country’s population is less than that of Los Angeles, living in over 1,200 times the area.
These people, in this place, are dear to God’s heart. As Jesus draws all people to Himself (see John 12:32), we, as His followers, get to be messengers of the good news, preaching the name of Jesus where He isn’t known. Even—and especially—in the remote and barren parts of the world.
“There are many threads that God has woven together in our lives to bring us here,” Cinda says. “I think as far back as young childhood, sitting in a service and listening to international workers who came in, shared their slide pictures, shared their stories. I loved hearing
about how God was at work around the world, and it always touched my heart deeply.”
“When I think about our passion, when I think about what we enjoy doing, I can’t imagine a better context of where we could serve than here,” Mark says. Every step of the way, God prepared them for where He was leading, even when they couldn’t see it. Just as He has been moving and working among the Mongolian people for hundreds of years.
Mongolia has been waiting for the gospel—and for the church to be established—for centuries. According to Marco Polo’s writings, in 1266, his father and uncle arrived in the Mongol Empire and the court of Kublai Khan in search of trade opportunities. Interested in their descriptions of Western culture, art, and religion, the khan requested that the brothers carry back a message: he wanted 100 Christian missionaries to come to his empire, the heart of which lay in modern-day Mongolia and China. Yet only two missionaries were sent.
It wasn’t until the 1860s, when treaties opened inland China to missionary travel, that Protestant missionaries were able to begin carrying the gospel to Mongolia and northern China. From 1893 to 1896, The Christian and Missionary Alliance sent two waves of Swedish missionaries into this region. Yet just a few years later, 36 members of this group—both adults and children—were martyred, victims of the bloody Boxer Rebellion that sought to expel outside influence from China (see page 16 to read more). One of these martyred C&MA missionaries, Carl Lundberg, wrote in one of his last letters: “What we sow shall bear fruit in its time. When the
storm is over then send out other witnesses to China to proclaim the great act of the Lord.”
For 90 years, Mongolia remained inaccessible. But as communism fell in Europe, a peaceful democratic revolution in 1990 caused Mongolia to once again become more open to the world. Nearly a century after the Swedish C&MA missionaries lost their lives, in 1998, The Alliance reentered Mongolia.
In the early years of work after returning, things were difficult. The challenges of simply traveling and living in a place of such extremes were hard on the workers. Additional factors like lack of access to medical care or education for their children meant there was a high worker turnover in the first few years.
But still, exciting things were happening—a brandnew church movement took root with astonishing speed, and the first-generation Mongolian church began to be established. Tied in with their renewed interest in Western culture, the Mongolian people were open to hearing the gospel.
Today, approximately 1.2 percent of Mongolians are Christians, with the majority of the population being Buddhist and nonreligious. Though the total number of believers in Mongolia is relatively low, and church growth has largely plateaued—Jesus has built His church there and continues to build it. In fact, the Mongolian Alliance Church, with over 450 members and 18 churches, is part of the global Alliance World Fellowship. Though small, the Mongolian Alliance is invested and engaged.
Mark and Cinda live in Darkhan, the second-largest city in Mongolia, located in the north. Their primary task is leadership development and theological education—helping to resource and train Mongolian pastors and leaders for their work in ministry. Mark is the director at the Kingdom Leadership Training Center (KLTC), which was established in 2009 and at the date of this writing has served 168 graduates of their fully accredited programs. Many more have been able to take English as a second language classes and have benefited from KLTC’s translation and publication of Christian books.
“Ministry today looks a little different in that we have moved into a time where a lot of the things that we’re involved in are actually led by our Mongolian coworkers and teammates. And we’re in a support role,” Cinda says. “Our primary hands-on roles are at the training center.”
One such Mongolian couple that Mark and Cinda have had the pleasure of working with is Tuya and Ganaa. Tuya serves as the academic director of KLTC and Ganaa is the pastor of their local Alliance church. While the
Woods have focused largely on training current leaders of the Mongolian church, Tuya and Ganaa have brought a passion for training youth—the next generation of the Mongolian church.
Speaking about their heart for Mongolian youth, Tuya says, “They’re the future of the church in Mongolia. We really want to pass our faith to them. We want to raise up men and women who truly experience God and worship with their life, not just knowing knowledge
about God. They will lead future Mongolian churches and future Mongolian theological education. They will lead, and they’re the ones who will put the standard of Christian people in our society.”
There is also the matter of the challenges that the younger generation faces in Mongolia.
“Mongolian young people are struggling with many of the same things we see in other places as well,” Cinda says. “There’s a very high suicide rate and attempted suicide
rate. There’s a lot of struggles with mental health, with anxiety. There are problems with bullying in schools, and if you think of children, young people, who have become believers, they face even more pressures.”
Mark adds, “It can be an absolutely overwhelming need to see the spiritual oppression that people are walking with and what they’re carrying.” Tuya describes further issues, such as exposure to drugs, pressure from social media, and living with broken or absent families.
In their local churches and those in the surrounding area, Ganaa and Tuya have seen success in providing training and opportunities for young people to lead worship. It all began when someone asked in a group chat of local pastors for someone to help train their youth in leading worship. At first, Ganaa’s instinct was to say it wasn’t the right time for his church to provide help, but he felt God prompting him. “God encouraged me to serve in this area, to build up worshipers of Him,” he says. “If worshiping God gets strengthened in the local churches, the people’s faith will strengthen too.”
Ganaa spent a year going every Sunday to train the youth at that church until they were able to lead worship on their own. Seeing the fruit of Ganaa’s investment, other churches in the surrounding area started asking him to come and train their youth.
Every weekend, Ganaa loads up his car with a lot of instruments and a few teenagers from his church, and
they travel to other churches to teach—sometimes driving several hours. But it isn’t just music that these young people are learning. They are being discipled, poured into, and seeing what it looks like to be a follower of Jesus. Ganaa teaches them that worshiping God isn’t just about playing an instrument, Tuya says.
“When the sun comes, it chases the darkness away,” Ganaa says. “When the gospel comes, hopelessness is chased away.”
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church.
Years ago, when the Woods were first preparing to go to Mongolia, Cinda felt God speak to her about His heart for the Mongolian people. “I really felt God saying to me directly that the people of Mongolia were His beloved children—His beloved children that He’d never been able to embrace and hold,” she says, emotion in her voice. “Mongolians who haven’t accepted the good news, who haven’t accepted Jesus, are mostly searching for peace and haven’t been able to find it yet.”
Mark describes the issues of alcoholism in Mongolia, high rates of broken families, and the people’s need for hope. “That’s something that the peace of the good news and the presence of Jesus, His hope and light, speaks to,” he says.
Tuya and Ganaa also share from their own testimonies, the needs they had that only Jesus could meet. The youngest of six children, raised largely by her siblings, Tuya longed for love and identity. When she was 14, Tuya’s friend invited her to church for a Christmas service. In that service, she was able to feel the love of God her Father for the first time.
Ganaa searched for truth and answers—how does a person live a just and righteous life? “When the sun comes, it chases the darkness away,” Ganaa says. “When the gospel comes, hopelessness is chased away. When Jesus came into my life, I gained hope and eternal life. Life has a deeper purpose and a deeper meaning.”
“If you were to ask me, ‘What are you doing in Mongolia?’ my reply is that we’re planting oak trees,” Mark says. “What I mean by that is we are putting down roots of something that we want to see 100, 200, 300 years from now—a great harvest. When you look around the world, what The Christian and Missionary Alliance does is that we go into
places that are dry and places that the soil is rocky, but we stay. And if it takes 300 years, we’re going to stick to it.”
Oak trees—the same image used by the prophet Isaiah as he describes what happens when broken hearts are comforted, freedom is proclaimed to captives, and those who mourn are filled with joy. “They will be called oaks of righteousness, a planting of the Lord for the display of his splendor” (Isa. 61:3c). Though the soil is rocky in Mongolia, oak trees are already growing.
From the very beginning of the Alliance movement, the missional focus has largely been on unreached peoples, the regions beyond, the neglected fields of the world. In many places, these least-reached people and areas lack any kind of gospel presence. International workers need to be sent to live in
those places as witnesses to the good news of Jesus. But Mongolia is unique in this regard.
Even though the national church in Mongolia is relatively small, they are active, vibrant, and determined, positioned well to reach their own people with the gospel. Even beyond their own borders, Mongolians also have access to places that workers from other countries could never dream of entering. The sending potential of the Mongolian Alliance Church is significant. “Mongolians have the ability to go places that we can’t go,” Cinda says. “Not only can they go, they’re willing to go. And when they get there, they have the strength to endure and to stay and to really persevere in hard places, even above and beyond what we’re able to do. Mongolia has a unique role in seeing All of Jesus for All the World.”
The story that God is writing in Mongolia is a reminder that He is not done calling people to the ends of the earth—and He may be calling you. The needs are real; there remain 3.5 billion people who still lack access to the gospel. The number is overwhelming, but it represents real people across the globe who are in need of peace, hope, and freedom. For the gospel to take root in hearts around the world, ordinary believers must listen to God’s call and take obedient steps to go, send, and give.
In Mongolia, as the national church stretches to reach their own nation and beyond, they need the global Body of Christ behind them—people willing to pray, support, and follow God’s leading into the hard places where Christ is still unknown.
If God stirs your heart toward international ministry, consider the calling and how you might serve among the least-reached peoples of the world. If your call is to stay and support, you can sustain the work of The Alliance through the Great Commission Fund—ensuring that people like Mark, Cinda, Tuya, and Ganaa have what they need to plant oaks of righteousness for generations to come.
The ends of the earth are waiting for the gospel. How will you respond?
Hannah Packard is the managing editor of Alliance Life magazine. She earned her master of divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2021 and is pleased to serve the Lord, and The Alliance, through storytelling.
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Interested in supporting Alliance work through the Great Commission Fund?
Visit cmalliance.org/give to learn more and to give.
by
Bactrian camels like this one are a common herd animal raised by nomadic Mongolians. Able to withstand extreme temperatures of bitter cold and blazing heat, they serve as essential sources of meat, milk, and wool.
February 2026
Dear family,
The Board of Directors met on the campus of Simpson University in Redding, California, February 25–26, 2026.
The Wednesday morning session began with a devotion led by Dan Lawrence, looking at the divine welcome of God into His presence, design, and promise. This welcome can be found from Genesis through the Gospels into the pictures we have of heaven. Dan talked about the implications of this welcome in how God wants to work in and through our lives.
The Thursday morning devotional was led by Woodler Alezy, who reminded us from Scripture that the things that happen along the journey are not the destination. When Jesus said, “Let us cross over to the other side” (Mark 4:35, NKJV), He saw their arrival as complete and real. Woodler challenged us to believe and hold on to what Jesus has already said as we navigate difficult and unknown seasons of ministry and life with Jesus.
Our time together as a Board was prayer filled, focused, and extremely productive. The preparation of staff and the prework of the committees made a very full agenda manageable. Our president summarized our time together in these words:
1. We highlighted seven priorities for the next 16 months that will enable us to make significant progress in our Alliance mission.
2. We brainstormed 34 ideas for strengthening the pipeline for new Kingdom workers.
3. We strengthened our relationship with four college/seminary presidents, who participated in collaborative discussions on strategies for raising up new Kingdom workers.
4. We appointed 16 new international workers for missional impact in eight countries.
5. We discussed what healthy alignment might look like with Alliance subsidiaries.
6. We initiated pulse items in each ministry area to give the Board quick dashboard indicators of current Alliance realities.
Plans and scheduling for future meetings were also reviewed.
In Christ’s love,
Thomas George Corporate Secretary
In these monthly videos, U.S. Alliance President Jonathan Schaeffer shares his heart with the Alliance family. Join him as he unpacks more about what it means to be Christ followers on mission together.
cmalliance.org/schaeffer-vlog
The Japanese have a beautiful tradition of waking up early on January 1 to watch the first sunrise of the new year. We participated this year by driving down the coast a bit to a remote area with a good eastward view. It was a beautiful, cold sunrise. As we sat and watched, we praised our God, the Creator of heaven and Earth—who has made so much beauty for us to enjoy. Sadly, however, this Japanese tradition likely stems from sun worship. In Japan, most people are both Shinto, animists who worship the spirits of nature, and Buddhists, who worship their ancestors. They worship an infinite number of gods, including the sun. When the sun peeks up from the horizon, sharing its light and warmth with you, it is easy to understand how some could forget about the unseen Creator and worship only the visible creation instead. (Romans 1 explains this tendency well.) Most Japanese have two altars in their homes, one Shinto and one Buddhist. They worship nearly everything! There is even a beautiful, sentimental song about the “toilet” god. But they do not know Jesus. Most have not yet been told the simple good news about Jesus Christ and the one true God.
Would you pray that the eyes of the Japanese would be opened to see the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ, and to bow their knee to Him as the one true God?
— by David and Evangeline, an international worker couple serving with aXcess
To build relationships with our students who are Muslim, we have been hosting fitness classes in our home, watching The Chosen, and having meals together. Through these relationships we have intentionally invested in, we have seen God at work as our friends continue their journey of learning more about Jesus! We were able to give away two copies of All You Want for Christmas, a book that clearly explains why Jesus came to Earth. This led to an opportunity for one of my colleagues to encourage one student to continue reading and seeking so he can discover who Jesus is for himself. I was also recently able to share a podcast by a pastor I have been following with a Muslim student, and we have been able to discuss some of these messages together at the English Center. Please join me in praying for the students we work with as they are hearing and reading the truth about who Jesus is. Pray their hearts would be open and that God would give us wisdom as we answer questions. I am deeply thankful that God has allowed me to be part of these students’ lives and their journeys of discovering who Jesus is!
—by Joanna, an international worker serving with Envision
CONGO
Barbara A. Ihrke, in January. Barbara serves with Envision.
SENEGAL
Zachary M. and Anna M. Osbrink and family, in January. The Osbrinks serve with CAMA.
INDONESIA
Jude McVety, in January. Jude serves with Envision.
THAILAND
Hannah G. Nell, in January. Hannah serves with Envision.
ENGLAND
Andrea M. Vincent, in December. Andrea serves with Envision
GERMANY
Tristan P. Erickson, in January. Tristan serves with Envision.
MEXICO
Darrol J. and Kimberly Prusia, in January. The Prusias serve with aXcess.
PANAMA
Maritza Cumba, in January. Maritza serves with aXcess.
ATLANTA
Natalie M. Maher, in January. Natalie serves with Envision.
Liva Priedkalne, in January. Liva serves with Envision.
Isabelle Wegner, in January. Isabelle serves with Envision.
Matthew D. Awtrey, military chaplain – USAF Reserve, C&MA National Office, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Kristy L. Ballard, college personnel, Crown College, Bonifacius, Minn.
Mary E. Barnhart, youth pastor, Living Christ Church C&MA, Nyack, N.Y.
Pete C. Billodeau, Deaf church pastor, Community Alliance Church, Detroit Lakes, Minn.
Jarrett W. Black, assistant director of online ministry, Christ Community Church, Omaha, Neb.
Andrew A. Brown, pastor, Deltona (Fla.) Alliance Church
Samuel T. Buchmeyer, associate pastor, Mosaic Church, Slinger, Wis.
Eric A. Carpenter, Christian counselor, MidAmerica District
Vanessa V. Castor, assistant pastor, Alliance Tabernacle, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Hanlung Chien, senior pastor, Stockton (Calif.) Community Christian Church
Joy E. Cochran, director of discipleship and chaplain, North Woodbury Alliance Church, Mount Gilead, Ohio
Jarvis L. Crosby, TFC & candidate development, Toccoa Falls (Ga.) College
Joseph E. Ford, interim pastor, Iglesia ACyM de White Plains (N.Y.)
Joseph D. Glover, campus pastor, Crosstown Alliance, Macedon, N.Y.
Rigoberto Gomez, assistant pastor – Spanish ministries, The Church at Burns Park, North Little Rock, Ark.
Cliford Gresseau, acting lead pastor, Launching Pad Church, Mt. Vernon, N.Y.
Travaughn Groce, associate pastor, Alliance Tabernacle, Brooklyn, N.Y.
Bruce W. Guckelberg, district personnel, Central Pacific District
Justin R. Hanneken, other ministry, Alliance Southeast
David J. Hardie, youth evangelist ministry, Western PA District
David Kao, youth pastor, New Vine Community Church, Mountain View, Calif.
Steven M. Kellett, senior pastor, Riverview Alliance Church, Oconto Falls, Wis.
Reggie F. Kelley, lead pastor, Syracuse (N.Y.) Alliance Church
Samuel B. Kes, pastor of youth ministry, San Jose (Calif.) Christian Alliance Church
Pong Y. Kong, interim senior pastor, Triumph Alliance Church, St. Paul, Minn.
William F. Kosel, interim pastor, Grace Church of Forest Lake (Minn.)
Louis Lam, church planting pastor, Charis Community Church of the C&MA, Staten Island, N.Y.
JeanBaptiste Lamisere, military chaplain – Army Reserve, C&MA National Office, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Wesley A. Lavrinc, pastor, Trinity Church of the C&MA, Durham, N.C.
You Yin Lin, Spanish ministries, The Church at Burns Park, North Little Rock, Ark.
Philip W. Lohmeyer, chaplain, Central District
Brian D. Malvig, director of district services, Rocky Mountain District
Wallace P. Mang, Cantonese pastor, Los Angeles Chinese Alliance Church, Alhambra, Calif.
Andres I. Marti, pastor, First Alliance Church of Orlando (Fla.)
Owen P. Mears, associate pastor, Riverside Chapel, Florence, N.J.
Christian Mercado, associate pastor, Grace Alliance Church of Piscataway (N.J.)
Douglas P. Miller, military chaplain candidate, C&MA National Office, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
MacArthur R. Moser, campus pastor, Crown College, St. Bonifacius, Minn.
David C. Mullenix, F.T. institutional chaplain, Mid-Atlantic District
Kyle L. Nielsen, institutional chaplain, Western PA District
Andrew Nguyen, church planter, Alliance South Central
Hung K. Nguyen, interim pastor, Greenfield Vietnamese Alliance Church, Chandler, Ariz.
Keyla Pavia, director for worship and discipleship, The Church of Hamilton, Mercerville, N.J.
Victor N. Quon, Standing Stone Ministry, South Pacific Alliance
Robert P. Reimer, special assignment: Renewal International, The Alliance South
Joseph A. Rhee, assistant pastor, Stonecrest Community Church, Warren, N.J.
Jennifer K. Rivera, associate pastor, Building on the Rock Community Church, Manchester, N.J.
Chris A. Rose, associate pastor, Fellowship Alliance Chapel, Medford, N.J.
At Shell Point® , you’ll enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle where you can explore, worship, learn, grow and even continue to serve. And with new additions to our campus, like Tribby Arts Center, a sparkling centerpiece for the arts, and the state-of-the-art Larsen Health Center, you can rest on a firm foundation, knowing that your needs will be taken care of – both now and in the future.
Unparalleled setting. Unparalleled lifestyle.™
Shell Point is located in Fort Myers, Florida, just minutes from the islands of Sanibel and Captiva. Shell Point
Peter L. Scazzero, non-Alliance assignment, Metropolitan District
Joy-Ellen L. Scherber, Riverside kids’ pastor, Riverside Church, Big Lake, Minn.
Sarah N. Sexton, other ministry, Oasis Community Church, Fallon, Nev.
Etien Siu, pastor, Cornerstone Alliance Church, Raleigh, N.C.
James A. Souza, non-Alliance next gen associate pastor, Central District
Lor Thao, associate pastor, Compassion Chapel, St. Paul, Minn.
Douglas Thieu, pastor, New Vine Community Church, Mountain View, Calif.
Devin J. Tickle, youth pastor, Paradise (Calif.) Alliance Church
Ira J. Towns, district superintendent, Mid-Atlantic District
David J. Trainer, director for events, C&MA National Office, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Nghia Tran, seminary personnel, Alliance Evangelical Divinity School, Anaheim, Calif.
Gabriel P. Tringale, associate pastor, Risen King Alliance Church, New City, N.Y.
Leon K. Vang, pastor, Central Valley Hmong Alliance Church, Visalia, Calif.
Tseeb J. Vang, pastor-Act 2 project, Hmong District
Abnell Martorell Vidot, assistant pastor, ACM Cruce Davila, Barceloneta, P.R.
Judith A. Whitworth, special assignment, MidAmerica District
Bradley L. Williams, non-Alliance assignment pastor, Central District
Brian D. Wilson, men’s ministry, Crosspoint Church, Temecula, Calif.
Clement K. Wong, associate pastor, Christ Community Chinese Alliance Church, Hayward, Calif.
Eric L. Wu, assistant pastor, Chinese Churches Association, Flushing N.Y.
Kong Yang, worship pastor, Hmong American Alliance Church, St. Paul, Minn.
Toulia Yang, OTS president/ mission assistant, Hmong District
Tai Wai David Yip, Civil Air Patrol chaplain, C&MA National Office, Reynoldsburg, Ohio
Bakersfield, Calif., The Oaks Indian International Church, 10200 Campus Park Dr., 93311
Dayton, Ohio, Ohio Valley District Hispanic Church Plant through Centerville Community Church, 10688 Dayton Lebanon Pike, 45458 Raleigh, N.C., Cornerstone Alliance Church, 2809 Greenock Dr., 27604
Seattle, Wash., Seattle Wash. Gospel of Peace Mission Church, 1059 NE 96th St., 98115
Francklin Alexis, children’s minister, Bethesda Tabernacle Christian Community Church, Greenacres, Fla.
Mark C. Angelotti, youth ministry associate, First Alliance Church, Erie, Pa.
Yuping Bai, director of care ministry, New Life Christian Alliance Church, Winona, Minn.
Kenneth E. Baldes, associate pastor, ClayHouse Alliance Church, Colorado Springs, Colo.
Anna M. Brant, executive pastor of ministries, Freshwater Community Church of C&MA, Prairie, Minn.
Michael T. Brock, lead pastor, Hawaii Kai Community Church, Honolulu, Hawaii
Jessica L. Burris, children and family pastor, Brentwood (Calif.)
Neighborhood Church
Jean J. Cadet, pastor, Victory Alliance Church, Union, N.J.
Xander J. Calverley, assistant pastor of next gen, Hope Community Church, Cottage Grove, Minn.
Jonathan M. Connor, assistant pastor, DuBois (Pa.) C&MA Church
Joshua R. Cook, missions resident, Westgate Chapel, Toledo, Ohio
Kathryn E. Eisfeld, director of connections, Parkside Church of the C&MA, Waconia, Minn.
Frank Ferrante, pastor, CenterPoint Church Bay Shore (N.Y.)
Richard W. Gault, pastor, Christ Alliance Church, Aliquippa, Pa .
Joseph Grondziowski Sr., pastor, Bakerstown C&MA Church, Gibsonia, Pa.
Joshua Herr, assistant pastor, Agape Hmong Alliance Church, Walnut Grove, Minn.
Alex Hickinbotham, camp personnel, Yellowstone Alliance Adventures, Bozeman, Mont.
Emily M. Johnson, regional exec director, Americas and Europe for TEAM, Ohio Valley District
Peter K. Johnson, regional exec director, Americas and Europe for TEAM, Ohio Valley District
Tite Kamenyero, lead pastor, Bethsaida Revival Church of the C&MA, MidWest District
Tugiko J. Kulimushi, pastor, El Shaddai Vision Church Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minn.
Joishua Lau, pastor, Grace Alliance Church of the C&MA, Anchorage, Ala.
Sheng Li, lead pastor, Riverside Christian Alliance Church, Jurupa Valley, Calif.
Lynn M. Martin, credentialing coordinator, Alliance Northwest District
Titus P. Mycke, youth pastor, Freshwater Community Church of C&MA, St. Bonifacius, Minn.
Yik Ng, assistant pastor, Peninsula Community Alliance Church, San Mateo, Calif.
Yuji Ogura, assistant pastor, Gaithersburg (Md.) Chinese Alliance Church
Antonio I. Orahulio, pastor, Iglesia C Vida, Dayton, Ohio
Jesse T. Paulson, associate pastor, Hope Community Church C&MA, New Brighton, Minn.
Jacob L. Plagens, group life fellow, Fairhaven Church, Centerville, Ohio
Branden R. Root, pastor, Warren (Pa.) C&MA Church
Timothy J. Schwan, associate pastor, Friendship Alliance Church, Chagrin Falls, Ohio
Jonathan B. Stiver, students fellow, Fairhaven Church, Centerville, Ohio
Karen L. Spurling, ministry assistant, Kapahulu Bible Church, Honolulu, Hawaii
Trevor Thomas, lead pastor, Stroudsburg (Pa.) Alliance Church
Ti'Kyran J. Fikes, associate pastor, Restoration Alliance Church, Tiffin, Ohio
Blayne K. Towle, resident intern, Essex (Vt.) Alliance Church
Oleg Tsymbalyuk, special assignment, MidWest District
Chynna Wilcox, program director for community collective, Gospel Collective Church of the C&MA, East McKeesport, Pa
Brett Witte, pastor of evangelism and outreach, Community Alliance Gospel of the C&MA, Chicago, Ill.
Kelly Lynne Carraher, September 29, 2025, Fairhaven Church, Centerville, Ohio. Kelly is the pastor of adult ministry.
Jung Im “Eunice” Yang, October 14, 2025, Kerem International Ministry, Norwalk, Calif. Eunice is director of spiritual clinic.
Nathanial “Nate” Gerald Wagoner, January 11, 2026, Community Alliance Church, Detroit Lakes, Minn. Nate is the children and family ministries pastor.
Donald “Donnie” Gebhard Jr., February 15, 2026, Missoula (Mont.) Alliance Church. Donnie is the associate pastor.
The following ordinations took place September 16, 2025, at the Ohio Valley District Conference at First Alliance Church, Lexington, Ky.:
Graham “Tanner” Fouts, First Alliance Church, Lexington, Ky. Tanner is the middle school pastor.
Benjamin Kwitonda, Revival & Reconciliation International Church, Louisville, Ky. Benjamin is the pastor.
Eric Ndagijimana, Revival & Reconciliation International Church, Lexington, Ky. Eric is the pastor.
Tito Rungwangwa, All Glory Church, Louisville, Ky. Tito is the pastor.
Reginald Silencieux, First Haitian Evangelical Church of Springfield (Ohio). Reginald is the pastor.
Christian Simbilu, International Alliance Rehoboth Congolese Church, Louisville, Ky. Christian is the pastor.
Pierre M. Allegre, Alliance Northwest District
Ricki S. Aoki, Central Pacific District
Timothy L. Bolin, Central Pacific District
Patrick C. Chow, Central Pacific District
Douglas G. Conley, Mid-Atlantic District
Charles B. DeWitt, Alliance Southeast
Prasert Duangmala, Central Pacific District
Richard Harris, Alliance Midwest District
Sanford S. Hashimoto, Alliance Southeast
Ronald A. Higey, The Alliance South
Jerry C. Her, Hmong District
David R. Ho, Central Pacific District
Roy M. King, The Alliance South
Stephen M. Kroh, Western PA District
Kevin L. Kuhn, Western Great Lakes District
Jeffrey A. Lonsinger, Mid-Atlantic District
Ronald E. Mangin, The Alliance South
A. Wyatt Mullinax, Alliance Midwest District
Samuel E. Naaman, Alliance Midwest District
Phillip T. Richards, Metropolitan District
Arthur K. Robertson, Metropolitan District
Kevin M. Thompson, Alliance Midwest District
Gregory J. Varano, Great Lakes District
Robert B. Widbin, Metropolitan District
Percy S. Wu, Metropolitan District
Nchaiv Pao Xiong, Hmong District
Neng N. Xiong, Hmong District
Ying Yang, Hmong District
Lisa S. Yeung, Metropolitan District
Timothy I. Yoder, Eastern PA District
Mark L. Rohrbaugh
May 21, 1936–April 9, 2025
Born in New Freedom, Pa., Mark graduated from Nyack (N.Y.) College in 1957 and earned a master of divinity from Gordon Theological Seminary in 1961. He married Winifred in 1961, and they had three children. He took his first pastorate at Stevens Mills Alliance Church in Auburn, Maine, in the same year. He pastored Bethel Alliance Church in New Britain, Conn., from 1964–1970 and then chaired the New Britain Area Conference of Churches until 1976. From that year until 1985, he served as the general secretary of the Christian Conference of Connecticut, an ecumenical state-wide organization with 2,500 churches.
In July 1985, he was called to pastor Morningside United Church of Christ in Inglewood, Calif., where he served a wonderfully diverse congregation until his retirement in 2020. He also served as Protestant chaplain at Daniel Freeman Memorial Hospital in Inglewood for 20 years and officiated hundreds of memorial services for families who did not have a church home, which he considered an extremely important part of his ministry.
Mark was open, genuine, humble, and kind, and he modeled God’s love in person by extending a hand of friendship to everyone he met. He lived out his mantra that “the Bible is our manual for living,” and he was loved and appreciated by everyone he served.
Mark is survived by his second wife, Bonnie; 5 children; 11 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.
Harris Williams Campbell III February 8, 1952–July 26, 2025
Harris was born and raised in White Plains, N.Y. On a college campus in Boulder, Colo., while studying to be an architect, he met a staff member from Campus Crusade for Christ, who shared the gospel with him. Afterwards, Harris knelt in his dorm room and gave his life to Christ. He felt an immediate call into ministry and applied to Nyack (N.Y.) College. He attended a discipleship program with Campus Crusade for Christ at their headquarters in Arrowhead Springs, Calif., and it was there that he met the love of his life, Katrina, and married her one year later. He went on to attend Nyack, earning his bachelor’s degree. He also had a master of arts and master of divinity from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and doctor of ministry from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary.
In his nearly 50 years of ministry, Harris pastored the Oak Harbor (Ohio) Alliance Church (1975–1980), Reynoldsburg (Ohio) Alliance Church, (1983–1993), and Forest Hill Alliance Church in Fla., (1993–2006). In 2006, Harris became the assistant district superintendent for the Alliance Southeast and served in that position as well as interim district superintendent. During his last 10 years of active ministry, Harris and Katrina were heavily involved as mediators with Alliance Peacemaking, a ministry which brought great joy to both of them.
A man of deep faith and warm humor, Harris was dedicated to the preaching of the gospel, seeking peace with all, and loving his congregants and his family well. Though he was given a grave cardiac prognosis in 2007, the Lord miraculously spared his life numerous times over the following 17 years, until his work was done.
Harris is survived by his wife, Katrina; sons Matthew, Mark, and Jonathan; 11 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.
Hugh “Bud” Maryott Maynard
May 20, 1929–August 23, 2025
Born in Titusville, Pa., Bud was the youngest of ten children. He enlisted in the U.S. Marine Corps in 1946 and was honorably discharged a year later to return home to care for his mother. Following her death, Bud attended the Missionary Training Institute in N.Y. (later known as Nyack College) on the GI Bill. In his senior year, Bud met his beloved wife of 66 years, Shirley, and they were married in 1951. Bud and Shirley faithfully served together for the next 30 years pastoring churches in Long Island, N.Y., Md., and Ohio. They moved to Nyack, N.Y., in 1981, when Bud accepted the position of director of the Alliance Development Fund (now Orchard Alliance) with the C&MA. Bud remained in that position when the organization relocated to Colorado in 1989 and until his retirement in 1998.
Retirement opened a new chapter of 27 years, during which Bud continued his lifelong practice of cultivating relationships with family, friends, and neighbors. In 2022, Bud relocated with family to San Diego, Calif., where he enjoyed the year-round warmth and freedom from snow. A man of remarkable memory, Bud treasured the connections and stories gathered throughout his life. Preserving the Maynard family history was especially important to him. In 2024, he completed a personal memoir to ensure that his family, friends, and generations to come would remember the people and stories he so deeply cherished. Ever generous with encouragement, Bud always had a compliment to share and a genuine love for people. He found great joy in witnessing the ways God moved in others’ lives,
and he considered it a privilege to be present for those moments. He was proud to reach the age of 96, and he often expressed gratitude that God still had a purpose for him in this life.
Bud is survived by his daughters Vickie and Carrie; 2 grandchildren; and 2 great-grandchildren.
Barbara “Barb” Rae Brisco
September 3, 1942–December 21, 2025
Barb felt called to be a missionary nurse as a youth in Nyack, N.Y. She lived her life following that calling to care for and serve others. After graduating high school, she attended Nyack College for one year and then transferred to Fort Wayne (Ill.) Bible College, earning a bachelor’s degree in missionary nursing, in partnership with the Lutheran Hospital School of Nursing. While attending a C&MA church, Gospel Temple in Fort Wayne, Ind., she met and began dating Ken Brisco. After earning her bachelor’s degree and becoming a registered nurse, Barb and Ken married in 1966.
Barb and Ken went on to language school in McAllen, Tex., as part of preparing to serve as missionaries for the C&MA. Their son Steve was born in McAllen five months before they moved to Colombia to begin their overseas missionary service. During her nine years of missionary service in Colombia, Barb took on many roles, including missionary nurse, Bible instructor to university students, missionary guest house manager, and Sunday school teacher. She also learned to play the accordion in order to provide music accompaniment to Sunday worship. It was during this time that their children Sharon and Scott were also born.
In 1977, Barb and Ken returned to the United States on a furlough, using that time to also seek a diagnosis and proper care for their son Scott, who was disabled. After transitioning back to the states in 1979, Barb supported the family as a nurse while Ken earned his master’s degree at Wheaton (Ill.) College Graduate School. Barb continued as a full-time nurse and mother to her three children while supporting Ken in his calling to serve the Latino community via C&MA Spanish Ministries. After many years, Barb finished her nursing career by caring for those in hospice care.
Barb partnered with Ken in continuous service to the Latino community as Ken’s roles varied throughout the years. They ministered to the Latino families in the Chicagoland suburbs and also in the Sacramento and Woodland, Calif., area.
In 2016, Barb and Ken retired to Lakewood, Colo., to be closer to their children and grandchildren. They bookended their formal ministry by participating and becoming members of Lakewood Christian Fellowship Church, a C&MA church.
Barb is survived by her husband, Ken; children Steven, Sharon, and Scott; and 4 grandchildren.
Ronald Ray Jones
February 6, 1949–December 29, 2025
Ron was born in Merrill, Wis., and grew up in a large, loving family. He accepted Jesus as his Savior during his service in the U.S. Marine Corps. He married Karen, his wife of 52 years, on December 22, 1973. Following his graduation from Simpson College (Redding, Calif.), he was ordained to the ministry in 1978.
Ron and Karen faithfully served in the Philippines for 20 years, ministering to the Teduray people in South Upi, Maguindanao. After they returned to the U.S., Ron and Karen served at Glacierview Alliance Church in Palmer, Alaska, for 11 years. Once they retired, Ron also served in an advisory capacity at the Yakima (Wash.) Alliance Church. Ron truly loved people and never met a stranger. He spent his life in service to others, providing guidance and counsel to many. He especially loved connecting with others in his community by offering encouragement and a shoulder to lean on. He had a great sense of humor and an unshakeable faith—both of which sustained him as his Parkinson’s disease progressed.
Ron is survived by his wife, Karen; children Johanna, Adam, Rachel, and Martha; and 4 grandchildren.
Richard “Dick” J. Schaefer
April 7, 1934–December 31, 2025
Reverend Richard “Dick” Schaefer, beloved husband, father, grandfather, and faithful servant of the Lord, went home to be with his Savior on December 31, 2025, at the age of 91. Born in Milwaukee, Wis., and raised in Oconomowoc, Wis., Dick demonstrated a deep faith and a passion for ministry that would guide the course of his life. In 1955, he married the love of his life, Barbara. Together they built a family grounded in faith, love, and service. He graduated from St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minn.) in 1959.
Dick began his ministry as a youth director at First Alliance Church in Milwaukee, where his leadership and enthusiasm for reaching young people ignited his lifelong calling to full-time ministry. He also served at Church of the Open Door in Milwaukee and later at Fort Wayne Gospel Temple in Ind., where he experienced God’s call on his life to go to Germany. He and Barbara moved to Germany in 1971 with their three children. They established several churches during their 20 years there.
Dick and Barbara continued their ministry in Hong Kong, China, where he served as pastor of an
English-speaking Chinese church for eight years. Even in retirement, his heart for ministry never waned. He served at Appleton (Wisc.) Alliance Church for 15 years, joyfully leading the senior ministry with creativity and energy. His ministry was marked with a love for people and a passion for the lost.
Dick’s life was defined by his unwavering commitment to God’s work and his deep love for his family. His journey was one of faith in action, and his impact will continue to echo through the lives of those he touched across the world.
Dick is survived by his loving wife, Barbara; children Connie, Judy, and Dan; 7 grandchildren; and 8 great-grandchildren.
Clarence Mahlon Walker
May 15, 1936–January 3, 2026
Clarence was born in Tamroy, W.Va., to Mahlon and Jewell Walker. He attended Toccoa Falls (Ga.) High School, and it was there that he dedicated his life to missions. He continued his education at Toccoa Falls College from 1954–1958, earning a degree in biblical studies. During college, Clarence also discovered a love of music. He sang and traveled with several musical groups.
While at Toccoa Falls, Clarence met his first wife, Phyllis. They were married on August 16, 1957. Before going overseas, they ministered in churches in Hamilton, Ontario, and Nanticoke, Pa. In 1962, they moved to Gabon, Africa, to serve with the C&MA. He served as field director, Bible school director, teacher, dorm parent, business agent, village ministry worker, and church planter. Clarence’s love for people and his desire to see the gospel proclaimed shaped the lives of many individuals and churches across Gabon.
On February 17, 1979, Clarence experienced the heartbreaking loss of his beloved wife, Phyllis, to cancer. Trusting the Lord’s continued call, he returned to the mission field as a single parent with daughter Lauralyn and son, Stan, while his daughter Deborah remained at college in Holland, Mich. During this season in Gabon, Clarence met missionary nurse, Marcia. They were married in Bongolo, Gabon, on June 6, 1980, and had two daughters together, Cynthia and Stephanie.
By 1996, they concluded their ministry with The Alliance, and Clarence began working on staff at Toccoa Falls College, where he served in the Church Ministries department in the Advancement Office until his retirement in 2001.
Clarence is survived by his children Deborah, Lauralyn, Stan, Cynthia, and Stephanie; and 9 grandchildren.
Bill W. Lanpher
June 29, 1933–January 27, 2026
Born in Bernie, Mo., Bill was the son of a farmer. In the middle of the Depression in 1935, his family moved to Michigan so his dad could find work.
At 16, he gave his heart to Christ, and by God’s grace never wavered in his commitment to his Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
After high school, Bill earned a bachelor of science degree in Bible/theology at the Missionary Training Institute (Nyack College) in 1955. He earned a bachelor of arts in elementary education in 1956 from Wayne State University in Detroit, Mich., then completed a master of arts in educational administration at Michigan State University in 1958. In 1984, he earned a doctor of ministry from Drew University in Madison, N.J.
On August 28,1954, he married his college sweetheart, Janice. They originally planned to serve as C&MA missionaries in Vietnam, but after the death of their first son in 1957, the Lord led him down a different path as pastor, national worker, and eventually college president.
During more than 40 years of ministry with the C&MA, Bill and Jan served in pastorates in Lansing and Pontiac, Mich.; Wheeling, W.Va.; and Toledo and Cleveland, Ohio.
In 1969, Bill moved with his family to New York when he was invited to the C&MA National Office to become the assistant vice president for Church Ministries. In 1985, Bill was called to St. Paul Bible College (now Crown College in St. Bonifacius, Minn.) as vice president of student development and later as president for 10 years. Jan served there as financial aid director. Bill was also a member of the Board of Managers for the C&MA (1988–1994).
After Bill and Jan retired from Crown College, they continued to serve the Lord together at Trinity College of Florida, where Bill was president for seven years. They moved to Shell Point Retirement Community in 2000 and commuted to Trinity College until 2005. In 2000, he began serving on the board of the Evangelical Christian School in Ft. Myers, Fla., and eventually as chairman. His time on the board brought him much joy.
Bill and Jan were married for 69 wonderful years. They were an example to all who knew them of a godly marriage and enduring partnership. As Jan declined in her later years, Bill was her faithful companion who cared for her with great love and patience.
Bill is survived by his son James; 4 grandchildren; and 6 great-grandchildren.
