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| 1. Alex Araujo Senior Partnership Consultant Partners International / IPA |
2. Dr. David A. Baer President & CEO Overseas Council |
3. Dr. John Bernard President & CEO United World Mission |
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| 4. Mike Buus President DOOR International |
5. Rich Cotarelo Retired Board Treasurer |
6. Rodney Duttweiler UWM Missionary representative |
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| 7. Dr. Robert Ferris Retired Academic Administrator |
8. Mike Porrazzo Attorney at Law The Porrazzo Law Firm |
9. Todd Rankin – Chairman CEO & Managing Member Provident Investment Company, LLC |
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| 10. John Richardson President & CEO Fairfield-Maxwell Ltd |
11. Norie Roeder – Vice Chairman Systems Test Engineer Northrop Grumman |
12. Eddie Scott Partner Hancock Askew & Co, LLP |
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| 13. Doug Shiplett Executive Vice President BILD International |
14. Dr. Gabriela Tijerina Professor Juan Wesley Methodist Seminary |
15. Dr. Ron Young President, Executive Director & Coach Trove Inc. |
Melinda and I have been missionaries with United World Mission (UWM) since 1989. We joined UWM because we loved the emphasis on the local church and training leaders, which continue to be core to our mission and vision today. We served in Spain in the early 90s and returned to serve in organizational leadership, eventually being appointed as President in 2002.
We have been married for 25 years and have three great kids, Geoffrey (Junior at Winthrop University), Daniel (Sophomore at Furman University), and Emily (12 years old – 7th grade in the Fort Mill, SC public schools). We have lived in Fort Mill (outside Charlotte, NC) for 12 years but our heart’s home is the Boston area. I’m thankful for my time at Gordon-Conwell (Master of Divinity) and Columbia International University (Doctor of Ministry), as well as for our home church in Medway, MA, our present church home at Forest Hill Church in Charlotte, and for each of the churches and friends that have loved and supported us along the way!
My favorite times include being home with family and being with UWM missionaries and national Christians leaders with whom we serve all around the world. When I’m not home or on the road, I’m at the gym, on a bike, or, once in a great and special while, on the golf course—maybe the best place on earth, except Fenway Park in Boston!
Billy began to discover God’s heart for the world during his sophomore year of college at Appalachian State University. While on a summer trip to New York City he found himself constantly connecting with people around the world. This was the beginning of a journey to the nations. During the Spring of the next year his future wife Kate was coordinating a course called Perspectives on the World Christian Movement. Billy took the class and was changed forever as he finally had a solid foundation for understanding God’s heart for the world.
After marriage and graduation in 2006, Billy & Kate joined a collegiate mobilization group called The Traveling Team. For the next three years they traveled the US speaking on over 200 college campuses sharing with more than 20,000 students about God’s heart for the world. During this time, Billy held the roles of Team Leader and Summer Project Director. Both positions were formative experiences in shaping him as a leader.
In 2009 Billy & Kate joined UWM’s Mobilization Team. Billy’s primary role is Director of Mobilization where he overseas the efforts to raise up new missionaries to be sent throughout the world. He spends his time coaching individuals and families in their journey for missionaries, speaking at churches and conferences about UWM, and connecting with missionaries around the world to understand their fields and ways they are growing.
As a member of the Millennial Generation, he is passionate about helping his generation find on-ramps to serving in missions. He loves engaging in conversations about the challenges that come as his generation begins to merge into leadership opportunities. His ultimate hope is to stand in the gap linking world-changers from previous generations to those of future generations to come.
Kate knew at a young age that she wanted to be a missionary, but it wasn't until a summer in college that she began to understand what her role in the Great Commission could be. After spending that summer with a group called The Traveling Team, learning about the world and taking the Perspectives class, Kate knew it wasn’t enough for just her to become a missionary. She had to help others catch the vision of what God was doing around the world.
Kate graduated with a teaching degree from Appalachian State University, married her husband Billy two weeks later, and joined The Traveling Team's staff the next year. They spent three years traveling to college campuses speaking to students about God's heart for the world and His desire to use students to take the gospel to unreached places across the globe. They served as team leaders and summer project directors.
In 2009, Kate and Billy moved home to Charlotte and Billy joined United World Mission as Director of Mobilization. Kate spent the year teaching English and History, before also joining the Mobilization team. After the addition of their son, Rush, she now works part time connecting with individuals and families interested in finding their role in the Great Commission. Kate hopes to inspire people to be obedient to God's call and help them find their place serving on our teams overseas.
George graduated in 1975 from Columbia Bible College with a Bachelor of Arts (B.A.) in Biblical Studies and a Master of Divinity (M.Div.) degree in l979 from Denver Conservative Baptist Theological Seminary. George completed his Doctor of Ministry (D.Min.) at Columbia International University in 2001. His dissertation was entitled Models of Missionary Training: An Assessment of Alternative Approaches to Training for Cross-Cultural Ministry.
George and his family served on the field in missions from 1980 to 1994 in Canada, Alaska, and Russia doing demographic and receptivity survey work in Minnesota, Ontario and Manitoba, teacher and director of the Arctic Bible Institute, church planting in an Athabascan village in Alaska, Director of Missionary Training Outreach (summer missionary program), Alaska Field Director, Director of Siberian Ministries and Russian Field Director.
Since1995 George has served as the director of the Center for Intercultural Training.
Mark has been actively involved in various aspects of ministry since 1974. Throughout the years he has assisted churches and parachurch ministries in developing their staff and volunteers in strategic outreach leading to transformational impact and churches planted. He served as a Mission/Administrative Pastor from 1994 to 1998 in Pennsylvania as well as the Executive Director of The Doorway Inc.
Mark has developed and guided cross-cultural church planting and other ministry in several countries, traveled in more than 75 countries, and led more than 35 short-term trips. In 1998 he joined United World Mission as Assistant to the President where he was excited to become involved in a movement, which was planting churches across the world. Today Mark’s role at United World Mission has expanded to include mobilization, field development, church partnerships, and leadership development.
Mark and his wife, Cathy, have been married for 32 years. They have three adult children, five grandchildren, and reside in Matthews, NC
In the jungles of Southeast Asia, God planted a dream in the heart of Gene Toombs. As a Soldier in Vietnam Gene experienced the spiritual and physical desperation of people in the third world. God moved his heart to do something. He didn’t know how or where, but he knew that he wanted to give his life on the mission field. When Gene returned to the States, God began to unfold his plan. Gene met his perfect helper Cheryl at Taylor University. Cheryl shared Gene’s passion for missions. In a short time they were married and dreaming of the mission field.
At a mission conference Gene met the founder of Dakar Academy located in Senegal, West Africa. It was a perfect fit. On November 23, 1973 the Toombs arrived in Dakar where they served for 23 years and raised their family.
Fast forward nearly 15 years. Gene and Cheryl’s passion for reaching the lost in Senegal is as strong as ever. Two of their three children are UWM missionaries to Senegal. Gene serves as a team coordinator for churches serving with the Adopt-A-Village program reaching rural Senegalese Muslim communities. Cheryl serves in the UWM home office where she manages payroll and benefits for missionaries in 30 nations.
In the jungles of Southeast Asia, God planted a dream in the heart of Gene Toombs. As a soldier in Vietnam, Gene experienced the spiritual and physical desperation of people in the third world. God moved his heart to do something. He didn’t know how or where, but he knew that he wanted to give his life on the mission field. When Gene returned to the States, God began to unfold his plan. Gene met his perfect helper Cheryl at Taylor University. Cheryl shared Gene’s passion for missions. In a short time they were married and dreaming of the mission field.
At a mission conference Gene met the founder of Dakar Academy located in Senegal, West Africa. It was a perfect fit. On November 23, 1973 the Toombs arrived in Dakar where they served for 23 years and raised their family.
Fast forward nearly 15 years. Gene and Cheryl’s passion for reaching the lost in Senegal is as strong as ever. Two of their three children are UWM missionaries to Senegal. Gene serves as a team coordinator for churches serving with the Adopt-A-Village program reaching rural Senegalese Muslim communities. Cheryl serves in the UWM home office where she manages payroll and benefits for missionaries in 30 nations.
Each time Jim and Anne think about their purpose in life they come back to one thing: global missions. When they were married in 1997, they were passionate about connecting lost and marginalized people of the world to Jesus, and their passion continued as they served as field missionaries in Uganda. When they returned to their home in Massachusetts where both pursued professional careers, they sensed that Jim’s experiences leading people in the business world were preparing him to make an impact for God’s Kingdom.
Last year Jim and Anne connected with United World Mission and found the opportunity they had been waiting for. Jim was offered the position of Assistant to the President and joined the mission in March 2010. In November 2010 he was promoted to Chief Financial Officer & Assistant to the President. In these roles, Jim affects the work of missionaries in 30 nations of the world by applying his unique combination of field missionary experience and business training to the challenges of building disciple making communities around the world.
Rodney and Kathy Duttweiler, having married after graduating from Wheaton College arrived in Senegal in June 1989. In their first four 1/2 years they engaged in evangelism and discipleship outside Dakar, the country’s capital, using both French and Wolof, the national language of Senegal. Their children Caleb (19) and Jessica (16) were born and raised in Dakar. Their experiences in front line ministry prepared them for the Rodney’s next role in leadership.
In 1998, Rodney became the Senegal Team leader and Africa Area Director. He serves with 20 years of ministry experience, with over 10 in leadership. He has developed church leaders, advised parachurch organizations, including The Institute of Evangelical Theology of Senegal. Rod and Kathy have also served on the school board of ASCI accredited Dakar Academy. Kathy serves in hospitality and encouragement and as a translator for ministry partner, Mission Inter Senegal.
In 2001 God began working deeply in our life and moving our hearts to consider the need of the gospel throughout the world. We opened ourselves up to whatever God might want to do IN and THROUGH us cross-culturally. In January 2003 my wife Serina and I left our professional careers in control system design and oncology nursing and with our 3 young daughters opened India as a new field for UWM. We worked with nationals and developed a partnership that focused on chronological Bible storying, small business development and church planting training. By God's grace this lead to over 100 village churches being started. We later helped a second team begin work in another area of India. We like to say that India was the best and worst of times. We wouldn't trade it but it was hard. We came to believe that God must do a great work IN us so that he can do greater works THROUGH us. We are grateful and honored to have been a part of what God is doing in Incredible India and that those we invested in continue the work for His glory.
As early 2007 dawned, God began to work in our hearts once again and we sensed a change may be ahead. UWM asked us to move to Budapest, Hungary to serve as an Area Director working with our teams in Central and Eastern Europe; providing spiritual care, leadership and development of our teams. Ironically, these were the very things God was moving my heart toward. Since our arrival, my role has expanded to all of Europe and serving as a co-Area Director. Simultaneously, our hearts have found a home in Hungary and we long for and work to see a relevant life-giving church emerge in our area. Our ministry is two fold, serving our teams throughout Europe and sharing the love of Christ around us. Our four wonderful children (3 daughters and a son) attend the International Christian School of Budapest, which UWM helped start after the Berlin wall came down in 1989. They are engaged in ministries through the school. This is where our family currently serves with UWM and we are enjoying the journey.
My family and I have the privilege of living and working in Asia. It has been an interesting journey for us. My wife, Theresa, and I grew up in Atlanta, GA. Shorty after our graduation from the University of Georgia, we were married and settled into life in suburbia. In this prior life I was a CPA and Theresa taught elementary school. Life was good as our three kids were born in Atlanta and I moved from working for one of the largest international CPA firms to starting my own firm with two of my best friends.
We were minding our own business when God introduced us to the rest of the world through short-term trips with our church. One thing led to another and our family found ourselves living and working in Guatemala. From there we moved to Colorado Springs to work with a partnership working in the former Soviet countries of Eastern Europe and Central Asia. That led to us moving to Northern Thailand almost seven years ago. I am currently the Asia Area Director for a non-profit organization.
I have the best job in the world as I work closely with all of our teams spread throughout this part of the world. While I am zipping around the continent, Theresa is volunteering full-time as the Elementary Librarian at Grace International School. She will tell you that she has the best job in the world as she mixes her love for kids with her love for books. R.J. and Joshua are students at G.I.S. and Frannie is a freshman at Wake Forest University.
I love to learn about cultures, leadership and the church and hope to share my thoughts on these topics and more here. The idea of Culture Trekking is our journey through life as we live and work in many cultures.
Email Rich | 
Facebook | 
Twitter | blog: www.culturetrekking.org
The world as I knew it changed dramatically in 1989 with the fall of the "Iron Curtain". With the scourge of communism gone in Europe, opportunities for evangelism and church planting once again abounded! Wendy and I responded to this opportunity through the ground-breaking efforts of United World Mission when we moved our young family to Estonia in 1996. 
My wife and I both felt called to missions at an early age. We weren’t sure what that meant or what it would look like but we knew it was where God was leading us. We got connected with United World Mission and that has resulted in a greater adventure than we ever expected.
After seminary and missionary training, in 1998, we moved to Uruguay. At that time Uruguay was considered one of the most secular countries and was a difficult place to work. While there, we helped start a seminary that now has over 1,000 students. We also helped develop a church planter training that is now being used throughout Latin America. Since then we have had the opportunity to see churches planted in Colombia and Cuba, among other countries. I am currently living in Costa Rica and serving as the co-area director for Latin America.
My wife and I have served with United World Mission for nearly 19 years. We left behind business careers, and after appointment, pre-field training in North Carolina and Spanish language training in Costa Rica, we were assigned to serve as church planters with the Quechua people of Bolivia, who were considered at that time the largest unreached people group in South America.
We served for nearly 10 years in Bolivia and in February 2004, due to health issues, we were redeployed to the United States and assigned to UWM’s church mobilization team for three years. This assignment was serving as representatives of the mission for Latin America issues, recruiting and mentoring new missionaries, leading short term mission teams to the area, and assisting field leadership with personnel issues.
In 2005, we were asked to coordinate the UWM Cuba Partnership Project and have been heavily involved in development and expansion of this work since that time. We have been blessed to see the project expand as UWM and several North American and Central American partners seek to help the Cuban church realize its vision for the island.
In 2006, in addition to their duties working with the Cuba project, Paul and Dori asked to assume an expanded leadership role as Co-Area Director for Latin America and the Caribbean region. This required redeployment to Costa Rica to continue in Paul’s duties as Project Coordinator for the Cuba Partnership and for easy access to travel to the fields in Central America, South America, and the Caribbean (Costa Rica, Dominican Republic, Nicaragua, Bolivia, Uruguay, Colombia, Chile and Cuba). We currently reside in San Jose, Costa Rica with our two children, Samuel and Sarah. We have been privileged to see God’s work expanded throughout Latin America.
Gabe and Janet are both from Charlotte. Their adventure began nearly 12 years ago when they were married two weeks after Gabe graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point. After 8 years on active duty in the Army, Gabe as an Infantry Captain and Janet as a professional Army wife, the Smiths moved back to Charlotte where they began the next part of their journey as civilians. They welcomed their daughter Madeline into the world and Gabe began work as the Mission and Outreach Pastor of their home church. While serving in that capacity the Lord began to give Gabe and Janet passion for his people around the world. So, when an opportunity to serve with United World Mission became available it was a natural fit. Since then Gabe has served the UWM family as Director of Mobilization and Director of Communication. In May, Gabe will graduate from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary with a Masters of Divinity. Next year Gabe, Janet and Madeline look forward to beginning their next phase of life in Nairobi as part of the UWM Africa team.
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