Global Church Partnership Team

Mark Szymanski

Mark and Cathy have been missionaries with United World Mission since 1998. Mark currently serves as Director of Global Partnerships and Mobilization and also serves as the Assistant to the Executive Director.

Mark received Christ as a teenager and became involved in assisting and developing ministries in the inner-city of Pittsburgh. In 1994 Mark became part of a church staff and functioned as their Mission and Executive pastor. His vision and efforts ignited a church planting strategy resulting in a country-wide church planting movement in Slovakia as well as many churches planted in North Hills of Pittsburgh.

Since joining United World Mission, Mark has been able to coach and mobilize approximately 1000 individuals and has helped many churches think through their cross-cultural involvement. Mark has developed and guided cross-cultural church planting and other ministry in several countries, traveled in more than 60 countries, and led more than 35 short-term trips.

Mark and his wife Cathy have been married for 30 years.  They have three children and four grandchildren.

John Bernard

John and Melinda Bernard have been missionaries with United World Mission since 1989. John currently serves as UWM's Executive Director, providing overall organizational leadership. John also serves as International Ministry Director, overseeing UWM’s Area Directors that lead missionary teams in over thirty nations around the world. In addition, John is a trainer at the Center of Intercultural Training which prepares missionaries from UWM and a number of other agencies and churches for cross-cultural ministry.

John earned a Doctor of Ministry in Missions from Columbia International University in 2005 with his dissertation focused on training church planters in Vietnam. John earned the Master of Divinity degree from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in 1987, and is ordained by the Conservative Congregational Christian Conference. In August 1994, John and Melinda completed a four-year term of service in Spain. John taught at a seminary in Madrid and served two local churches, ministering in the areas of evangelism, discipleship and leadership training aimed at preparing Spaniards for church planting ministry. Prior to joining UWM, John served as pastor of the Rand Memorial Church of Seabrook, New Hampshire, from 1987 to 1989.

John's warm and caring style of leadership is greatly appreciated by UWM's field missionaries and serves him well as a communicator. He and his wife, Melinda, have been married for twenty years and make their home in Fort Mill, South Carolina, with their two sons, Geoffrey and Daniel, and daughter, Emily Anne.

Tom Telford

Tom was born and raised in the family of a pastor and well-known evangelist. Becoming a Christian later in life, Tom was constrained by the biblical mandate to take the Gospel to the whole world. Tom is self-educated in missions and has invested his adult life in helping churches maximize their potential for world evangelization.

Tom was missions chairman for 10 years at Berachah Church in Cheltenham, Pennsylvania, and mission’s director for five more years at Chelten Baptist Church in Dresher Pennsylvania.

Tom is currently the Vice President of Mobilization for United World Mission. Prior to that he served 15 years with ACMC (Advancing Churches in Missions Commitment) as Northeast Regional Director and Supervisor of Regional Ministries. With ACMC Tom inspired, challenged and trained hundreds of churches in strengthening their commitment and approach to missions. And essentially, that is what he continues to do through United World Mission.

Tom is a sought after missions speaker and consultant for churches throughout the eastern United States. He has lectured on world missions and the local church at Seminary of the East, Philadelphia College of the Bible, Westminster Seminary and Columbia International University.

He is a regular lecturer in the course "Perspectives on the World Christian Movement". Tom has co/authored a book with Lois Shaw entitled "Missions in the 21st Century" - Shaw publishing company in Wheaton IL publishes it. His second book "Today's All-Star Missions Churches" is published by Baker Book House in Grand Rapids MI.

Tom is married to Nancy and they have two grown children and five grandchildren. Tom & Nancy now reside in Myrtle Beach, SC.