Beyond These Walls 2025

Dr. Brian Fikkert is the Founder and President of the Chalmers Center for Economic Development at Covenant College, where he also serves as a Professor of Economics and Community Development.

He is coauthor of the best-selling book When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor...and Yourself as well as:

• Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions

• Helping Without Hurting in Church Benevolence

• From Dependence to Dignity: How to Alleviate Poverty Through Church-Centered Microfinance

• Practicing the King’s Economy: Honoring Jesus in How we Work, Earn, Spend, Save, and Give

• Becoming Whole: Why the Opposite of Poverty Isn’t the American Dream

• A Field Guide to Becoming Whole: Principles for Poverty Alleviation Ministries

Dr. Fikkert earned a Ph.D. in economics from Yale University, specializing in international economics and economic development. He is the author of numerous articles in both academic and popular journals. Prior to coming to Covenant College in 1997, he was a professor at the University of Maryland—College Park and a research fellow at the Center for Institutional Reform and the Informal Sector.

He and his wife Jill have 3 adult children and live in Chattanooga, Tenn.

David F. Watson is Academic Dean and Professor of New Testament at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio. He has authored or edited a number of publications, including Key United Methodist Beliefs (with William J. Abraham), Wesley, Wesleyans, and Reading Bible as Scripture (edited with Joel B. Green) and has written a variety of articles and book chapters. His most recent book is Scripture and the Life of God: Why the Bible Matters Today More than Ever (Seedbed, 2017). At present he is working on a book on Methodism and the Bible. He serves as Lead Editor of Firebrand and is one of the hosts of the Firebrand Podcast.

David is an elder in the Global Methodist Church and serves on its Transitional Leadership Council. He and his family attend Stillwater Church in Dayton, Ohio.

John is New Jersey native. It was there that his family introduced him to Jesus and his whole family was very active in the church. John attended Asbury University in Wilmore, KY where he completed his Bachelor of Arts degree in Education. He also attended Asbury Theological Seminary.

In 2005, John married his wife, Erica, finished his Masters in Biblical Studies at Wesley Biblical Seminary in Jackson, MS, and a year later, he and his wife moved to Northern Uganda to be missionaries with World Gospel Mission training indigenous church planters on the Sudanese border.

God then led them back to the United Sates and opened the door to serve on staff at Southeast Christian Church, in Louisville, KY as the disciple-making pastor for 5 years. In 2014 he became a campus pastor with Community Christian Church in Chicago.

Then in 2017, John returned to World Gospel Mission, and was invited to join the executive team. John now serves as the Vice President of International Ministries and Mobilization and is currently working on his PhD in Manchester England on Spiritual Formation and Leadership in Generation Z.

John & Erica have three children, Jackson (13) and Caleb (11) and Ava (9) and live in Noblesville, IN.

Pastor Luciano Pereira da Silva is 48 years old, has been married for 27 years to Shirley Rocha (47) and they have a daughter, Maria Fernanda Rocha Pereira, 22 years old.

He is currently pursuing a Masters in Ministry at Fuller University, Pasadena, California, United States of America.

Graduated in Bachelor of Theology from the Faculty of Theology of the Methodist Church in São Paulo, Brazil.

Ministerial Experience:

He has been pastor of the Brazilian Methodist Church since 1996. He was pastor in the state of Paraná from 2000 to 2010, where he revitalized and planted some churches. In 2010 he traveled to several cities in Brazil where he preached in more than 70 churches. In 2011 he was sent as a missionary to Peru, where he was the national director of discipleship for four years, supporting and mentoring pastors and leaders from all over the country in the development of churches based on discipleship.

In 2013 he was appointed in Costa Rica as general secretary of CIEMAL (Council of Evangelical Methodist Churches of Latin America and the Caribbean). From 2013 until mid-2022, he worked with churches in Latin America and the Caribbean, training more than 2,000 people for mission and discipleship. He traveled to over 42 countries around the world giving talks on mission and discipleship. He currently lives in Panama City, where he founded the ASA – Movement missionary training and sending center.

He is the author of four books, "To tread on serpents and scopiōes", which talks about the importance of intercession and spiritual struggle, "The Fire of God", a force that drives the Church in mission. “The passion for evangelization and discipleship”, in Portuguese, English and Spanish, where he talks about the importance of evangelization and discipleship.

And his last book deals with the need for revival: "It shall flow like a river, or revival comes from the throne."

Since 1992 Dr. Dan Slagle has served in a wide variety of ministry roles including associate pastor, church planter, and missions pastor. From 2006-2022, Dan launched and led a missions ministry at Faithbridge Church that would ultimately involve over 2,000 individuals serving outside the walls of the church with an annual operating budget of $1.2 million. During that time Dan had the opportunity to lead over 50 short term mission trips to 19 countries. In 2022 Dan joined the staff of the International Leadership Institute where he now serves as Director for South Asia. Dan and his wife, Becky, have been married for 26 years and have three adult children.

Dr. Wes Griffin is a dreamer, visionary, activist, husband, dad, fisherman, and most of all a follower of Christ. His passion is seeing lives transformed by the power of the Gospel. Over twenty years ago, God called Wes, his wife Joy, and a team of leaders from around the world to change history by equipping leaders and accelerating the spread of the Gospel through the International Leadership Institute (ILI). Today, there are over 365,000 ILI alumni in more than 150 nations who are committed to fulfilling the Great Commission. For more information, visit ILITeam.org. You can also follow Wes on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter. 

Nathan Cook is the Mission Pastor at Christ Church in Memphis. Previously he spent 20 years starting house churches in urban neighborhoods and preparing young physicians for missionary service. He has served on faculty with Family Practice Residency Programs at Christ Community Health Services and Resurrection Health. He has been a regular speaker at the Global Missions Health Conference in Louisville, KY and the Christian Community Health Fellowship. He spent several years doing grassroot community development, helping to start an outreach to women trapped in prostitution and addiction. He is a graduate of Asbury Seminary in Wilmore, KY. He is married to Kim, his partner in life and ministry. Together they have three children: Caleb, Grace and Ella.

Pam Bone is a native of Columbus, Georgia. She and her husband, Jimmy, have been married 31 years and have 2 adult sons, Gantt and Curtis. They also host 2 international students in their home.

Pam is currently serving as the Southeast Regional Director for Church Partners at One Mission Society. She previously served 8 years as Director of Missions in her local church where a culture of sending has produced 26 global workers in addition to multiple regional and local workers in its 24-year history. Pam learned valuable lessons from the church’s sending successes and failures during her time on staff. She also launched and sold a successful small business and served as a trainer for other prospective franchisees. Pam started her career in finance and operations at Synovus Financial where she worked for 15 years.

In her spare time, Pam enjoys small landscape projects, yard-sales, SUDOKU, weight-lifting, watching movies and having conversations over a good cup of coffee. Pam is passionate about collaborating and encouraging churches and individuals to fulfill their roles in the Great Commission!

Pastor Trai Elliott was born and raised in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Pastor Trai is married to his lovely wife, Pastor Lakedra Elliott, and they have three dogs: Simeon, Naphtali, and Genesis. Pastor Trai accepted the call to be an evangelist and pastor on January 7th, 2018.

He is currently living in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where he and his wife are making disciples of every nation through their ministry, Revelation 1211 Ministries.

Pastor Trai is also an entrepreneur and spends his time mobilizing and empowering college students for the mission field, partnering with the Capital C Church and helping God's children to prepare the way for the Lord in every sphere of influence.

Degrees and Experience:

• B.A in Ministry and Leadership with a Concentration in Evangelism and Outreach.

• Missions Mobilizer for World Gospel Missions

• Outreach Pastor for Be Heard Movement

• Co-Founder of Revelation 1211 Ministries

• Christian Fashion Designer and Founder of Yakol Fashion

Tom Bassford is founder and president of Significant Matters, an organization working with churches and the faith-driven community to pursue and promote sustainable and transformative solutions for people and communities fighting poverty and seeking a better future. They provide training and an online video library called SaTtalks featuring pioneers in this space. An additional component of their work is the SaTCatalyst Fund, which allows people to use donor advised funds (DAFs) for impact investing and EquityVest, a Regulation Crowdfunding (Reg CF) portal allowing almost anyone over 18 to invest in faith-driven entrepreneurs, businesses, and causes they believe in. The purpose of these investment tools is to mobilize the faith-based world to more intentionally use enterprise solutions as a way to shape culture, address poverty, affirm human dignity, and advance the gospel.

Before founding Significant Matters, he pastored for over 30 years and has been involved in the work of church missions both locally and internationally for over 40 years. He lives with his wife Nancy in Overland Park, Kansas and together they enjoy their three married children and seven grandchildren who all live in the area.

Carl Gulley is the Associate Pastor at Antioch Community Church in Waco, TX- which he & a team of people helped plant in 1999. He and his wife, Blair, have been married for 24 years and have four children, ages 15-22. Carl served as a Youth Pastor for 10 years, and a College Pastor for 11 years, before stepping into his current role. After 25 years of discipleship and raising up church planters, he crashed emotionally and almost quit. The last 2 years have been a journey of renewal, and he is now passionate about helping other leaders cultivate their intimacy with Jesus so they thrive in life and in ministry.

Dr. Maria de Pirona — Dr. Pirona is a pediatrician and founding medical director of the Wesley Medical Centers, now five centers in 3 states in Venezuela. The centers will treat over 25,000 patients in 2023. The centers employ over 60 health professionals. One new program is Una Esperanza treating hundreds of very poor mothers and their babies providing prenatal and postnatal care, nutrition care and teaching of parenting skills. Dr. María is also a pastor and leads dynamic women’s ministries in Venezuela.

In 2009, Amber’s local church sensed God leading them to make a 25 year commitment to a specific, underserved neighborhood in Birmingham, AL. Soon after, God called Amber & her husband Stephen to leave their suburban home & live in an urban neighborhood for 7 years. It was one of the best decisions of her life.

Amber is a graduate of Samford University & manager of her family-owned restaurant. She is frequently seen chasing her kids around the yard, reading classic literature, & sipping a half cup of coffee that she made hours earlier but soon forgot about.

Paulo is the Director of Emerging Leadership for World Methodist Evangelism, a ministry that equips the global Wesleyan Methodist family of Christians to build faith-sharing movements. He is a frequent speaker and a leadership coach, focusing on missional leadership, discipleship, and evangelism. He loves connecting with leaders around the world and getting into "holy kingdom mischief."

Paulo is originally from Brazil and he believed his calling was to become a diplomat. He and God just disagreed on what kind of diplomat he would become. He and his wife Juliana came to the US shortly after marrying in 2007. They now have three Brazilian-American daughters, Carolina, Sofia, and Olivia, who are all soccer players (obviously).

Todd and Pam served for four years with TMS Global as cross-cultural workers in Thailand and led the way in creating formative short-term mission experiences.

Now, Todd and Pam connect with people exploring cross-cultural ministry and walk with them as they discern next steps. In his free time, Todd loves to work with his hands and watch sporting events. And Pam loves spending time with her family, friends, and meeting new people.

J.D. Walt — Reverend John David (J.D.) Walt is the Founder and President (a.k.a. The Sower-in-Chief) of Seedbed, Inc. (founded 2012) whose mission is to gather, connect and resource the people of God to sow for a great awakening. Seedbed, a non-denominational ministry, publishes a full complement of awakening and disciple-making resources, hosts the annual NewRoom Conference which has grown from an attendance of 200 to approaching 3,000 over the past eight years, and connects leaders of all sorts, lay and clergy, in the work of sowing for the awakening throughout the world. He writes every day for The Seedbed Daily Text, a devotional followed by tens of thousands of readers. He is a licensed attorney in the state of Arkansas and an ordained elder in the Texas Annual Conference of the United Methodist Church.

Sarah serves as the vice president for mobilization. In this role, she gives strategic direction to TMS Global’s efforts to mobilize individuals and churches for cross-cultural mission work, both in the US and abroad. Internationally, TMS Global trains and mobilizes churches to join the global mission movement to serve least-reached people by developing mobilization hub teams, tools, and training. Domestically, the US mobilization teams walk alongside individuals and churches as they discover their unique place in God’s global mission. A former campus minister, Sarah oversees and directs TMS Global’s mobilization efforts with the passion of seeing the body of Christ awaken to its calling and, together, display and proclaim the kingdom of God.

Bert and Sarah met and married in South Georgia and later moved to Kentucky where Sarah pursued her Master of Divinity at Asbury Theological Seminary. Ten years and three kids later, Sarah finally earned her degree and their family moved back to Georgia. In her spare time, Sarah loves to read, do puzzles, hike, and spend time with the people she loves.

Ben Birdsong serves as the Missions Minister at Christ Church Birmingham. Ben is also an adjunct professor at Birmingham Theological Seminary. Ben is also the chief creative for Birdsong Innovations and Your Youth Ministry Curriculum. He is the author of the devotional books Words from the Cross: 7 Statements to Transform Your Life and James: Everyday Faith.

Ben has bachelors degrees in Marketing and Human Resource Management from the University of Alabama at Birmingham, a Masters of Divinity degree from Samford University’s Beeson Divinity School, and a Doctor of Ministry student focusing in Ministry to Emerging Generations from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary. Ben was licensed and ordained to the ministry at the Church at Brook Hills in July of 2009.

In addition to serving in the local church, Ben also serves on the Global Missional Partnership Team for the Global Methodist Church and as the president of two local non-profit board of directors in Birmingham, Alabama. Ben is married to Liz, and they are parents to two British dogs, Lady, a King Charles Cavalier, and Lily, a Welsh Corgi. For more information about Ben, visit his website at www.benbirdsong.com

Janis Albergotti is one of the founders and the Executive Director of CIRCLES® Lexington County, a local chapter of CIRCLES® USA, a community-driven organization that intentionally builds relationships across economic lines to create long-term pathways for upward mobility and financial self-sufficiency for individuals and families in poverty.

Janis has vigorously followed the Lord’s call to spread the Gospel to the ends of the Earth by serving as the Director of Missions & Outreach for the past 5 years of her 20 years in ministry at Mt. Horeb United Methodist Church in South Carolina. This role has allowed her to mobilize people and resources to impact individuals, ministries, missionaries, and organizations all over the world. As a part of her passion to help others engage more fully in the work of evangelism locally, nationally, and globally, Janis also has been training and leading short-term mission teams that support long-term ministry relationships for over a decade.

Janis is currently completing her Masters of Evangelism at Wheaton College and has a certification in Women’s Leadership from Columbia International University. She is wife to Jim, mom to two grown kids and two kids-in-love, “Janny” to two grandkids, and dog mom to golden retriever, Bella.

Lynette Fields is the Executive Director of Poverty Solutions Group or PSG. She was instrumental in the formation of PSG that launched in early 2020 with support from St. Luke’s United Methodist church. She comes to PSG with over 30 years of cross-community work experience in Indiana, Michigan, and Florida. She has a B.A. in Pre-theology from the University of Evansville and a Master of Social Work from the University of Michigan with a focus on community organizing and group work. She is excited about being a part of an emerging movement across the country that is shifting the conversation and work from poverty management to poverty reduction.

John Muehleisen is the Vice President for Global Strategy and Training at World Gospel Mission. John, a graduate of Asbury University and Wesley Biblical Seminary, has served as a missionary with World Gospel Mission in East Africa for 37 years.

He currently serves as the VP for Global Strategy and Training for WGM.

Chris and his family served with One Mission Society (OMS) for 7 years in Medellín Colombia in facilitating church planting and promoting missionary movements through teaching missions to pastors’ conferences and in churches. He also helped develop course materials for the Bible institute and missions' programs for OMS. Chris served as the Colombia field director and as the regional director for Latin America and the Caribbean and currently serves as the executive director of global ministries for OMS. He is passionate about God’s mission, helping people find their place in God’s story, leadership, and proclaiming God’s eternal truths through teaching and preaching.

William Coppedge and his wife Joanna met at Asbury University. They then studied together at Wesley Biblical Seminary before God called them to live and serve in northern Uganda for seven years.

Out of working alongside national church leaders in both Uganda and South Sudan, William came to realize the power of oral methodologies for communicating the gospel, whether in theological training, community development, or witnessing to one’s neighbor.

William believes the legitimacy of harnessing oral strategies for communicating God’s word throughout the world rests in God desiring to be known. The primary way God brings transformation in the human heart is through engagement in his Word, both in the person of Jesus Christ and his Scriptures. William’s passion is to help others experience such engagement through whichever communication method necessary, so they can experience the transformation of knowing Jesus.

Currently, he is on special assignment with World Gospel Mission as a Catalyst for Orality with the Lausanne Movement.