MBC Missions | Get involved with our Local & World Partners.
We are committed to making a difference by empowering people to embrace God’s missional mandate to love and serve our neighbors around the corner and throughout the world. The MBC Missions Team is dedicated to supporting numerous World Partners, as well as strategic local ministries.
MBC has a long and rich heritage of following the Great Commandment to “Go into all the World…” (Matthew 28:18-20) to spread the Gospel of Jesus Christ. That heritage continues to the present day as MBC supports World Partners serving in 16 countries as well as 5 local and 3 international organizations. All of which are focused on meeting people where they are and ministering to both their spiritual and physical needs.
The support provided by MBC is hands-on as well as monetary. Over and above the “regular support” special Ministry initiatives are undertaken such as:
- Bringing clean water to a remote village in Senegal,
- Outfitting an auto repair shop so that men and women can be trained in auto repair and earn a living for themselves and their families
- Paying for an RN for a 1st Choice crisis pregnancy center
We’d love to tell you more and if you are interested click the Get Involved to learn how you can put your time and talents to use in meeting people’s spiritual and physical needs.
How you can put your faith into action:
- Join the Missions Team
- Serve with one of our local partners
- Consider participating in missions trips
- Pray for our World Partners
Continue your financial gifts to MBC
If you would like to get involved with our Missions efforts please contact us here.
Our missions are intended to motivate one another towards love and good deeds so that it may encourage Renewal, Growth, Connection & Action within community and the world around us.
World Partners | Get to know our many missionaries.
Click on a pin to pull up World Partner info.
Steven & Gwen Anderson
Steven and Gwen are a young missionary couple who have been married for five years and have two boys, Atticus and Matthias, and another baby on the way! They plan to come alongside church planters in a mountainous part of Ecuador to partner with them and help minister to the Awa people. There in the remote town of Palmira, they intend to help build a church plant among this indigenous group.
In such a remote area of Ecuador, Steven and Gwen have the conviction to preach the gospel and share His good news with those in need. “We can’t imagine dedicating our lives to a more worthy purpose than that of bringing people the good news of the Gospel of Jesus Christ!
Diana & Bogdan Anton
Diana (DU) and Bogdan Anton are based in Bucharest, the capital city of Romania, working with Josiah Venture.
Bogdan leads a national ministry of evangelism and discipleship through sports, called EDGE, and he constantly trains church leaders who are desiring to use this platform to connect with unchurched teenage boys in the cities and villages in Romania.
He is passionate about using sports to connect people to Jesus Christ, because God used sports to connect him to a church ministry and thus to hear the Gospel for the first time when he was 21 years old. Diana is focused on discipling young women and mentoring women leaders, both locally and nationally. Together they also do discipleship training for youth leaders and pastors, and lead the youth ministry in their local church.
Michael & Debbie Bannon
Since 1981, they have served with WorldVenture in evangelism, church planting and leadership development. They first served in Kenya for 14 years, working with an unreached Muslim tribe. Then in 1997, with Lithuania’s independence and Michael’s Lithuanian heritage they redeployed to Lithuania. By 2012, they felt that the national leadership was very capable of continuing this on their own.
In 2012, they were invited to Galway, Ireland as part of the pastoral staff of a church plant made up of over 20 nationalities. They sought to minister to these people and encourage them to reach out to the Irish people around them as well as to the nations they represented. They served in Ireland for 6 years.
Then in 2019, World Venture asked them to take a new position helping to train the next generation of World Partners. They connect with churches, colleges, and special mission events to call out and train those who desire to reach the unreached of the World for Jesus!
Darius & Bia Bocsa
Darius and Bia Bocsa serve with Josiah Venture in Romania. Josiah Venture’s vision is a movement of God among the youth of Central and Eastern Europe that finds its home in the local church and transforms society with a mission to equip young leaders to fulfill Christ’s commission through the local church.
This mission is being achieved through churches throughout Romania with such activities as youth leadership training, holding Evangelistic Summer camps, and assisting in church planting.
Tami Brown
Since 2018, Tami has served as the President and CEO of IDEAS. IDEAs promotes international transformative development through small business, health initiatives, and adult education.
Along with her late husband, Stan, Tami has invested skills and resources in Pakistan, Kenya, and Central Asia. Prior to her current role, Tami served as Vice President of Global Operations for IDEAS.
Bo and Michele Columbine minister to African Families in predominantly Muslim Senegal. Bo, who is a mechanic, welder, and machinist, serves men (and women) by teaching them vocational skills. He opened a vocational trade school to teach auto mechanics.
An essential part of the training will be Bible lessons. Christian business ethics using the Bible will also be incorporated. In a country that has a 48% unemployment rate it is necessary to make job makers and not job seekers. They currently have up to 8 students. Michele ministers to the women primarily through an ESL class she teaches. Bo and Michele have two daughters; Grace and Faith.
F
F is a missionary through World Venture, stationed in Europe with a primary focus on Asian women in prostitution, and a secondary focus on friends, neighbors and the artist community in Austria.
Before moving to Austria in 2017, F worked with marginalized and sexually exploited people in a closed Asian country from 2007-2017.
F and her husband are excited to communicate with you, but because of their continued close contact with and desire to continue training trips in that country, need to keep a low internet profile.
Please reach out to helpexploitedwomen@proton.me to know how to connect with, pray for or financially support.
Lucas & Bekah Grudda
Lucas and Bekah Grudda minister with World Venture in Senegal, Africa. They serve as teachers in Dakar Academy, a school for Missionary and Expatriate children.
Specifically, they seek to impact the children for Christ as they teach them physical education and coach several sports. They have four young children: Olivia, Caleb, and Micah, and Macie.
Maceo & Rosalie Hemmingway
Serving in Newark and South Carolina, the Hemmingways offer counseling, help with addiction problems, and assist with those dealing with single-parent homes and unemployment.
They also look for opportunities to present the gospel through Bible studies, retreats, support groups, tutoring, and street evangelism.
Nathan & Becky Kendall
Nathan and Becky Kendall moved from Guinea to Senegal, West Africa in 2022. Previously, they spent 18 years working in Guinea. The church they worked with tripled in size over their time, primarily as congregants were encouraged to invest in each other and engage their community. Nathan trained leaders in the church as well as in government.
They worked with university students, targeting mainly the few Christian students, to grow them in their walk with God and develop their academic and professional skills. They also worked on developing the people around them, be it starting a missionary kid school and anglophone library, multiple businesses, or teaching professional skills.
Part of the Kendalls’ life goal is to grow Christ’s Kingdom wherever they are. As they start work in Senegal they are looking for how to use their experiences and skills to make an impact and grow Christ’s Kingdom there.
They have three children: Philip, Marie, and Taliana, and have served with WorldVenture since 2001.
Rachel & Shelbey Hunt
Rachel and Shelbey have been in the UK for five years in various roles. They currently serve with GEM UK in England in a micro-church coffee shop. They equip, serve, and invite the local community into a true relationship with Jesus while encouraging their fellow brothers and sisters to reach out alongside them.
Rachel and Shelbey both work within the coffee shop amongst local customers and regulars while developing relationships with a gospel end in mind. Rachel serves the church community through discipleship, teaching, and encouraging a group of believers through a small group. Shelbey helps lead both the small church community as well as a network that connects various churches throughout Bicester. He also works with GEM UK to empower new missionaries entering the field for their first terms.
Kevin & Kaori Laverman
Kevin and Kaori Laverman (WorldVenture, Japan) recently made a move, following the Lord’s lead to reach out to a huge new subdivision of Tokyo with no Christian churches.
Along with the new work in “Muko,” they continue to support Denen Grace Chapel in Kawasaki. This church reaches out to its community and to returnees, Japanese people who became Christians abroad.
Gracie Leung
Gracie Leung is on staff with InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, serving local campuses, The College of New Jersey (TCNJ) and Princeton University.
The mission of InterVarsity is to establish and advance witnessing communities on campuses that follow Jesus as Lord, growing in love for God, God’s word, God’s people of every ethnicity and culture, and God’s purposes.
Gracie disciples, equips, and empowers students to follow Jesus with their whole lives and bring the Good News to those on campus who are loved by God yet do not know Him yet.
Church members are trained and encouraged to start their own bible studies with their family members, friends, and co-workers, and to develop different missional initiatives to reach students, refugees, street children and their families, those enslaved in the sex industry, and those who have little access to healthcare, and partner together to prepare to send out our own local members to an unreached, unengaged people group near us.
Adrienne Livingston
Since 2014, Adrienne Livingston has been the Director of Anti-Sex Trafficking Initiatives (Oregon) with WorldVenture. Adrienne is a Co-Developer of the Girl Empowerment Curriculum which was created as a sex trafficking and domestic violence prevention curriculum for middle and high school girls.
The desire to see girls understand their value as image bearers of God, navigate relationships in healthy and safe ways, and be equipped to recognize and avoid sex trafficking and domestic violence situations. She is the producer and host of the Justice Hope Freedom Podcast to educate about the issues of sex trafficking and exploitation. A life value she holds is giving back to community and upholding justice and care.
Tammy & Rob Mittuch
Rob (affiliate staff), Tammy (full-time), Ellie (19), Trey (17), Mackenzie (15),
Tammy Mittuch is serving with Cru’s FamilyLife-Local ministry. She will be coaching the FamilyLife-Local staff women throughout the nation, equipping them to reach communities with the gospel while doing the same in her own sphere.
The hope & prayer is to see the gospel transform families by working with the local church, leading small groups, training others to share their faith, and reaching the lost with the gospel. Our hope is to help change the world one home at a time.
Diana Muenzenberger
Diana is a middle school teacher to missionary kids at Faith Academy in the Philippines. She first served at Faith Academy in 1995 on a missions trip.
Diana takes great joy in developing relationships with her students while watching them thrive academically. Find out more about Faith Academy.
Dave, Emily & Artemis Parmer
“David and Emily Parmer, along with their daughter Artemis, live in Strasbourg, France. They work with a team of believers to reach refugees and immigrants from unreached nations with the Good News. Since 2022, they have begun their journey of language learning and integrating into ministry life.
The team runs a coffee shop which offers people a haven to build community and receive help with administrative paperwork, French learning, and other life-on-life opportunities to express the love that Jesus has for each of them. With a long-term vision for churches to be planted in the least-reached neighborhoods of Strasbourg, the Parmer’s are seeking to use hospitality in the coffee shop and their own home to offer their neighbors a glimpse at the redemptive power of Jesus in their own lives and family.
George & Linda Renner
George and Linda lived in Nairobi, Kenya for 20 years and George was a professor at Nairobi Evangelical Graduate School of Theology.
George’s vision is to train a new generation of African Christian leaders who are deeply grounded in God’s Word and who had developed the skills and character for effective leadership in complex African contexts. Linda’s work involved mentoring student wives and poor single moms in the Nairobi slums by providing skills in sewing.
Today, George is a Global Specialist for WorldVenture. Linda continues to market the wonderful hand-made products made by the “Global Bag Ladies.” George’s involvement in Africa today sees him involved with former students all over Africa. He has partnered with the Evangelical Church of South Sudan for 20 years, offering pastoral training in theology and peace building. George partners with Transformational Leaders for Africa in bringing Bible teaching to Rwandese pastors. He also teaches about leadership and conflict transformation in Nigeria and Uganda.
Ernie and Judy Scalabrin
Ernie and Judy Scalabrin are domestic missionaries with the Navigators, serving locally with the Greater NYC/NJ Navigators Missions Team. Their exciting focus of ministry is After-School Bible Clubs in the public schools grades K-12. They teach and train volunteers to effectively share the Gospel with and disciple public school children who attendd.
Their ministry is expanding quickly to public schools not only locally in New York and New Jersey but to other states. They see scores of children every year trust Christ as Savior! They have been involved in this ministry for 23 years. If you are interested in knowing more about them or doing a Bible Club in your local public school you can contact them at erniebrs@gmail.com
Mark & Kathy Schaaf
Supporting national gospel movements, Mark serves as Walk Thru the Bible’s international trainer. Serving with WorldVenture, Mark is the International trainer for Walk Thru the Bible. Equipping, training, and coaching national pastors in teaching for life change.
Experiential learning among oral learners with under-resourced pastors is Mark’s primary focus. Training church leaders to understand and teach the Bible as one grand story. After many years in the Middle East and South Africa, the Schaafs live in Atlanta while serving globally.
Bern & Patty Schraut
Bern and Patty live in Austria with their two adult sons. Bern is Deputy Technical Director for Trans World Radio (TWR) in Europe.
TWR has been changing their technologies to include internet and smartphones as well as AM, shortwave, and satellite radio so they could better cross geographic borders – Europe, North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia. The core content, the message of the gospel, has been repackaged in different lengths and languages and readied for multiple technologies. Their communication platform has changed from radio-program centered to content centered and will allow them to adjust quickly to new technologies in the future. Their vision required a change in the technical backbone of TWR as well as the change in programming. Bern has been involved in areas like program distribution and playout, frequency management, in-house software development and project management based on biblical principles. Bern & Patty attend a free evangelical church in Vienna, where Bern helps with preaching and technical advice and Patty is involved in their music program and leads two women Bible studies.
Amoon Sharon
Amoon, Ghazala and their sons reach out to people of all faiths with the Gospel of Jesus Christ through fellowship, love and respect. They are based in Central NJ, and uniquely positioned to minister to a large South Asian population with the love of Jesus.
They perform their mission through a variety of outreach efforts: through South Asian Fellowship theybuild bridges of friendship with people from multiple religious backgrounds to fellowship and study the Word of God; through Prison Ministry they minister to inmates of all faiths; through ESL Ministry they teach English and reflect God’s love to immigrant students from multicultural and religious backgrounds; through Believer’s Fellowship they provide a place to new believers to fellowship and grow together with people of diverse backgrounds; through Pakistan Ministry the Alpha Church and Alpha School were established to meet the spiritual, physical and educational needs of the villages in Pakistan.
Marc & Alyssa Stasio
Marc and Alyssa are passionate about seeing the Gospel spread throughout New Jersey. They’ve lived here their whole lives and met each other at Cru on Rutgers University.
After powerfully encountering Jesus as students in Cru, they’re now working full time to reach today’s college students with the Gospel.
Joe Violi
After serving nineteen years on college campuses in the Navigators’ Collegiate ministry at Rutgers and Penn State, Joe is now assuming leadership of the Nav20’s ministry in Philadelphia, PA. Joe seeks to come alongside and equip recent alumni and other young adults in their 20’s as they transition to new jobs, neighborhoods, roommates, etc. He encourages them to abide with Jesus and live for him in these new contexts.
The goal of Nav20’s is to develop a network of young adults pursuing Christ together, making disciples, and pointing friends to Jesus where they live, work, and play. Find out more about Joe.
Tom & Alicia Voster with sons Mason & Camryn
Serving with World Team in Cambodia, the Vosters are developing a student ministry at the university in the capital city of Phnom Penh.
They are managing two dormitories for the students they minister to, one for men and one for women. They are developing biblical study programs to aid in their ministry. Their desire is to make disciples that will pass the gospel on to others.”
Clint & Jillian Watkins
Clint and Jillian serve with Disciplemakers in Lancaster, PA. The Watkins connect with college students through weekly bible studies and other outreach events such as conferences and retreats during the school year to encourage their Christian growth and help them to evangelize their campuses for Christ.
Clint and Jillian currently serve with three different colleges in the Lancaster area: Elizabethtown College, Thaddeus Stevens College, and Lebanon Valley College
John & Stella White
John and Stella White serve with WorldVenture in Kyiv, Ukraine. They both teach at the Ukrainian Evangelical Theological Seminary (UETS).
John teaches courses in the area of cross-cultural and urban missions, including Introduction to Missiology, Cross-Cultural Communication, Theology of Urban Mission, and History of the City and Urban Mission, while Stella teaches English. John also is helping develop an urban strategy for WorldVenture. John’s home church is Millington Baptist Church
Lindsey Williams
Lindsey Williams is on the operations staff of Athletes in Action, which is an organization that brings the Gospel to college athletes across America.
She works alongside the national campus staff to run finances, plan events, and anticipate the needs of campus teams and directors. Lindsey and her husband live in Michigan
Eric and Tina Yee
Eric and Tina Yee are working to plant healthy churches that make Christ’s disciples to reach the unchurched, unwanted, unreached & unengaged in Jakarta, Indonesia.
Church members are trained and encouraged to start their own bible studies with their family members, friends, and co-workers, and to develop different missional initiatives to reach students, refugees, street children and their families, those enslaved in the sex industry, and those who have little access to healthcare, and partner together to prepare to send out our own local members to an unreached, unengaged people group near us.
Senegal Partners | MBC is passionate for the Mission Globally.
MBC has been partnering with the small church in Senegal since 2005 to bring the gospel to this largely Muslim and very poor country. We have a partner village, Langomack, which is located near the center of Senegal. We have made more than 18 visits to this village.
When we visit, we help with Kids Clubs, work on different construction projects, enjoy very elaborate feasts, worship with the small group of believers in the village, join in prayer walking, enjoy “tea debates” and do a lot of visiting.
Recently we have been involved with exciting projects in the village: 1) providing much needed books to the school in the village 2) providing resources to install a long water pipe to bring water to the village – the church in Langomack is using it to provide a tangible and valuable blessing to the entire village.
In addition, we have come alongside our World Partners in the city capital of Dakar to provide funding for an auto mechanics school and shop where livelihoods are being earned, and disciples are being made.
We have dear friends in the village now, and we always rejoice when we can see each other in person. The people in the church in Langomack have come to know us and are faithful to pray for us. God has woven our hearts together for His glory.
Local Partners | MBC partners with great local ministries. Check them out below to plug in.
MBC Missions Unhindered | MBC efforts are not held back by challenges.
The MBC Missions Team partnered with a local church (Camino de Fe, Pastor Dan Fenco) to help provide lunches to ELL kids in a local school.
This summer program is run by the school district. Our church Camino de Fe helped two years ago. Initially, it was for ELL (English Language Learner) students entering kindergarten. This year, they are including other ELL students that need additional help. The school district approached me and Camino de Fe and then I thought of involving other churches in the area that have been partnering with us.
These camps have been an initiative of the Somerset Hills School District to help students who have recently come to the country to adapt to the school system. Oftentimes the parents are not familiar with the school system nor their children have been in a school setting before. The school district’s program helps the children adapt and be familiar with the new school year in the fall. It also helps teachers become familiar with new students. The state, through different grants, compensates the ELL (English Language Learner) teachers.
In the past, there was not enough money to provide for the snacks and lunches. Oftentimes, the teachers and administrators took the initiative to provide for that need. The school approached the company that is in charge of their lunches, but it would be a huge expense since they have to buy food in bulk and it is a small group of children. Some food might go to waste.
The school does not necessarily have to provide the lunches/snacks, but they understand the challenges that families and their children face. Oftentimes, the children go home at the end of a school day and there is no one at home, so they thought it would be a good thing to provide snacks and lunches.
MBC prevents COVID job losses for pastors in Africa.
MBC provided money to these pastors to allow them to continue to minister to their congregations. These congregations are not able to support the pastors on their own because many have lost their jobs due to Covid.
Bo Columbine – Senegal auto repair campaign.
Pastor Bob talks with Bo Columbine and the impact our Expanding the Table giving campaign is having in Senegal. Specifically, MBC helped to renovate the Foyers Shama Auto Shop in the capitol of Dakar, leading to vocational training and relational impact amongst young Senegalese men and women.
Pastor Kioko in rural eastern Kenya
We seem to be having a 1st century experience, worship in homes. I have been sending a passage to read, a thought from the passage and some prayer needs every Saturday evening in readiness for Sunday using SMS. Families have organized themselves to have a worship leader, a song leader and someone to explain the thought. Some collect an offering. This means more people are involved than when we all gather in the Church building. I hear the services are also short! Very un-rural. I am so happy that worshiping Jesus is assuming another paradigm and not coming to a halt. I see the mature believers in families becoming disciple makers as the church grows. I am planning to give some training through social media. When we are back to Church (When!), I would like to see how we can continue having the home cells. ~Kioko
Pastor Sitati in rural western Kenya
It has been another good Sunday.
Ever since the Government announced the closure of churches, my Sundays have been very busy. I put on my mask and visit individual families with the sermon. I wash my hands at every home and observe the social distance. We have a 30 minute service per family. People have been giving their lives to Christ. Members are being strengthened. New people have joined the church. We are experiencing tremendous growth. Please pray that the Lord continues to give me strength. I usually leave my house at 9:30am and come back at 6:00pm to beat the curfew. ~Sitati
Our partners: Senegal Mission Trip | NYC Relief | Market Street Mission | First Choice | World Partners | Feeding Hands
Questions?
