Giving to Missionaries:
If you would like to commit financial support for Sojourn missionaries or the general Sojourn missions fund for the 2024 giving year, please click here to fill out the 2024 Missions Pledge Form.
If you would like to give right now, please click here to set up your recurring or one-time donation. Select “Give to Other” from the drop-down menu. After you have entered your payment details, be sure to note the name of the Missionary in the “Comment” section.
United States
Adam and Melanie Johnson
Adam and Melanie, along with their sons, Gabriel and Ezra, have been serving with the Navigators at the University of Minnesota since 2011. In this current season, Adam serves as the Campus Leader of the University of Minnesota Navigators International Student Ministry team as well as overseeing the Navigators ISM work throughout the Upper Midwest Region (ND,SD, MN, WI, MI-UP). In these roles, Adam has the privilege of empowering local and regional staff and volunteers to serve among the thousands of international students living and studying right in our backyard. His aim is to see international students becoming lifelong disciplemakers among their relational spheres of influence both locally and in their home nations.
DR AMY ANDERSON - BIBLICAL LITERACY PROJECT - st paul, mn
Dr Amy Anderson is the founder and director of the Biblical Literacy Project, which offers college-level Bible seminars to churches and groups. After 22 years teaching Greek and New Testament at North Central University, she left full time employment and moved her focus to expanding the BLP. Many of her invitations to teach come from missionary situations that are not able to pay, so Sojourn is sponsoring her ministry as a missionary, making it possible for Dr Amy to share her teaching gift and knowledge all over the world.
WEBSITE
Jeff and Lori Ballantyne - San Diego State University, CA
Jeff and Lori have been reaching and discipling international students at the University of Minnesota for the past 25 years. In 2015 they moved to California and are leaders in the Chi Alpha Ministry at San Diego State Univ. Jeff has been intensely learning the Spanish language, and continues to reach out to international students from all nations.
CAMERON AND ALICIA CORNELL - CHICAGO, IL
Cameron Cornell is a U.S. missionary with Chicago Chi Alpha, a citywide campus ministry. He has been serving there since 2019 at the University of Illinois at Chicago. He is married to a local youth pastor, Alicia, and together they have a son named Josiah. They have a vision to see the younger generations (and their own) come to a deep trust in Jesus that can weather any storm. Cameron has been working primarily with international students from across the Arab world and south Asia. He leads a small group, does one-on-one discipleship, and is regularly evangelizing the campus so that many would know Jesus, be known by Him, and then make Him known wherever they go in life. He can be reached at cameron@chicagoxa.org or on his Facebook page "Chicago is His City - with Cameron Cornell."
Matt and Jen DeGeir - Louisiana
Matt & Jen attended Sojourn while they were students at North Central University. They volunteered with International Student Ministry at the U of M from 2000 - 2002. They moved to Louisiana for more training with Chi Alpha and then to New Orleans in 2003 to pioneer Chi Alpha Campus ministries at Tulane University. Currently, they direct Chi Alpha at Tulane and lead a team of missionaries that are reaching students through Chi Alpha at Loyola University, the University of New Orleans and Xavier University. Their family has grown the past few years with Lucas and Neal.
Anonymous - Global Steiger Missionaries
These missionaries use the performance arts to relevantly communicate the Gospel to people who are far outside the church. They are passionate about discipling other artists and inventing ways that point the "Global Youth Culture" to Jesus, the source of life that we long for. They have been missionaries for over 20 years and have traveled extensively using various creative means to serve local communities, trail-blaze new avenues for the Gospel, and go into dark places where the message of Jesus rarely goes. You can learn more about the mission at www.steiger.org.
Violet Johnson - St. Paul, MN
Wherever Violet goes, she is a missionary for Jesus. After receiving substantial healing from abuse, God changed her life from shame and brokenness to walking in freedom. Violet started “Determined 2 Heal” while in prison and continued afterwards. Determined 2 Heal deals with anger, guilt, shame, boundaries, self-esteem and forgiveness. She is the House Manager (Mom) of Crossing Home, a Recovery Accountability Community. Violet cares for, encourages, helps, listens to, and loves women living in that community who are in recovery. Her personal mission is to build up the ladies in their faith as they receive healing and grow. Thessalonians 5:11, "So encourage each other to build each other up, just as you are already doing."
John and Jolene Konkel - Minneapolis, MN
John and Jolene Konkel have been serving as Chi Alpha Campus Missionaries for over 10 years at the Univ of Minnesota. John has been focusing much of his time on fraternities, where he ministers as a chaplain, and athletics, where he has been coaching students to reach their teams. Meanwhile, Jolene has been reaching out to the artists through dance/choreography. They have four boys - Jadon, Jeremiah, Jaaron, and Josiah.
Craig and Kathy Henry Krueger - University of Minnesota
Craig is Pastor of Sojourn Campus Church at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis. He and Kathy have ten children ages 9 to 21, which brings great fullness to their lives. They share passion in several areas: First, seeing God’s people grasp the Word of God and base their lives in truth; second, releasing people from legalistic beliefs and set free to serve Christ fruitfully; third, identifying and calling out leadership gifts for both the local church and around the world -- multiplying leaders who equip out of a Biblically sound perspective. Fourth, mobilizing people in evangelism, home group leadership, and ministries to the poor.
Belinda Kuhn - Minneapolis BASE / WORLD FOCUS
Belinda’s calling is to ignite worship for God in as many hearts as she can touch in her lifetime, because knowing God and worshipping Him will change the world! She has been serving as a missionary with the interdenominational organization Youth With A Mission since 1982. Based in the Netherlands until 2013 and since then in the USA, she has over 30 years of missions experience. Her experiences as a worship leader and teacher with worship teams, local churches, and indigenous music have yielded a treasury of wisdom which she actively imparts into younger worship leaders through mentoring and coaching. Belinda founded the cross-cultural training course, “Call2Worship” which trains worship leaders in different cultures. She regularly teaches in the School of Worship and in Discipleship Training Schools worldwide. Teaching topics include Spiritual Warfare, Worship, Hearing God’s Voice, Praise and Prayer, Songwriting & Creativity, Servant Leadership, and more.
Mike Newland – NATIONAL & GLOBAL FOCUS
Michael Newland serves as the Operations Manager of ReStory Ministries, a national nonprofit organization equipping churches to address LGBTQ from a biblical perspective. ReStory believes that God can and does transform anyone who surrenders their sexuality and identity to him through the power of the Holy Spirit, and that the local church has a key role to play in this process.
Mike and his wife Sarah are Sojourn members and reside in Minneapolis with their son August. More info about ReStory can be found at restoryministries.org.
Greg & Barbara Silker - Minneapolis / St. Paul
Greg and Barbara Silker mobilize new kingdom endeavors and disciple makers in the areas of Education, the Marketplace and Media.
Education - We seek to disciple students and help them prepare for their God-given calling. On the U of M campus, we've led teams that launched a number of ministries in different demographic groups on campus, including Bordertown Coffee and Kappa Pi Alpha.
Marketplace - We seek to make disciples through business by mobilize entrepreneurs for good works and connecting experienced entrepreneurs with aspiring entrepreneurs, especially among those who've been displaced (refugees) and those dealing with generational poverty. We are currently renovating Firehouse Commons in the Seward neighborhood to house a portion of that effort.
Media - We seek to Create media and equip media creators to bring God's heart and mind to the nations. We recently finished our first feature film and have half a dozen new projects in development. We see a unique opportunity to equip filmmakers from among the one million first and second generation immigrants to create kingdom media for the nations of the world.
J and C - Minneapolis
J and C lead an outreach team to international students and researchers from a sensitive country. Their vision is to connect the gospel to these students at multiple universities across the Great Plains Region.
Julie Manthey – University of Minnesota
Julie and Chris Manthey serve as Chi Alpha missionaries at the University of Minnesota - Twin Cities and have been at this campus since 2007. Currently, Julie is the Missions Pastor, Alumni Director, Finance Overseer. She mentors 4 small group leaders as well as several alumni. As missions pastor, Julie coordinates and facilitates their Spring Break and May trips. She plans the teams, trips and fundraising. As the alumni director, Julie makes sure that alumni are well informed about ministry updates. She also fundraises via the alumni for Fall Retreat and SALT scholarships. Julie has a passion to see each of her students grow closer to Christ each day through discipleship, short term missions, small groups and XA Live large group services.
Email: juliemantheyxa@gmail.com
NICK AND EMILIE PETERSON - EAU CLAIRE, WI
Nick and Emilie Peterson have been married for 10 years and have three children: Penny (8), Addison (8), and Lincoln (8). They have served with The Navigators Collegiate work since 2008. 12 of those years were at South Dakota State University where Emilie went to school, and then they moved to Eau Claire to take over the Navigator minister at UWEC, where Nick graduated from. God used The Navigators in significant ways during their time in college and they see collegiate ministry as incredibly strategic, rewarding, challenging, and often fun. The Navigators seek to know Christ, make Him known, and help others do the same.
EUROPE
Kevin and Karen Prevost - Spain
Kevin & Karen Prevost have been Assemblies of God missionaries in Spain since 1985. Currently they are involved in international evangelism training with the ministry “ONTHEREDBOX” based in Madrid. Karen is also part of Project Rescue - Spain which ministers to victims of human trafficking and women at risk.
Michelle Mergens - Denmark
Michelle has been in Copenhagen, Denmark since 2020, working with Students for Christ Europe. Together with two other women, Michelle is focused on reaching secular university students in the broader Copenhagen area. Every week, they meet on two different campuses where they spend time reading the Bible and discussing faith and life with students. On every other Friday, Michelle and her team invite students and young professionals for dinners, where everyone enjoys a home cooked meal. After dinner, there is a time of worship and a short message from the Bible. Currently, the student group is a mixture of Danes and internationals, believers and seekers.
John and Anita Koeshall - Europe
John and Anita began their ministry in the 1980’s reaching out to university students in Munich, Germany. Since then they have expanded their reach to train leaders and missionaries who are being sent to campuses across Europe and around the world. They founded Students for Christ in Europe to encourage students facing a challenging secular environment while helping them reach their fellow students who are searching for answers to complex life questions. John and Anita literally travel the world, encouraging and teaching students, leaders, pastors, and other missionaries. Anita also teaches at AG Theological Seminary in Springfield, MO.
Curtis and Sara Hobbs - Bosnia & Herzegovina
Curtis and Sara are Assemblies of God missionaries to Bosnia & Herzegovina. Curt was born and raised in Wyoming, where he attended the University of Wyoming. Curtis was Chi Alpha student leader and became the first full-time Director. He was called to Europe while student teaching in Germany. Sara became a Christian shortly before going to St. Cloud State where she became a student leader in the Chi Alpha group. She moved to Wyoming as Chi Alpha staff before she married Curt.
Claire Russel - Ireland
Claire Russell is serving as a missionary with Youth For Christ in Mullingar, Ireland. She works with local schools hosting youth alpha courses which focus on exploring life’s bigger questions including faith. This enables her to build relationships with the goal of mentoring and discipling young believers. She is also involved in the Rock Solid programs, which focus on young people ages 8-11 in faith formation. During after school hours, she works at the drop-in center which is geared towards hosting a safe place for young people to come, build relationships, and just be. She has a passion to see young people discover the love and life offered through Jesus Christ and walk alongside them in their faith journey.
Shawn & Deb Galyen - Spain, Europe
Shawn and Deb are AGWM missionaries to the secular people of Europe. In 2009, they opened a Christian cultural center in Granada, Spain, called Raíces (Roots), close to the University of Granada campus of 70,000 students. From this base in Spain, they share the gospel with students and young people, lead a bilingual church, and train new missionaries to spread the good news throughout Europe. As directors of the Secularism Initiative, Shawn and Deb also cast vision and help develop effective strategies for planting new churches among Europe´s secular people groups. They have three children: Luke, Ruth, and Claire.
Tod and ANDREA Chapin -- Scotland
Tod & Andrea and their four children are missionaries in Scotland. The heartbeat of their work in Edinburgh reaches numerous subcultures of the city as they minister through university student ministry, outreach to Edinburgh's impoverished neighborhoods, an addict and recovery ministry, evangelism to young families, and a leadership role implementing a discipleship movement of rapidly reproducing disciples and churches in Edinburgh as part of a Europe-wide initiative in its key cities.
Justin and Jessica Evans -- Belgium
Justin and Jessica are Missionary Associates in Belgium, where Justin is teaching at Continental Theological Seminary. This is the primary training school for Pentecostal pastors, and church leaders. There are approximately 32 nationalities represented, as students come from all over Eastern and Western Europe, as well as francophone African countries. Instructors at this school are not salaried but raise their own support as missionaries. Justin teaches on the Old Testament.
ASIA / SOUTH ASIA
Karl & Sarah Pasche - THAILAND
Karl and Sarah Pasche served as missionaries in Bangkok, Thailand with Assembly of God World Missions. Right now they are both enrolled full-time in Thai language school. Their desire is to be conversational in Thai as quickly as possible in order to more effectively build relationships with Thai people. They are also working with Buddhist and Muslim students on Ramkhamhaeng University campus, a university with nearly 500,000 students, and they are doing regular outreach events with kids in underprivileged areas of Bangkok. Karl and Sarah have a passion to see the church flourishing all across Thailand, and Thai people come into life-transforming relationships with Jesus Christ.
Mark and Janie Durene - Thailand
Mark and Janie have 3 married children and 5 grandchildren, 2 girls and 3 boys. The Durenes were missionaries in Chiangmai, Thailand from 1994-2012 where they were involved in university campus ministry, leadership development, church planting, and served as directors of Global University Thai language program and as AGMF Thailand Country Moderators. In July 2012 they were asked to take the position of Peninsular Asia Area Directors. They are responsible for AGWM activities in the 5 nations of Thailand, Vietnam, Laos, Cambodia and Myanmar.
Darrell and Ellen Dobbleman – India
Darrell is now partnering with Oasis World Ministries as an Associate Evangelist and International Trainer. He has been a missionary to India with Oasis for the last 7 years. He has dedicated dozens of the 500 wells that Oasis has drilled in areas with no clean water. He conducts outdoor Gospel and Healing festivals in areas where the gospel has never been publically proclaimed and has witnessed nearly 50,000 Hindus and Muslims come to Christ followed by rapid church growth in the areas of the festivals. He holds 5 Star Evangelism Seminars for pastors and key leaders in many areas of India, includes areas of Christian persecution in North India.