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Seminary Leadership

Advisory Board Members

The role of the Advisory Board is to give counsel and provide institutional and financial accountablity to the President of the Seminary.

Dr. Josh Howard, Doctor of Divinity

President

Dr. Howard has been living in India since 2008 and has a passion to see the Kingdom of God spread throughout the world. He desires to raise up disciples who make disciples, leaders who create leaders, and churches that plant churches. In 2015, he launched a ministry called “Ignite”, which has seen over 20,000 churches started in about 9 years through movements of multiplication.

Josh currently serves as the Global Mobilization Catalyst for E3 Partners. He has a Master of Arts in Missional Church Movements from Wheaton College and was awarded an honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Dallas Christian College. He is the co-author of the book Christian Extremism: A Life Worth Dying For and Igniting Movements: Multiplying Churches in Dark Places.

Besides God’s grace through Jesus, He is most thankful for his wife Lashi, his two sons, Josiah and Jeremiah, and his daughter Zara.

Josh can be contacted at: [email protected].

Watch interview HERE.

Joel King, M.Div, D.Min

Board Member and Cohort Leader

Joel was born in Casper, Wyoming and was blessed to be raised in a Christian home. His father was raised in an orthodox Jewish home, but became a follower of Jesus through the Christian Business Men’s Association. The faith of both Joel’s parents had a profound influence on him and he devoted his life to ministry at the age of eleven. Joel received both a Master of Divinity as well as a Doctor of Ministry from Western Seminary. He and his wife, Lyn, have four adopted children and one grandchild. Joel started his current ministry as lead pastor of Trinity Church January 1, 2011. He also serves on the mission’s board of United Christians International in Haiti.

Frank Schattner, D.Miss

President Emeritus, Board Chair and Cohort Leader

Dr. Frank crafted the the Fidelis program as a result of forty years of extensive global ministry and working toward Disciple-Making Movements. He is a graduate of Biola University and has an undergraduate degree in Biology and Sports Medicine from U.Mass. He authored The Wheel Model: Catalyzing Sustainable Multiplication Movements.

Watch interview HERE.

Eric Derry, MA

Executive Director and Cohort Leader

Executive VP of Team Expansion. Jed received his undergraduate degree in Biblical Studies at Kentucky Christian University and has studied Cultural Anthropology. He serves on lead teams of the Fidelis Project, Jonathan Project, the Zume Project, and the North American 2414 Facilitation Team. Jed graduated from FIS in 2023. Watch interview HERE.

"Esther" Yin Zhang, MA MA

Board Member and Cohort Leader

Esther received her Bachelor’s degree in Chinese Language from a university in Chengudu, and then went on to study in Switzerland and the USA. She completed her Master’s Degree in Education at Endicott College in Massachusetts, USA. She lives in Thailand with her family and teaches Chinese language at a primary school there. She graduated with a Masters in Catalytic Leadership from Fidelis International Seminary in 2022.

Fenton Lewis, Ph.D

Board Member

With a strong background in education, consulting, and leadership formation in the global context Dr. Lewis, holds academic degrees in Chemistry and Biology from Transylvania University, the University of Florida and the University of Kentucky. He brings a unique mix of global business experience, adult education in cross-cultural contexts, and a passion for spiritual formation. Fenton has been married to his lovely wife for over 30 years, and they have three grown children.

Cohort Leaders

Mark Leighton, D. Miss, M.Div

Cohort Leader

Dr. Mark served for over thirty years in Thailand as a missionary with OMF. He has done a variety of ministries related to planting and multiplying churches, writing, teaching in seminary, training and leading the organization of OMF Thailand. Previous to his overseas work, he was the Director of Christian Education at Westminster Presbyterian Church in Fresno, CA. He earned his D.Miss from Trinity International University and his M.Div from Western Seminary in Pastoral Studies. He is currently a a coordinator for the Perspectives course and an elder at his church.

Amy Ruff, MA

Cohort Leader

Amy has served the Lord for many years in the context of the local church and as a missionary. She earned her Bachelors of Christian Education from Ozark Christian College. She has served the local church as a co-missions minister and a women’s minister at Northside Christian Church. She and her husband, Terry Ruff (a pastor for many years), have labored for many years with each other, and starting in 2008 have been heavily involved in Ghana, West Africa.

Stephen B. Constant, DVM, DACT

Cohort Leader

Dr. Stephen is a board certified veterinarian, a reproductive specialist serving western Massachusetts. Dr. Constant has traveled to many countries teaching and volunteering with CVM (Christian Veterinary Missions) as well as other organizations. He has worked in Vietnam, Haiti, Honduras, Jordan, as well as home in the United States on Native American reservations. Steve was raised as a conservative Jew in the Boston area. At the University of Massachusetts he made a decision to believe in Christ as his Messiah through studying the Bible and the ministry of the Navigators in 1977. He helped start the college Navigator ministry at the University of Florida. He was involved with the Younglife ministry. Steve is married to Linnea and he resides in Western Massachusetts. They have five children.

Kassim S. Kabia, MA

Cohort Leader

Mr. Kabia is a life-long learner who gained his teaching experience after attending Freetown Teachers College when he taught at International Mission School in Sierra Leone. He has earned certificates from many different institutions including International Bible Teaching Ministries, Didache Institute and the Center for Intercultural Training. He earned his undergraduate degree from Gateway International Bible College and is a Disciple-maker in Sierra Leone who graduated from FIS in March of 2023. He is married to Bernadette and has five children.

Warren Groves, MA

Cohort Leader

Warren has been actively involved in ministry since his college days at Dartmouth (1973-1977) and has been involved in full-time ministry for the last forty years. Those ministry experiences include campus ministry, church planting, pastoral ministry, directing Christian schools, short and long term missionary work, as well as training and pastoring missionaries. He has a B.A. in Education and a M.A. in intercultural studies. Currently, he is directing a YWAM base in Yuba City, California, with an emphasis on preparing, sending, and coaching missionaries.

"Yumi", Yuqian Li, MA

Cohort Leader

Yumi was born in a small town in southern China. After graduating from a university in Thailand and there started her own trading business. Having two sons, she is a full-time housewife with a happy family. She likes to memorize the Bible and has a passion for evangelism. She is skilled in communication. One of her favorite sayings is from her professor: “It may be easy to graduate from a school, but it is not easy to graduate from God’s school!” She received her MA in Catalytic Leadership from FIS in 2022.

Advisors and Friends

These individuals have played a significant role in the development of the Fidelis course, and are willing to provide additional insights if asked.

Walter Christian Kaiser Jr., Ph.D.

Academic Advisor

Dr. Kaiser earned his A.B.from Wheaton College, his B.D. from Wheaton Graduate School, and both his M.A. and Ph.D. in Mediterranean studies from Brandeis University. Until 2006, he served as president of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (GCTS). Previous to his appointment at GCTS he was academic dean and Professor of Old Testament at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, where he taught for more than twenty years. In 1977 he served as president of the Evangelical Theological Society.

Larry Dinkins, Ph.D

Academic Advisor

Dr. Larry Dinkins finished his ThM at DTS in 1979 and then went with his wife Paula to Thailand through OMF International and began a church planting ministry with leprosy patients. In 1987 the Dinkins transitioned into a Bible teaching ministry at the Bangkok Bible College. In 1995 Larry finished classwork for a PhD at Biola University allowing him to return to Thailand to start a TEE program in North Thailand. Larry acted as a founding director of the newly formed Chiang Mai Theological Seminary in 2000. In 2012 Larry continued his ministry of Bible teaching at the Chiang Mai Theological Seminary and as coordinator for Walk Thru the Bible in Thailand.

Curtis Sergeant, D.Min

Academic Advisor

Dr. Curtis Sergeant served with IMB among an unreached people group in China. After a movement started there, he began training for the house-church networks in China. He served as a Vice President for Global Strategy with the IMB. At Saddleback he led efforts for Church Planting and was used to catalyze global church planting projects, particularly in India. Through God’s grace in these efforts, nearly one hundred previously unengaged UPGs were engaged with the gospel. He served as the international Vice President of e3 Partners. He currently directs a disciple-making and missions training center called MetaCamp in the USA. He is a co-facilitator of the 24:14 coalition and helped found the Zúme project. His doctorate is in missions and his master’s degree is in education. Watch interview HERE.

Anthony and Denea Widener

Wellness Advisors

Before graduating with a Bachelor’s of Science degree in community health and a minor exercise science, Anthony had the opportunity to intern with the strength and conditioning coach at the University of Southern California (Trojans) and the Jacksonville Jaguars (National Football League). In 2013, after moving back from Guatemala, Anthony and Denea launched exercise gyms in Jacksonville, FL with the goal of sharing the gospel, making disciples and helping people get healthy from the inside-out. In 2019 they started Crash Fitness Co. This online platform exists to help missionaries get healthy and remain healthy so that they can continue to share the gospel and make disciples wherever they live around the world. Watch interview HERE.

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