Dr. Theresa Lua

Dr. Theresa Lua is the Director of Global Theology of the World Evangelical Alliance. Theresa has served as General Secretary of the Asia Theological Association (ATA) since 2016. ATA is the largest network of theological schools in the Evangelical world with  390 member institutions from 33 countries in Asia and beyond.

Prior to her role as General Secretary, Theresa served in ATA as Secretary of Accreditation and Educational Development (2013-2016)  and Associate Secretary of Accreditation (2007-2013), while also serving as Dean of the Asia Graduate School of Theology (AGST) from 2006-2016. AGST is a consortium of eight seminaries in the Philippines working together to offer post-graduate programs. Before that she was academic dean and Christian Education professor at the Alliance Graduate School (formerly Alliance Biblical Seminary) for about ten years. Early in her ministry, she served as Christian Education Director in her local church.

She has been appointed by the Philippine Commission on Higher Education (CHED) as member of the Technical Committee for Christian Formation from 2013 to the present. She is a Board member of the International Council for Evangelical Theological Education (ICETE) and Re-Forma. She is also part of the Global Leadership Team of the Global Associates for Transformational Education (GATE), which offers faculty development training for transformational learning in theological education.

Theresa is married to Dr. Fernando Lua, faculty and Vice President for Administration and Finance at the Asian Theological Seminary and lead pastor at the Christian Alliance Fellowship East (CAFE). They have two adult sons, Timothy (30) and Joshua (24), who are both involved in the music ministry in their church.

Dr. Mimi Haddad

Dr. Mimi Haddad serves as president and CEO of CBE International and as an adjunct associate professor of historical theology at Fuller Theological Seminary. She is a graduate of the University of Colorado and Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Summa Cum Laude). She holds a PhD in historical theology from the University of Durham, England. Mimi received an Honorary Doctorate of Divinity from Palmer Theological Seminary of Eastern University in 2013. She serves in leadership with Evangelicals for Justice and is a founding member of the Evangelicals and Women Study Group at the Evangelical Theological Society. Mimi is an award-winning author and has written more than one hundred academic, popular, and blog articles. Mimi has taught for colleges and seminaries around the world. She has served as a gender and theology consultant with World Relief, World Vision International, and SASA! Faith Beyond Borders. Haddad served as convener of the Issue Group 24 for the 2004 Lausanne III Committee for World Evangelization. Mimi writes, teaches, and speaks on matters related to development, justice, faith, and gender. Mimi and her husband, Dale, live in Minneapolis/St. Paul, Minnesota, and are involved in local ministries.

Rev. Dr. Terry LeBlanc

Dr. Terry LeBlanc is the founding chair and inaugural Executive Director of Indigenous Pathways, an NGO with two thrusts in ministry: iEmergence, focused on community-based education and development; and NAIITS: An Indigenous Learning Community (NAIITS), focused on theological education. Terry held the positions of Executive Director of Indigenous Pathways, and Director of NAIITS since their respective inceptions some 25 years ago. In 2022 Terry oversaw the change in structure of Indigenous Pathways from an executive Director model to a flattened leadership team that included the Director of NAIITS, the Director of iEmergence, and the Director of Operations. On June 1, 2023, Terry oversaw the intentional transfer of NAIITS leadership to the next generation under Shari Russell. At that time, Terry became Director Emeritus, and together with his wife, Bev, an Elder in Residence. In addition to directing the work of NAIITS, Terry served as instructor and/or consultant for the decolonization of theological eeducation curriculum at various seminaries and universities in Canada, the USA, Australia, and New Zealand. Terry has over 46 years of Indigenous community-based experience as an educator in theology, cultural anthropology, and community development practice.Terry holds an interdisciplinary PhD from Asbury Theological Seminary, specializing in Theology and Anthropology. While at Asbury he helped develop and facilitate a cohort of seven Indigenous scholars who went on to completion of their studies. Terry is also certified in Appreciative Inquiry from Case Western Reserve University’s Global Excellence in Management program. Together with his son, Matt, he has transformed this basic method into an Indigenous Appreciative Inquiry approach situated within a more comprehensive, narrative-driven, Asset-based Community Development model they employ in Indigenous community contexts. In 2023 Terry and Bev together received the Canadian Mennonite University Pax Award in recognition of their service to community ministry and reconciliation. With that said, nothing creates a greater sense of satisfaction for him than working together with his extended family of nieces and nephews in the wider Indigenous community, and most particularly at the Abegweit Mi’kmaq Healing Centre.In 2010, for his work on the creation of NAIITS, he became the 28th recipient of the Dr. E.H. Johnson Memorial Award for Innovation in mission, an award he holds in common with Archbishop Desmond Tutu of South Africa and Bishop Elias Shakour of Palestine.

Dr. Ruth Padilla DeBorst

Dr. Padilla DeBorst is a renowned practitioner, teacher, and speaker with decades of experience in ministry throughout Latin America through organizations such as the International Fellowship of Evangelical Students (IFES), and Latin American Theological Fellowship. She has served the worldwide church through World Vision International, Resonate Global Mission (of the Christian Reformed Church of North America) and the International Fellowship for Mission as Transformation (INFEMIT), among others. She has served on boards and councils ranging from the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization Latin America, A Rocha International, and the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies to the International Justice Mission and the American Society of Missiology.  Dr. Padilla DeBorst has also served as Centro de Estudios Interdisciplinarios (CETI) president, dedicated to providing theological education to pastors and lay Christians throughout Latin America. In addition to her academic leadership, she has taught numerous courses through CETI and for theological schools throughout North America.

She has a B.Ed in Linguistics and TESL, from Lenguas Vivas in Buenos Aries, Argentina, an M.A. in Interdisciplinary Studies from Wheaton College, and a Ph.D. of Theology in Missiology and Social Ethics from Boston University.

Bishop David Zac Niringiye

Dr. Niringiye is a bishop in the Church of Uganda; a scholar-practitioner theologian; a peace and social justice activist; and, an organizational development consultant. He is currently a Visiting Scholar in Residence at Fuller Theological Seminary, Pasadena California. His research interests are in Theology and Mission History; Church and Society; and, Religion, Culture and Public Life.

Bishop Niringiye holds a Physics degree (Honours) and a teaching Diploma from Makerere University; a Master’s degree in Theology from Wheaton College, USA; and, a PhD in Theology and Mission History from Edinburgh University.

Among Dr. Niringiye’s publications is The Church: God’s Pilgrim People (Carlisle, UK: Langham Global Library, 2014) and The Church in the World: A Historical-Ecclesiological Study of the Church of Uganda with Particular Reference to Post-Independence Uganda, 1962-1992(Carlisle, Cumbria UK: Langham Monographs, 2016) as well as several papers in journals and chapters in books.

Dr. Willie James Jennings

Dr. Jennings was born and raised in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Dr. Jennings received his B.A. in Religion and Theological Studies from Calvin College (1984), his M.Div. (Master of Divinity degree) from Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena California, and his Ph.D. degree from Duke University. Dr. Jennings who is a systematic theologian teaches in the areas of theology, black church and Africana studies, as well as post-colonial and race theory. Dr. Jennings is the author of The Christian Imagination: Theology and the Origins of Race published by Yale University Press. It is one of the most important books in theology written in the last 25 years and is now a standard text read in colleges, seminaries, and universities. Dr. Jennings is also the recipient of the 2015 Grawemeyer Award in Religion for his groundbreaking work on race and Christianity. Dr. Jennings recently authored commentary on the Book of Acts won the Reference Book of the Year Award, from The Academy of Parish Clergy. He is also the author of After Whiteness: An Education in Belonging, which is the inaugural book in the much anticipated book series, Theological Education between the Times, and has already become an instant classic, winning the 2020 book of the year award from Publisher’s Weekly, and being selected as a finalist for the 2021 American Academy of Religion Book of the Year in the Constructive- Reflective Studies category. And now Dr. Jennings is hard at work on a book on the doctrine of creation, tentatively entitled, “Reframing the World.”
In addition to being a frequent lecturer at colleges, universities, and seminaries, Dr. Jennings is also a regular workshop leader at pastor conferences. He is also a consultant for the Wabash Center for Teaching and Learning in Theology and Religion, and for the Association of Theological Schools.
He served along with his wife, the Reverend Joanne L. Browne Jennings as associate ministers at the Mount Level Baptist Church in Durham, North Carolina, and for many years, they served together as interim pastors for several Presbyterian and Baptist churches in North Carolina. They are the parents of two wonderful daughters, Njeri and Safiya Jennings.

Rev. Dr. Munther Isaac

Munther Isaac is a Palestinian Christian pastor and theologian. He now pastors the Evangelical Lutheran Christmas Church in Bethlehem. He is also the academic dean of Bethlehem Bible College, and is the director of the highly acclaimed and influential Christ at the Checkpoint conferences.

Munther is passionate about issues related to the Palestinian theology. He speaks locally and internationally and has published numerous articles on issues related to the theology of the land, Palestinian Christians and Palestinian theology, holistic mission and reconciliation. He is the author of “The Other Side of the Wall”, “From Land to Lands, from Eden to the Renewed Earth”, “An Introduction to Palestinian Theology” (in Arabic), and a commentary on the book of Daniel (in Arabic). He is also involved in many reconciliation and interfaith forums. He is also a Kairos Palestine board member.

Munther originally studied civil engineering in Birzeit University in Palestine. He then obtained a Master in Biblical Studies from Westminster Theological Seminary and then a PhD from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies.

Munther is married to Rudaina – an architect, and together they have two boys: Karam (9) and Zaid (7).

Rev. Dr. Jack Sara

Rev. Dr. Jack Sara is the President of Bethlehem Bible College. He is an ordained minister with Evangelical Alliance Church in the Holy Land where he still maintains an overseeing role with the leadership of the churches. He currently serves at the board of several local and international ministries and organizations. Today, Rev. Jack travels the globe, speaking in conferences and teaching about Missions and Cross-Cultural work in the Middle East. He is happiest when he can bring his family with him on these journeys.

Jack is married to Madleine Sahwani Sara, who has served alongside him in ministry for their entire married life.  They are the proud parents of Nathan, Maranatha and Mickel.