Writers

Anchored by a diverse group of Leading Voices, our Featured Writers and the 2024 Writing Fellows Cohort cultivate a safe space for profound theological reflection, insightful cultural analysis, and authentic witness to the global Church. Our writing centers on the holistic integration of three key areas: Formation, Justice, and Mission.

Leading Voices

Andrew Arndt

Andrew Arndt is the lead pastor of New Life East, one of seven congregations of New Life Church in Colorado Springs.

Carolyn Custis James

Carolyn Custis James is an award-winning author who thinks deeply about what it means to be a female follower of Jesus in a postmodern world.

Dennis R. Edwards

Dennis hails from New York City, by way of Washington, DC. He's a learner and a teacher, a husband and a father, a pastor and servant.

Derek Vreeland

Derek Vreeland is the Discipleship Pastor at Word of Life Church in St. Joseph, Missouri.

Juliet Liu

Board Chair, Co-Pastor, Life on the Vine Christian Community

Kyuboem Lee

Kyuboem serves as DMin Program Director and Assistant Professor of Missiology at Missio Seminary.

Lisa Rodriguez-Watson

National Director

Mandy Smith

Mandy Smith is an Australian pastor, artist and author.

MaryKate Morse

MaryKate Morse, PhD, is professor of Leadership and Spiritual Formation at Portland Seminary.

Natasha Sistrunk Robinson

Dr. Natasha Sistrunk Robinson is President of T3 Leadership Solutions, Inc. and the Visionary Founder and Chairperson of Leadership LINKS, Inc.

Rich Villodas

Rich Villodas is the Brooklyn-born lead pastor of New Life Fellowship, a large, multiracial church with more than seventy-five countries represented in Elmhurst, Queens.

Featured Writers

David Swanson

David Swanson is an author and the founding pastor of New Community Covenant Church.

Eun Stawser

Eun Strawser is the co-vocational lead pastor of Ma Ke Alo o with missional communities multiplying in Honolulu, HI.

Ian McFadden

He is one of the pastors of Saint Mo’s, a young, multiethnic church plant in the heart of the city.

Karina Kreminski

Rev. Dr. Karina Kreminski is Co-Director of Neighbourhood Matters. She has been a Senior Minister in the Church and was Missiology Lecturer at Morling College in Sydney.

Kris Beckert

Kris is the lead pastor of Table Life Church near Harrisburg, PA and also serves as Mission Strategist with Fresh Expressions North America.

Miranda Zapor Cruz

Miranda Zapor Cruz is an associate professor of historical theology at Indiana Wesleyan University

Robert Chao Romero

Robert Chao Romero is an associate professor in the UCLA departments of Chicana/o Studies and Central America Studies, and Asian American Studies.

Seth Richardson

Seth Richardson is an Anglican priest, leading Resurrection Little Rock, an Anglican contemplative community in Little Rock, Arkansas

Sherin Swift

Sherin Mathew Swift is the Connections and Equipping Pastor at New Life Fellowship, a multiethnic church in Queens, NYC.

Gaby Viesca

Director of Programs

Sean Palmer

Vice Chair, Teaching Pastor, Ecclesia Houston

Tara Beth Leach

Senior Pastor, First Church of the Nazarene

2024 Writing Fellows Cohort

Amanda Hecht

Amanda Hecht lives in Saskatoon, SK, Canada. In her own words, Amanda is “an uninvitedsettler on the prairies of Canada, coming from a family of (mostly) European Caucasian settlers.” She is the solo Lead Pastor at First Baptist Church, Saskatoon. Amanda has a DMin in NewTestament Context from Northern Seminary.

Amber Hogan Jones

Amber lives in Brunswick, Maryland. In her own words, Amber is a “Caucasianfemale from the Deep South of the United States, who was raised poverty, abuse, and chaos.” Sheis the Director of Spiritual Formation at Key City Church in Frederick, MD, as well as aSpiritual Director. Amber has a DMin in Leadership & Spiritual Formation from PortlandSeminary.

Benjamin Park

Benjamin Park lives in Roseville, Minnesota. In his own words, Benjamin is a “first-generation Korean-American, a child of immigrants, raised as an outsider who has traveled extensively within insider (White) circles.” He is a Teaching Pastor for the Korean Presbyterian Church of Minnesota, as well as a Strategic Workforce Planner for the Office of Personnel Management. Benjamin has a MDiv from Princeton Theological Seminary.

Bethany Becker

Bethany Becker lives in Fairfield, Ohio. In her own words, Bethany’s “roots are Appalachian and as White as you can get, meaning I was raised to be loyal, loving, and hospitable, but with an ‘us vs. them’ mentality.” She recently transitioned from an Associate Pastor role at 21st Century Church in Cincinnati, OH to focus on family and writing. Bethany has a BA in English Literature from Wright State University.

Cheryl You

Cheryl You lives in Norfolk, Virginia. In her own words, Cheryl was “raised in Singapore, and is someone of Chinese descent who spent most of my life as an ethnic majority person in a pluralistic nation that aspires toward social, religious, and racial harmony.” She is the Associate Campus Pastor at Freedom Life Church in Norfolk, VA. Cheryl has a MDiv from Regent University.

Emily Beth Hill

Emily Beth Hill lives in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. In her own words, Emily “grew up in a White family from Western European descent. Growing up in the suburbs we only knew White people, insulated from people of color and issues related to race and ethnicity in the US and around the world.” She is the Program Manager for Theological Formation for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship USA. Emily has a Ph.D. in Theological Ethics from the University of Aberdeen.

Lamont Hartman

Lamont Hartman lives in Palos Verdes, California. In his own words, Lamont was “born into a biracial family, as my family is Black and my mother is White. The two never married, so my mother raised me and my 3 younger siblings in subsidized housing.” He is the Founding Pastor of Reconcile Church in Santa Ana, CA. Lamont is currently working on his DMin degree at San Francisco Theological Seminary.

Liliana Reza

Liliana Reza lives in San Diego, California. In her own words, Liliana is a “Mexican-American woman born to immigrant parents. While many believe assimilation seems like the most logical response for 1st and 2nd generations, this wasn’t the case for me. I identify as bicultural and bilingual.” She is a National Advocacy Specialist for World Relief, and is an Ordained Elder with the Church of the Nazarene. Liliana has a MA in Intercultural Studies from Nazarene Theological Seminary.

Phyllis Myung

Phyllis Myung lives in Bolton, Massachusetts. In her own words, Phyllis is a “first-generation Korean American whose parents began attending a first-generation Korean church to find community and affinity, which formed me, as I grew up, to do the same.” She is an Associate Pastor of Next Gen Ministries at Great Road Church in Acton, MA. Phyllis is currently working on her MA in Christian Formation at North Park Theological Seminary.

Rachel Varghese

Rachel Varghese lives in Bartlett, Illinois. In her own words, Rachel’s family “immigrated in the 1970s from the states of Tamil Nadu and Kerala in India, and I was raised in a tight-knit Indian community, in an Indian immigrant church. This shaped my view of church as a family collective.” She is the Director of Communications at Renewal Church in West Chicago, IL, and currently homeschools her children. Rachel has a MA in Curriculum & Instruction (ESL Focus) from National-Louis University.

Sherene Joseph

Sherene Joseph lives in Flower Mound, Texas. In her own words, Sherene was “born in South India, raised in the Sultanate of Oman, and now live in Dallas. I have spent the majority of my life living as an Indian immigrant in Indian Diaspora communities.” She is a freelance writer working on a book project about South Indian Christian women in North America, and is a Deacon at Irving Bible Church in Irving, TX. Sherene has a MA in Biblical and Theological Studies from Dallas Theological Seminary.

Vatreisha Nyemba

Vatreisha Nyemba lives in Cleveland, Ohio. In her own words, “I identify as African American. My grandparents were both part of the great migration of Black families from the Jim Crow south into the north for both more opportunity and for refuge. One side of my family descends from Native Americans and the other from slaves and sharecroppers.” She is the Director of Leader and Community Development for Building Hope in the City, an NPO in Cleveland, OH. Vatreisha has a Doctor of Transformational Leadership degree from Bakke Graduate University.