LDLT Biographies
 Medeiros, Elias
Dr. Elias Medeiros is an ordained minister of the Presbyterian Church of Brazil since January 1975 and the Harriet Barbour Professor of Missions at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS) in Jackson, Mississippi, USA. Prior to coming to RTS in 1993, he worked as a “missionary” in the Amazon jungle and as an urban church planter in Northeast Brazil; taught missiology in the Presbyterian Seminary in Brazil; and was Academic Dean at the Evangelical Missions Center in South Brazil. He is married to Fokjelina. They have 3 married children, and five grand-children. Dr. Medeiros is deeply committed to world evangelization through every member of the body of Christ.
 Paek, Greg Woon Young
D.Miss., Fuller Theological Seminary
Dr. Paek was born in Incheon, Korea, and received his post-secondary education in the USA. His professional experience includes youth ministry director, Christian education director, professor of Missions, and missionary to the Philippines and Indonesia. He is presently the National Director of Global Partners, USA. Dr. Paek is a member and ordained minister of the Korean American Presbyterian Church. He resides in California and is married with three children.
 Schmidt, Vergil
Rev. Schmidt is former Senior Pastor at Deer Park Alliance Church in Red Deer, Alberta, Canada. Rev. Schmidt received his ministry training and theological education from Creswell College and Graduate School (B.A., MA-Biblical Studies), Dallas, Texas. He has been instrumental in birthing several "New Immigrant" congregations during his posts as Senior Pastor of various churches in Canada. He is currently involved in church multiplication in San Antonio, Texas, USA. Rev. Schmidt’s vision is to reach and plant churches among the "New Immigrants" in San Antonio and beyond.
 Thomas, TV
Dr. TV Thomas was born in Malacca, Malaysia. He makes his home in Regina, Saskatchewan, Canada with his wife, Mary and three young adult children. He began his ministry as an itinerant evangelist in 1974 before he was appointed as the Professor of Evangelism for the Murray W. Downey Chair of Evangelism at Canadian Bible College and Canadian Theological Seminary from 1984-1994. Currently, Dr. Thomas is the Director of the Centre for Evangelism & World Mission. He serves on numerous national and international boards. He is the Chair of the North American Council for South Asian Christians (NACSAC) and President of the Fellowship of Canadian Evangelists (FOCE). His deep commitment to world evangelization calls for extensive national and international travel to minister to camps, churches, colleges/seminaries, retreats, seminars, conferences and consultations.
 Tira, Sadiri ‘Joy’
D.Miss., Western Seminary
D.Min.-InterCultural Studies, Reformed Theological Seminary
Dr. Joy Tira is the Senior Associate for Diasporas for the Lausanne Committee for World Evangelization (LCWE) and International Coordinator of Filipino International Network (FIN). He is also a member of Edinburgh 2010 Commission VII: Christian Communities in Contemporary Contexts. Currently, Dr. Tira is serving as Global Ministries Diaspora Specialist for the Christian and Missionary Alliance (C&MA) in Canada, and is serving on the Board of Directors for SIM Canada. Previously, Dr. Tira served for over two decades as founding Senior Pastor of First Filipino Alliance Church in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. He is co-editor of SCATTERED: the Filipino Global Presence (Manila: LifeChange, 2004) and Missions in Action in the 21st Century (Portland: Western Seminary, 2008). He is committed to seeing the whole Church, specifically the Diaspora Christians, motivated and mobilized to take the whole Gospel of Christ to the whole world.
 Wan, Enoch
Ph.D.-Anthropology, State University of New York
Dr. Enoch Wan was born in China and educated in the USA. He is currently Professor of Anthropology & Director of Doctor of Missiology Program at Western Seminary, Portland, Oregon, USA. Dr. Wan also serves as the current President of the Evangelical Missions Society (EMS). He travels and lectures extensively in North America & abroad. Dr. Wan previously served as Missions Department Chairman at the Hong Kong Alliance Bible Seminary, Founding Director of Intercultural Studies Program at Canadian Theological Seminary, and Founding Director of the Ph.D. Intercultural Studies Program at Reformed Theological Seminary. He had also planted and pastored churches in Hong Kong, New York, Vancouver, and Toronto; and engaged in missionary services in the Philippines, Venezuela and Australia. He is the Editor of the electronic journal: www.GlobalMissiology.org
 Yamamori, Ted
Ph.D.-Sociology of Religion, Duke University
Dr. Tetsunao Yamamori is CEO of WorldServe Ministries and is President Emeritus of Food for the Hungry International and has served as Lausanne international director (2004-2006). He is currently senior research fellow at the Center for Religion and Civic Culture, University of Southern California, and Adjunct Professor of Holistic Mission at Asbury Theological Seminary. Dr. Yamamori has held various academic positions in several colleges and universities in the USA, the United Kingdom, China, and Japan during his 18-year teaching career. He has written and edited two-dozen books. He holds a Ph.D. degree from Duke University.
Regional Committees
The following Regional Diaspora Educator’s Teams have been appointed:
North America
- Dr. Grant McClung – Team Leader [President of Missions Resource Group; Associate Professor of World Missions and Evangelism (Adjunct Faculty) at the Pentecostal Theological Seminary – a ministry of the Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee, USA)]
- Dr. Sam Larsen [Professor of Missions and Vice President for Global Doctoral Programs at Reformed Theological Seminary (RTS); Academic Dean for RTS Atlanta, Georgia campus]
- Dr. Ruth Cassidy [Coordinator of The Diaspora Initiative, Tyndale Intercultural Ministries (TIM) Centre, Tyndale Seminary, Toronto, Canada; Director on the Board of Matthew House Refugee Reception Services, Toronto]
- Dr. Charlie Cook [Professor of mission and intercultural studies at Ambrose University College]
- Dr. John Moldovan [Associate Professor of Evangelism and Intercultural Studies; Associate Dean for Doctoral Programs; George W. Bottoms Chair of Missions, Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary]
- Dr. Enoch Wan [President of the Evangelical Missiological Society, Professor of Anthropology, and Director of Doctor of Missiology at Western Seminary]
Pacific and Far East Asia
- Dr. Terry Casiño – Team Leader [Professor of Systematic Theology and Intercultural Studies/Missiology at Torch Trinity Graduate School of Theology in Seoul, South Korea]
- Dr. Masanori Kurasawa [President, Tokyo Christian University]
- Dr. Jojo Manzano [Deputy OIC of Asian Theological Seminary; Associate Professor of ATS, Intercultural and Urban Studies Department]
- Dr. Paul Woods [Singapore Bible College; Chinese Diaspora Ministry and is now a consultation to OMF's Diaspora Ministry team]
- Rev. James Lai [Director of South East Asia, Christian Nationals’ Evangelism Commission; Adjunct lecturer of Missiology, Singapore Bible College]
Europe
- Dr. Thomas Harvey – Team Leader [Academic Dean of the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies (OCMS)]
- Rev. Hun Kim [Director of Korean Research Institute for Diaspora (KRID) in Oxford. He is a practitioner researcher on Mission and Migration at OCMS. He is Consultant for Diaspora Ministries with Wycliffe International (Europe); a liaison for Lausanne Diaspora, in Europe; Bible Translator with Wycliffe and completed Azeri New Testament (2003, published in 2009]
- Rev. Paul Sydnor [Missionary with International Teams; Research student at OCMS]
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