Staff

Rev. Dr. Richard Haney, Executive Director

Richard brings a blend of pastoral and missions experience to Frontier Fellowship. He came on staff in 2014 after serving as a missions pastor, new church development pastor and interim pastor for over 35 years. He has a Master of Divinity from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary (Boston) and a PhD from the Oxford Centre for Mission Studies and Middlesex University (London). He also currently serves as adjunct faculty at Gordon-Conwell and teaches history lessons for the Perspectives course.

His role as Executive Director keeps him traveling often, meeting with church and frontier mission leaders and mobilizing partnerships and projects. He has led short-term trips to 14 countries and spent time in Central and South America, the Caribbean, Africa, Eastern Europe, Central Asia, the Middle East and Asia. When he’s not traveling, he enjoys fly fishing, music, reading and gardening. He and his wife, Pam, have three grown daughters and nine grandchildren. Support Richard’s work.

Uchenna D. Anyanwu, Ph.D., Mission Advocate

Uchenna studied building and structural engineering at Ahmadu Bello University (Zaria, Nigeria) and worked as a construction engineer in northern Nigeria before God called him to cross-cultural ministry with Calvary Ministries (CAPRO). He and his spouse, Dolapo, served for 15 years in a variety of cross-cultural contexts in West and North Africa before moving to the US for further studies.

He earned Master of Divinity and Master of Arts in World Missions and Evangelism degrees from Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary before proceeding to Fuller Theological Seminary, where he obtained a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies. Uchenna’s doctoral research focused on peacebuilding-contextual theology in a context of acute violence. He volunteers with Frontier Fellowship’s team, partnering with our mobilizers to build bridges between Christians and Muslims in the US. Uchenna is an ordained minister in the Anglican Church. He enjoys Asian foods and loves evening walks with Dolapo. They have two sons.

Tara Chase, Communications Director

Tara joined the staff of Frontier Fellowship in 2012 and helps facilitate our communication efforts. She’s a graduate of Whitworth College with a degree in Sociology (and Religion minor). She served with Young Life in Nairobi, Kenya, for two years after college, and later moved to Seattle, Washington, where she worked as a budget manager at Seattle Pacific University for 15 years.

Tara has partnered with ministry initiatives in Ethiopia, China and Israel, served as a worship leader for over 35 years and volunteered with a global prayer network for over 20 years. Her passion in ministry is to create a culture of connection. As a worship leader and intercessor, she loves helping congregations and individuals connect more deeply to God’s heart for the unreached. She enjoys playing guitar, dining at local restaurants and slow days at home in Northern California with her husband, John, and their three cats. Support Tara’s work.

Brad Coon, Associate Director for Development + Research

Brad joined Frontier Fellowship by way of Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary, where he served in the Advancement Department and as a research associate for the Center for the Study of Global Christianity. He has a BA in Biblical and Theological Studies, and an MA in Religion with a concentration in Global Christianity.

He brings to our team a focus on development and global Christian research, as well as experience in church mission leadership and special interest in Central and South Asia. He and his wife, Mary, live in northeastern Massachusetts and have a son. Brad enjoys woodworking, scuba diving, playing guitar at church and walking their dog. Support Brad’s work.

Dr. Taliilee B. Fiqruu, Associate Director

Taliilee’s frontier mission involvement began in 2001 as a volunteer soloist and worship leader with Light of Hope Ministry Ethiopia (LOHME) during her undergraduate studies at Mekane Yesus Seminary. She joined LOHME’s staff in 2006 and worked in various capacities, including gender issues coordinator, ethno-music composer and program coordinator, before joining Frontier Fellowship in 2009. She now serves as a liaison between LOHME and US churches and facilitates short-term vision trips and ESL volunteers to support LOHME’s work in Ethiopia. She also mobilizes churches in the US to engage in frontier ministry with the Oromo diaspora by recruiting, educating and empowering leaders and volunteers.

Taliilee earned her Master of Arts in Ministry Leadership followed by a Doctor of Ministry in Leadership and Global Perspectives at Portland Seminary. She’s married to LOHME Director Urgessa Biru and enjoys playing guitar, writing songs, leading home Bible study groups, walking and coffee with friends.  Support Taliilee’s work.

Renee Gillespie, Creative + Digital Media Specialist

Renee is passionate about telling the story of God at work! She’s served in full-time missions ministry since 2014, first with Global Passion Ministries, then with United World Mission. During those years, she led short-term mission trips to over 20 nations and played a key role with both organizations in developing and implementing new communications initiatives. Renee is a graduate of Atlanta Leadership College where she studied Pastoral Education and Creative Communications. 

Renee serves as Frontier Fellowship’s Creative + Digital Media Specialist. Her commitment to sharing the Gospel in new and relevant ways, combined with her passion for the local church and its role in frontier mission, energizes her to find and tell the stories of how God is transforming people and communities around the world. She loves iced coffee, loud music, all things Disney and lots of dogs. Support Renee’s work.

Rev. Dr. Kristin Huffman, Mission Advocate

After an early career in Special Education, Kristin continued following God’s call into vocational ministry and received her Master of Divinity and Doctor of Ministry degrees from Fuller Seminary. During her 33 years as a pastor, she had many cross-cultural experiences and was particularly impacted by trips to Ethiopia, Egypt and the United Arab Emirates, where God opened her mind and heart in a new way to care about the unreached.

God later brought her to Frontier Fellowship, where she now focuses on mobilizing congregations, exploring diaspora ministry opportunities, working with global and local partners and serving with the communications team. She also teaches part-time for Fuller Seminary. Kristin is married to Mike, a mom to three and “Gmama” to four. In her free time she enjoys walking, reading, going to the movies, playing with her grandkids and traveling to new places. Support Kristin’s work.

Rita Johnson, Associate Director

Before joining Frontier Fellowship in 2018, Rita served for 15 years in Central Asia with an interfaith team seeking to remove barriers that marginalized women, people with disabilities and those living in poverty. She has an MBA and an MS in Community Development from Santa Clara University and University of California Davis, respectively, and believes that study cultivates the ability to ask better questions and construct frameworks with greater clarity—leading to the transformation of neighborhoods through prayer, collaboration, wisdom and generosity.

From her passion for Central Asian women who have been battered by life, Rita prays for Christ’s welcoming grace and healing power to be proclaimed and shown. She invites followers of Jesus to join in tea drinking needed to have stranger become friends. Graduate courses through Fuller Seminary limit Rita’s free time, but when she’s home, she enjoys hiking, knitting, singing with choirs, creative liturgy and baking muffins (preferably with chocolate chunks). Support Rita’s work.

Rev. Bradley Long, Associate Director

Bradley brings a unique blend of pastoral and frontier mission experience to Frontier Fellowship. Following his time as pastor of a Presbyterian church in Virginia, he and his family served in Central Asia. He holds a dual BA in Bible + Religion and Spanish from King University, received a Master of Divinity from Princeton Theological Seminary and is currently a PhD candidate at Columbia International University. 

Bradley has dedicated himself to the work of encouraging pastors and church leaders to engage in frontier mission ministry around the world. He joins Frontier Fellowship’s staff as a mobilizer, committed to introducing congregations to new frontiers. When he’s not preaching or teaching, he enjoys reading, golfing, and spending time with his wife, Jessica, and their three daughters. Support Bradley’s work.

Rev. Donald Marsden, Associate Director

Donald’s involvement in missions led him to various ministry roles both in the US and abroad. After graduating from the University of Michigan, Donald spent two years serving in youth ministry in West Berlin, Germany, and meeting with Christians behind the Iron Curtain. From 1997–2008, Donald, his wife and their family served as missionaries in Russia. It was there he first encountered the world of frontier mission, which later brought him to Frontier Fellowship.

Donald’s ministry is focused on pointing churches in the US toward active engagement with unreached peoples in Central Asia, Russia and Niger by personally introducing them to leaders working on the frontier. In his free time, you can find him gardening, reading or hiking. Donald is interested in the “mission of the family and the family in mission.” He and his wife, Laurie, have three children and five grandchildren. Support Donald’s work.

Rev. Dan McNerney, Senior Associate

Dan’s calling to frontier mission led him from working as an agriculture commodities trader after graduating from Yale to serving as a church planter in Costa Rica during the early 1980s. Following his return from Costa Rica in 1985, Dan pursued his Master of Divinity degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School and became an ordained minister. He went on to serve the same church in which he grew up and led many short-term mission teams in cross-cultural settings such as Mexico and East Africa.

Dan has been on staff with Frontier Fellowship for over 25 years, pioneering work in Latin America, Europe and the Middle East. He’s currently engaged in Middle Eastern mission initiatives, counseling and mobilizing American churches to engage in missional practices and bridge-building efforts with Muslim leaders and communities in the US and beyond. He also serves as Frontier Fellowship’s Senior Associate, helping oversee and manage our team of frontier mission mobilizers. Dan and his wife, Sharon, have five children. Support Dan’s work.

George + Pamela Pendergrass, Associate Directors

George and Pamela have served for over 30 years together in music, education and ministry. They both hold master’s degrees from Duquesne University, George in Community Leadership and Pamela in Business Ethics. George was a lead singer for the award-winning ensemble Acappella and has had the honor of working on projects with a wide range of artists, including U2, Vanessa Williams and Amy Grant. After many years on the road, they went on to work for the Milton Hershey School in residential education. Together they’ve traveled on short-term mission trips to Europe, Kenya, South America and Thailand. God’s call to frontier mission mobilization among people of color grew out of an Egypt vision trip with our team.

Pamela enjoys discovering new foods and cooking, and George enjoys music, camping, gardening and developing survival skills. They have a son, a daughter-in-law and two beautiful grandsons. Support George + Pamela’s work.

Denise Sciuto, Associate Director

Denise’s love for missions began as a student in her church’s youth group, which took yearly domestic service trips. She graduated from Grove City College with a degree in International Business, then spent the next 15 years working in customer service and sales for an international transportation company. God later combined her love for missions with her business experience in a mobilizing role with Frontier Fellowship. She’s committed to helping churches participate in making God’s love known to unreached people groups with a particular focus on supporting and encouraging our Sudanese and South Sudanese partners involved in education and pastoral training.

Denise has served on mission committees and led short-term teams to Honduras, Sudan and Uganda. She is a member of a regional Sudan/South Sudan Leadership Team and national Sudan Mission Network. In her free time, she loves to garden, read and walk. She and her husband, Brad, have two young adult sons. Support Denise’s work.

Rev. Dr. Jim Truesdell, Associate Director

Jim has more than 20 years of experience pastoring churches in Mississippi and Alabama. As a pastor, he was passionate about helping his congregations participate in God’s work among the nations. Following a vision trip with Frontier Fellowship, his ministry trajectory changed course as he felt an impassioned call to the frontier. After a season of nurturing local congregations, he joins Frontier Fellowship’s staff to help mobilize churches to engage with least-reached peoples in South Asia. 

A dedicated and curious home cook, Jim is fascinated by how food is a powerful expression of community, social location and culture. In his free time, he also enjoys camping and backpacking. He and his wife, Sonja, have been married for more than two decades and have a teenage daughter, Emma. Support Jim’s work.

Rev. Dr. Cody Watson Jr., Senior Associate, Emeritus

Cody is a veteran of Frontier Fellowship, having joined our staff in 1994 as one of the original four mobilizers recruited by our first executive director, Harold Kurtz. Prior to that, his ministry experience includes interning with Cru (formerly Campus Crusade for Christ), serving as a missionary for three years in South Korea and three in Bangladesh and directing the Presbyterian Center for Mission Studies in California.

A dedicated mobilizer through the decades, Cody’s focus is primarily in South Asia where he promotes the strategies of Disciple Making Movements and Oral Bible Storying. Through the years, he’s helped countless congregations engage with least-reached peoples around the globe. Their continuing commitment to the frontier serves as Cody’s legacy as he passes the frontier mission vision to the next generation. His experience, wisdom and faithfulness continue to bless and strengthen our staff, partners and ministry.

Dr. Urgessa Biru, Light of Hope Ministry Ethiopia Director

Support Urgessa’s work.

Nan Bielski, Accounting Manager / HR Administrator

Lisa Nygaard, Finance Assistant

Shelley Schuenke, National Office Manager

Bob Von Schimmelmann, Mission Advocate

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