After many years as a pastor and seminary professor in the U.S., Africa got hold of Mike and never let go. He first went to Kenya as one of the pastors of a church in Nairobi, the capital. Though his initial aim was to replicate principles that he had seen in effective Peruvian churches, his vision quickly changed to leadership development, and he ended up teaching in two graduate level seminaries.

Since his return to the U.S., Mike has kept an Africa focus, first through Overseas Council, which concentrated on graduate level seminaries, and later through his first non-profit, African Leadership. His latest venture, Heart of Africa, stems from a desire to help Africans in various ministries, as well to assist American Christians who want to invest wisely in Africa.

Mike’s academic background includes degrees in divinity, theology and education, and he has broad expertise in the areas of Christian education and formation, both in the U.S. and in Africa. He was formerly on the pastoral staff at Northland--A Church Distributed, in Longwood, FL.

Mike is married to Martha, who is also a Board member. She dreamed of being a missionary to Africa as a little girl, and had her first Africa experience while in college. Mike and Martha have three children: Joe, Kathryn and Laura.

Julie spent 12 years in Kinshasa, D.R. Congo, the first 8½ of which were in mission work. Her initial two years were a time of self-discovery, of learning that God had indeed gifted her to succeed in cross-cultural ministry. She began learning both the French and Lingala languages that she would use throughout her time there.

Julie later worked for a small mission, Evangelism Resources. She started a nine-month program of instruction in literature work, and trained about 50 literature specialists over several academic years. She also published about 100 pieces of literature in support of evangelism and village pastoral work.

One of the unique aspects of her background is that Julie then went into business in Kinshasa, helping to start and to manage a very successful small aviation business, Air Excellence. The business ended abruptly when, during the war that ultimately ousted long-time dictator, Mobutu, his son seized it by force.

Julie went on to pursue an MBA in the interest of contributing to the “Business as Missions” movement. She brings her business expertise to Heart of Africa projects and also consults for missions that use business as an entry strategy to restricted access countries.

If you call the Heart of Africa office you're likely to speak to Pam Bradshaw, our part-time Administrative Assistant.  She’s a native Floridian, married to Rick since 1978, with two children, Mandy and Joey, and a daughter-in-law, Lauren.  When she’s not in the office, she stays busy painting, reading, listening to music, going on motorcycle rides with Rick, and taking care of Mandy, who was disabled in a tragic car accident in 1999.  Pam affirms:  “I have loved my time here with Heart of Africa.  My eyes and heart have been opened up to the beautiful continent of Africa.”