Founders

William R. Green is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of the Equip Institute, bringing over two decades of vocational experience in overseas and cross-cultural ministry, church planting, pastoring, and teaching in theological higher education. He holds an M.T.S. from Harvard University, an M.Phil. from the University of Pennsylvania, an M.A. in Theological Studies and an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Grace Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in Biblical Studies from Grace College. He is currently completing a PhD in Intercultural Studies (Missiology) at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, with expected completion in May 2026. He serves as an Affiliate Professor at Kairos University, Associate Editor of Missiology: An International Review, and Parallel Session Coordinator for the American Society of Missiology.

Joanna Green is an educator and organizational leader with more than a decade of overseas mission experience. She is a licensed educator in the United States and has over two decades of teaching experience across diverse academic and cross-cultural contexts. Her senior leadership roles include serving as Distance Education Director and Vice President of Academics at Pacific Islands University. She serves as the co-founder and Chief Operating Officer of the Equip Institute and is an Affiliate Professor at Kairos University. Joanna holds a PhD in Intercultural Education from Biola University, an M.A. in Nonprofit Management from Johns Hopkins University, an M.Ed. from Colorado State University, an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Grace Theological Seminary, and a B.A. in Communications from Grace College.

Board Members |

Advisory Board Members

The Equip Institute does not publicly disclose the identities of certain board and advisory board members due to security considerations associated with the countries and contexts in which we work.

Sam George, PhD, is the Director of the Global Diaspora Institute at Wheaton College Billy Graham Center, near Chicago (USA). He is of Asian Indian origin and traces his roots to the ancient St. Thomas Christians of Kerala, India. Until recently, he served as a global catalyst for diasporas of the Lausanne Movement and now teaches World Christianity globally at several seminaries and universities, which have included Wheaton College, Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Fuller Theological Seminary, and Princeton Theological Seminary. He completed his doctoral research in the UK, under the tutelage of Prof. Andrew Walls, and earlier studied at Fuller and Princeton Seminaries in the US. He holds degrees in engineering and management from India and worked in the technology industries in Asia for a decade. He has authored or edited twenty books and numerous articles in leading journals and publications. He lives with his wife, Dr. Mary George, in the northern suburbs of Chicago.

David M. Gustafson is Professor of Evangelism and Missional Ministry at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School (TEDS) in Deerfield, Illinois, where he chairs the Evangelism and Evangelism Department and teaches courses on evangelism, missional praxis, and church history. He is a prolific author and previously served for 25 years in ministry, including as campus director with Cru at Fresno State University, pastor in two Evangelical Free Church of America congregations, and an instructor at the University of Houston and Houston Graduate School of Theology. An ordained minister in the Evangelical Free Church of America, he serves on its Board of Ministerial Standing. He is an affiliate professor at Johannelund School of Theology in Sweden. He holds a Ph.D. from Linköping University in Sweden, a D.Min. from Fuller Theological Seminary, a Th.M. and M.Div. from TEDS, and a B.B. from Western Illinois University.

Jacob Olupona is Professor of African Religious Traditions at Harvard Divinity School, Harvard University, with a joint appointment in African and African American Studies in Harvard University’s Faculty of Arts and Sciences, where he previously served as department chair. He is a distinguished scholar whose work has been widely recognized for its intellectual and public impact. He was elected to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences in 2023 and received the Nigerian National Order of Merit in 2007, the country’s highest intellectual honor. He holds a Ph.D. from Boston University and honorary doctorates from the University of Edinburgh, Obafemi Awolowo University, and the University of Abuja. He received the Martin E. Marty Award for the Public Understanding of Religion in 2018. His research has been supported by major grants from the Guggenheim, Ford, Wenner-Gren, and Rockefeller Foundations, and he has served as president of the African Association for the Study of Religion and on the editorial boards of leading journals.

Andrew Royer is the President of Ethnos360 Bible Institute (formerly New Tribes Bible Institute) in Waukesha, Wisconsin, where he provides institutional leadership in the theological and practical formation of missionaries serving among Unreached People Groups. Andrew was raised in Brazil as a missionary kid, served for ten years as a pastor in the United States within the Charis Fellowship of churches, and then returned to Brazil with his wife to serve as missionaries. In addition to his administrative leadership, Andrew remains actively involved in teaching at Ethnos360 Bible Institute and has previously taught at Instituto Bíblico Peniel in Brazil. He holds a Master of Divinity degree from Grace Theological Seminary and a Bachelor of Science in Biblical Studies from Grace College.

Mihamm Kim-Rauchholz served as Professor of New Testament and Greek at the International University of Liebenzell from 2011 to 2023 and has lectured at various universities and seminaries around the world. Previously, she served as President of Pacific Islands University in Guam and as Head of the Oceania Department for the Liebenzeller Mission. Since 2023, she has served as Theological Advisor to the Liebenzell Mission, providing theological leadership and strategic counsel for ministry in Germany and internationally. She is a member of the Board of Trustees at the International University of Liebenzell; serves on the advisory board of the theological journal Theologische Beiträge; is a member of the steering group of Mission:is:possible; serves on the advisory team supporting the International Leadership Team of the Liebenzeller Mission; sits on the Theological Advisory Board of ERF, the German Christian Broadcasting Network; and is a frequent keynote speaker at major conferences and Christian events. She holds a Dr. theol. in theology from the University of Tübingen.

Juan Carlos Téllez is Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies and Associate Chair of the Department of Christian Ministries at the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. MN. He holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an M.Div., and an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Grace Theological Seminary, and a degree in church planting from the Sembrar Institute in Bogotá, Colombia. Téllez’s teaching and research focus on intercultural competence, immigration, the multiethnic church, and global Christianity, with particular attention to the intersections of theology, culture, and ministry practice. Born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia, he has extensive pastoral and cross-cultural ministry experience in Latin America and the United States, including church planting, pastoral leadership, and ministry within immigrant and multiethnic congregations.

Darrell L. Whiteman is a missiological anthropologist and veteran cross-cultural educator, administrator, and practitioner. He has served as Professor of Cultural Anthropology and as Dean of the E. Stanley Jones School of World Mission and Evangelism at Asbury Theological Seminary, as Editor of Missiology: An International Review for over a decade, and as interim editor of the International Bulletin of Mission Research while serving as Interim Executive Director of the Overseas Ministries Study Center. He has also taught or lectured at institutions such as Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, Yale Divinity School, Fuller Theological Seminary, and numerous theological schools worldwide. In addition to his academic work, Whiteman served as Vice President and Resident Missiologist with The Mission Society and as a missionary and research anthropologist with the Melanesian Institute in Papua New Guinea, following mission service in Central Africa and field research in the Solomon Islands. He is the Founder and Director of Global Development, the publisher of the American Society of Missiology, and recently authored the award-winning book Crossing Cultures with the Gospel: Anthropological Wisdom for Effective Christian Witness (Baker Academic, 2024). He holds a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Southern Illinois University.

Mary Cloutier is a scholar of Intercultural Studies and Mission, serves on the board of The Evangelical Alliance Mission (TEAM), is an expert and author of Gabonese history, and is presently preparing for service as a hospital chaplain. Previously, Cloutier served for ten years as an Associate Professor of Intercultural Studies at Moody Bible Institute in Chicago, with previous teaching appointments at Nyack College and the Institut Biblique de Bethel in Libreville, Gabon. Prior to her academic career, she served for a decade as a missionary, with significant experience in francophone Africa. She has been an active participant in professional societies, including the American Society of Missiology, the Association of Professors of Mission, and the Midwest Missions Studies Fellowship. Cloutier holds a Ph.D. in Intercultural Studies from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, an M.Div. from Alliance Theological Seminary, and a B.S. from the University of Wisconsin.

Yousaf Sadiq is an Adjunct Assistant Professor at Wheaton College and also serves as a Senior Fellow at the Wheaton College Humanitarian and Disaster Institute. His teaching and research focus on the intersection of theology, culture, and global Christianity, with an emphasis on the persecuted church, South Asian Christianity, contextual expressions of the Christian faith, and the Punjabi Psalter. In addition, Sadiq serves as President of the Punjabi Psalter Society, is global co-leader of the Lausanne Initiative for the Persecuted Church within the Lausanne Movement, and is active in professional societies. He brings extensive expertise and long-standing engagement with Christian communities living under social and religious pressure in Pakistan and the wider South Asian context. He holds a Ph.D. in Historical Theology from the London School of Theology, a B.A. (Hons) in Theology from the same institution, and a Diploma in Linguistics from the Institute of Linguistics in Pakistan.

Ryan Egli serves as Lead Pastor of City Line Church, a multiethnic congregation in the greater Philadelphia area. Ryan has served in a range of leadership roles, including Executive Pastor at Renewal Presbyterian Church, where he ministered across the West Philadelphia and Chinatown campuses, and as a church planter and pastor within the Liberti network of churches. In addition to his pastoral work, Ryan has served administratively as Vice President of Enrollment Management and Marketing at Missio Seminary in Philadelphia and has taught theology courses as an Adjunct Professor at Pacific Islands University. He holds a D.Min. from Missio Seminary, with a focus on contextualizing urban ministry and theological education, an M.Div. from Grace Theological Seminary, and a B.S. in Biblical Studies and Communications from Grace College.

Larry W. Caldwell is Chief Academic Officer and Dean, and Professor of Intercultural Studies and Bible Interpretation at Kairos University (formerly Sioux Falls Seminary), where he has served since 2011. He is also the Senior Missiologist for Converge Worldwide and the current Vice President of the North Central Region of the Evangelical Missiological Society. Previously, he served as the President of the Association of Professors of Mission. Larry has over four decades of experience in global mission and theological education, spending over 30 years in Asia, primarily in Manila, Philippines, where he served for over two decades as a missionary with Converge Worldwide and as Professor of Missions and Bible Interpretation at Asian Theological Seminary (ATS). He has also served as Academic Dean at ATS, Director of the Doctor of Missiology program at the Asia Graduate School of Theology, and as a guest lecturer at seminaries worldwide. Larry is a leading expert in ethnohermeneutics, contextualization, and cross-cultural ministry, and has played a significant role in advancing competency-based theological education. He is widely published, and his most recent contribution is The Bible in Culture: Reading the Bible With All the World Using Ethnohermeneutics (William Carey, 2025). He holds a Ph.D. and Th.M. from Fuller Theological Seminary and an M.Div. from Bethel Theological Seminary.