Joanne Oftedahl teaches and serves as Student Missions Advisor at Immanuel Bible College, Cebu Philippines. She preaches, teaches, and helps provide resources for evangelism and discipleship in local churches of Cebu and neighboring Islands.
First Mission
Joanne’s first mission’s experience was a two-year assignment to the Philippines. She recalls this as a fantastic time of growth in faith gained while serving in different ministries. During that time she taught in Bible College, conducted children’s and youth ministries, outreach and discipleship in secular colleges, ministry to patients in hospitals, evangelism seminars for nursing students, preaching and teaching in local churches.
Becoming a Missionary
At age sixteen, Joanne sensed God’s calling and she committed her life to Him; wherever He may lead. During the following two years, God continued to draw her closer and gave her a passion for missions. During her years at North Central Bible College, God confirmed His call to missions and put a special love in her heart for Asia. Joanne has served in the Philippines for 25 years.
More Missionaries
Paul Kramer
Thailand
Paul Kramer
Thailand
River Valley 500. Paul and Robyn are serving in Northern Thailand. They are leading church planting teams reaching university students through English teaching centers.
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Guinea is approx. 14 million in population 47 people groups and 29 are unreached 86.9% of the population is unreached Largest religion is Islam, there is some mixture of animism 0.68% evangelical Currently, God has opened the door for Guineans to receive the gospel. The surrounding countries are predominantly Islamic states where it is against the law to proselytize. Guinea currently has an evangelical president so the government is favorable to the Gospel being preached. The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God has a calling to plant churches and is eager to see this work happen in his country. As God has made this opportunity possible. Me and several others including AGWM (who has never sent a missionary to Guinea in its history) and AMI (where I serve full time) has both been led by the Spirit to come into partnership to reach the lost. God is moving and we are excited to minister in this country while the opportunity is here!
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Indonesia is a majority Islamic country with about 83.3% of the population practicing the Islamic faith and 70% of the population unreached. They are part of the 10/40 window and Indonesians that convert to Christianity may face being ostracized from their family and be pressured into isolation and taking on verbal abuse. It is legal to be a Christian In Indonesia however Missionaries often face oppression from radical Islamic parties when planting or getting permission to build a church.
Jesse Johannesen
France
Jesse Johannesen
France
Only 1% of French people know and follow Jesus. Many communities have no church and there is a great need to train pastors and plant more churches. The most active faith in the public sphere is Islam, where France has the largest Muslim population in the EU. An interesting stat that shows the need is that there are 40 spiritual mediums for every Christian pastor in France. Most people will never hear the gospel from another believer and the few born again Christians that exist are marginalized.
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick has 2 main jobs. For his first job, he travels to campuses across the U.S.A. for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, doing training and evangelism with an apologetics emphasis. From 2010-2012, he worked at 40 different campuses. His second job involves serving as the InterVarsity staff member at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where there has been an active InterVarsity group since 1941.
Lance Hines
South Africa
Lance Hines
South Africa
Our mission field covers a vast area. The eleven countries that make up Southern Africa are home to 182 million people, 50% of which are under the age of 18. AGWM currently has approximately 80 missionaries in Southern Africa. Animism is rampant throughout Southern Africa. Animism is regularly mixed in with “Christianity;” creating a form of folk-Christianity that is leading unknowing people to hell. This creates a significant challenge for the advancement of the Gospel because people think they are “Christians” when they are not. Due to inadequate discipleship – many “Christians” continue to pray to their ancestors and visit witchdoctors. As a result, beneath a thin veneer labeled “Christianity”- spiritual darkness and the scourge of lostness remains pervasive throughout Southern Africa. Unreached groups of people are desperately underserved and continuing to wait for the hope of the Gospel to reach them.
Mark Flattery
United States
Mark Flattery
United States
As of June 1st, 54,325,725 Gospel Presentations, 2,759,142 Evangelism Responses, and 458,621 Discipleship Connection. All in 242 countries and territories, as tracked by Google.
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb and Karen work in Manila, Philippines, in addition to the general Asia Pacific. Their main role is teaching EPHOD seminars.
Garrick Duckett
Japan
Garrick Duckett
Japan
We have been appointed as church planting missionaries to join an established team in Nara, Japan. Japan is a country of 125M inhabitants, where only .5% of the population is Christian, and the number of believers and missionaries has been only shrinking for the last 30 years. Also, over 70% of Japanese church leaders are over the age of 70, which means that they are desperately hurting for the next generation to rise up and carry the torch of the gospel to their neighbors and fellow citizens. In our first year and a half in Japan, we have engaged most heavily in language learning and partnership with our local church, Nara New Life, who have been mentoring us in our future venture to start a church in the surrounding area. Our main focuses have been ministry through the vivacious young family community in our town: children's ministry, gymnastics class, local play room, parks, and soon Kaia will be joining our neighborhood pre-school. In addition we have been investing in relationships with a number of other individuals long-term, leading worship, and visiting Japanese churches around the country sharing our testimonies and building a network of national believers. Our current short term goals now: Continue language learning for another 2 years, 2024 begin surveying neighborhoods in summer for church plant (move spring 2025 to target area), establish parent relationships at Kaia's preschool.
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Thailand is a primarily Buddhist country with little access to the gospel. Out of the 71.8 million people in Thailand, 71 million are not Christ-Followers. Yes, you read that right, 99.4% of Thais are unreached. In our province of Chumphon, there are 732 villages and only 26 evangelical churches. With a population of over 550,000, only 1,200 (0.2%) in our province are Christians.
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris and Lindsey Carter are missionaries in Japan. They are transitioning from the Philippines where they ministered for three years. Chris will be teaching at Central Bible College in Tokyo starting a Master of Divinity Program. Lindsey's involvment will be children’s ministry. Together they will participate in church planting and evangelism.
Paul Kramer
Thailand
Paul Kramer
Thailand
River Valley 500. Paul and Robyn are serving in Northern Thailand. They are leading church planting teams reaching university students through English teaching centers.
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Guinea is approx. 14 million in population 47 people groups and 29 are unreached 86.9% of the population is unreached Largest religion is Islam, there is some mixture of animism 0.68% evangelical Currently, God has opened the door for Guineans to receive the gospel. The surrounding countries are predominantly Islamic states where it is against the law to proselytize. Guinea currently has an evangelical president so the government is favorable to the Gospel being preached. The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God has a calling to plant churches and is eager to see this work happen in his country. As God has made this opportunity possible. Me and several others including AGWM (who has never sent a missionary to Guinea in its history) and AMI (where I serve full time) has both been led by the Spirit to come into partnership to reach the lost. God is moving and we are excited to minister in this country while the opportunity is here!
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Indonesia is a majority Islamic country with about 83.3% of the population practicing the Islamic faith and 70% of the population unreached. They are part of the 10/40 window and Indonesians that convert to Christianity may face being ostracized from their family and be pressured into isolation and taking on verbal abuse. It is legal to be a Christian In Indonesia however Missionaries often face oppression from radical Islamic parties when planting or getting permission to build a church.
Jesse Johannesen
France
Jesse Johannesen
France
Only 1% of French people know and follow Jesus. Many communities have no church and there is a great need to train pastors and plant more churches. The most active faith in the public sphere is Islam, where France has the largest Muslim population in the EU. An interesting stat that shows the need is that there are 40 spiritual mediums for every Christian pastor in France. Most people will never hear the gospel from another believer and the few born again Christians that exist are marginalized.
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick has 2 main jobs. For his first job, he travels to campuses across the U.S.A. for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, doing training and evangelism with an apologetics emphasis. From 2010-2012, he worked at 40 different campuses. His second job involves serving as the InterVarsity staff member at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where there has been an active InterVarsity group since 1941.
Lance Hines
South Africa
Lance Hines
South Africa
Our mission field covers a vast area. The eleven countries that make up Southern Africa are home to 182 million people, 50% of which are under the age of 18. AGWM currently has approximately 80 missionaries in Southern Africa. Animism is rampant throughout Southern Africa. Animism is regularly mixed in with “Christianity;” creating a form of folk-Christianity that is leading unknowing people to hell. This creates a significant challenge for the advancement of the Gospel because people think they are “Christians” when they are not. Due to inadequate discipleship – many “Christians” continue to pray to their ancestors and visit witchdoctors. As a result, beneath a thin veneer labeled “Christianity”- spiritual darkness and the scourge of lostness remains pervasive throughout Southern Africa. Unreached groups of people are desperately underserved and continuing to wait for the hope of the Gospel to reach them.
Mark Flattery
United States
Mark Flattery
United States
As of June 1st, 54,325,725 Gospel Presentations, 2,759,142 Evangelism Responses, and 458,621 Discipleship Connection. All in 242 countries and territories, as tracked by Google.
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb and Karen work in Manila, Philippines, in addition to the general Asia Pacific. Their main role is teaching EPHOD seminars.
Garrick Duckett
Japan
Garrick Duckett
Japan
We have been appointed as church planting missionaries to join an established team in Nara, Japan. Japan is a country of 125M inhabitants, where only .5% of the population is Christian, and the number of believers and missionaries has been only shrinking for the last 30 years. Also, over 70% of Japanese church leaders are over the age of 70, which means that they are desperately hurting for the next generation to rise up and carry the torch of the gospel to their neighbors and fellow citizens. In our first year and a half in Japan, we have engaged most heavily in language learning and partnership with our local church, Nara New Life, who have been mentoring us in our future venture to start a church in the surrounding area. Our main focuses have been ministry through the vivacious young family community in our town: children's ministry, gymnastics class, local play room, parks, and soon Kaia will be joining our neighborhood pre-school. In addition we have been investing in relationships with a number of other individuals long-term, leading worship, and visiting Japanese churches around the country sharing our testimonies and building a network of national believers. Our current short term goals now: Continue language learning for another 2 years, 2024 begin surveying neighborhoods in summer for church plant (move spring 2025 to target area), establish parent relationships at Kaia's preschool.
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Thailand is a primarily Buddhist country with little access to the gospel. Out of the 71.8 million people in Thailand, 71 million are not Christ-Followers. Yes, you read that right, 99.4% of Thais are unreached. In our province of Chumphon, there are 732 villages and only 26 evangelical churches. With a population of over 550,000, only 1,200 (0.2%) in our province are Christians.
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris and Lindsey Carter are missionaries in Japan. They are transitioning from the Philippines where they ministered for three years. Chris will be teaching at Central Bible College in Tokyo starting a Master of Divinity Program. Lindsey's involvment will be children’s ministry. Together they will participate in church planting and evangelism.
Paul Kramer
Thailand
Paul Kramer
Thailand
River Valley 500. Paul and Robyn are serving in Northern Thailand. They are leading church planting teams reaching university students through English teaching centers.
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Sierra Hawthorne
Guinea
Guinea is approx. 14 million in population 47 people groups and 29 are unreached 86.9% of the population is unreached Largest religion is Islam, there is some mixture of animism 0.68% evangelical Currently, God has opened the door for Guineans to receive the gospel. The surrounding countries are predominantly Islamic states where it is against the law to proselytize. Guinea currently has an evangelical president so the government is favorable to the Gospel being preached. The General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God has a calling to plant churches and is eager to see this work happen in his country. As God has made this opportunity possible. Me and several others including AGWM (who has never sent a missionary to Guinea in its history) and AMI (where I serve full time) has both been led by the Spirit to come into partnership to reach the lost. God is moving and we are excited to minister in this country while the opportunity is here!
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Sadie Stoffers
Indonesia
Indonesia is a majority Islamic country with about 83.3% of the population practicing the Islamic faith and 70% of the population unreached. They are part of the 10/40 window and Indonesians that convert to Christianity may face being ostracized from their family and be pressured into isolation and taking on verbal abuse. It is legal to be a Christian In Indonesia however Missionaries often face oppression from radical Islamic parties when planting or getting permission to build a church.
Jesse Johannesen
France
Jesse Johannesen
France
Only 1% of French people know and follow Jesus. Many communities have no church and there is a great need to train pastors and plant more churches. The most active faith in the public sphere is Islam, where France has the largest Muslim population in the EU. An interesting stat that shows the need is that there are 40 spiritual mediums for every Christian pastor in France. Most people will never hear the gospel from another believer and the few born again Christians that exist are marginalized.
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick Mattson
United States
Rick has 2 main jobs. For his first job, he travels to campuses across the U.S.A. for InterVarsity Christian Fellowship, doing training and evangelism with an apologetics emphasis. From 2010-2012, he worked at 40 different campuses. His second job involves serving as the InterVarsity staff member at Macalester College in St. Paul, Minnesota, where there has been an active InterVarsity group since 1941.
Lance Hines
South Africa
Lance Hines
South Africa
Our mission field covers a vast area. The eleven countries that make up Southern Africa are home to 182 million people, 50% of which are under the age of 18. AGWM currently has approximately 80 missionaries in Southern Africa. Animism is rampant throughout Southern Africa. Animism is regularly mixed in with “Christianity;” creating a form of folk-Christianity that is leading unknowing people to hell. This creates a significant challenge for the advancement of the Gospel because people think they are “Christians” when they are not. Due to inadequate discipleship – many “Christians” continue to pray to their ancestors and visit witchdoctors. As a result, beneath a thin veneer labeled “Christianity”- spiritual darkness and the scourge of lostness remains pervasive throughout Southern Africa. Unreached groups of people are desperately underserved and continuing to wait for the hope of the Gospel to reach them.
Mark Flattery
United States
Mark Flattery
United States
As of June 1st, 54,325,725 Gospel Presentations, 2,759,142 Evangelism Responses, and 458,621 Discipleship Connection. All in 242 countries and territories, as tracked by Google.
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb Johnson
Philippines
Herb and Karen work in Manila, Philippines, in addition to the general Asia Pacific. Their main role is teaching EPHOD seminars.
Garrick Duckett
Japan
Garrick Duckett
Japan
We have been appointed as church planting missionaries to join an established team in Nara, Japan. Japan is a country of 125M inhabitants, where only .5% of the population is Christian, and the number of believers and missionaries has been only shrinking for the last 30 years. Also, over 70% of Japanese church leaders are over the age of 70, which means that they are desperately hurting for the next generation to rise up and carry the torch of the gospel to their neighbors and fellow citizens. In our first year and a half in Japan, we have engaged most heavily in language learning and partnership with our local church, Nara New Life, who have been mentoring us in our future venture to start a church in the surrounding area. Our main focuses have been ministry through the vivacious young family community in our town: children's ministry, gymnastics class, local play room, parks, and soon Kaia will be joining our neighborhood pre-school. In addition we have been investing in relationships with a number of other individuals long-term, leading worship, and visiting Japanese churches around the country sharing our testimonies and building a network of national believers. Our current short term goals now: Continue language learning for another 2 years, 2024 begin surveying neighborhoods in summer for church plant (move spring 2025 to target area), establish parent relationships at Kaia's preschool.
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Matthew Baldwin
Thailand
Thailand is a primarily Buddhist country with little access to the gospel. Out of the 71.8 million people in Thailand, 71 million are not Christ-Followers. Yes, you read that right, 99.4% of Thais are unreached. In our province of Chumphon, there are 732 villages and only 26 evangelical churches. With a population of over 550,000, only 1,200 (0.2%) in our province are Christians.
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris Carter
Japan
Chris and Lindsey Carter are missionaries in Japan. They are transitioning from the Philippines where they ministered for three years. Chris will be teaching at Central Bible College in Tokyo starting a Master of Divinity Program. Lindsey's involvment will be children’s ministry. Together they will participate in church planting and evangelism.
