New York, NY – September 29, 2016
The Global Leadership Council (GLC) of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Mission Commission (MC) is pleased to announce that Rev. David Ruiz has been appointed as new Executive Director of the MC. He succeeds Dr. Bertil Ekström who has led the MC for the past ten years and is passing on the leadership after serving two full terms.
“We are immensely grateful to Bertil for the way in which he has led the WEA MC since 2006. He took on the role during a time when there was much change in the world and the Church. He has built an excellent team and fostered national mission initiatives around the world. As a great relational leader, he led the MC to host a number of Global Mission Roundtables where global and regional leaders could come together to listen, deepen friendships and discern what the Lord was saying to His Church regarding the mission of God,” said Peter Tarantal, Chair of the GLC.
About the new appointment, he stated: “We are excited that David will serve as the next Executive Director and believe that he will bring fresh energy and vision to the MC. We look forward to working with David in taking the MC to the next level.”
When Dr. Ekström took office ten years ago, one of his first initiatives was to form a leadership team that has grown continuously and currently consists of nine leaders from five continents. The MC has also seen significant growth in its number of associated members, particularly with mission leaders from the Global South. Several new task forces have been launched focusing on business, stewardship, arts, technology and more, and twelve external mission-focused networks have ‘docked’ to the MC as partners. The MC has also produced a number of mission resources, including award-winning books such as Sorrow & Blood: Christian Mission in Contexts of Suffering, Persecution and Martyrdom.
Rev. Ruiz will officially assume his new role in January 2017, serving a term of five years.
Following his appointment, Rev. Ruiz commented: “I am very grateful for the trust that is given to me as I take on this new role. I believe the Mission Commission is uniquely positioned to provide an understanding of the ever-changing realities in our world today, to raise awareness about new challenges and opportunities for the Church and missions and to unlock the tremendous potential and resources that the Lord provides. I look forward to the opportunity to serve the tables for church and mission leaders from around the world and to join hands for the advancement of the Great Commission.”
About Rev. David Ruiz:
Born in Guatemala, David began his professional life with a career in business administration and marketing before entering ministry and being ordained by the Centro Bíblico El Camino, Guatemala in 1990. He has since served in a variety of mission-related roles, including International Coordinator of the Great Commission Roundtable (GCR), Executive Director and International President for the Cooperación Misionera Iberoamericana (COMIBAM) and Associate Director of WEA’s Mission Commission since 2006.
He was also part of the planning team of Lausanne’s Cape Town Congress in 2010 and continues to serve as Vice President of Global Ministries for Camino Global and Vice Chairman of the International Council of Interserve. He is also author and co-author of a number of mission-focused publications and resources.
David holds a Master of Arts Degree in Contemporary Mission Studies from All Nations Christian College, UK. He is married to Dora Amalia and together they have three adult children.
Picture Caption: David Ruiz speaking at WEA’s International Leadership Forum 2015 in Tegucigalpa, Honduras. © tkg, World Evangelical Alliance
About the WEA:
Over two billion Christians in the world today are represented by three world church bodies. The World Evangelical Alliance (WEA) is one of those, serving more than 600 million evangelicals. Launched in 1846 to unite evangelicals worldwide, the WEA continues to be a dynamic movement with 7 regional and 129 national Evangelical Alliances, and over 150 member organizations. WEA’s mission is to establish and strengthen regional and national Evangelical Alliances, who in turn enable their national Church to advance the Good News of Jesus Christ and effect personal and community transformation for the glory of God. For more info, e-mail wea@worldea.org or go to Worldea.org.
WEA MEDIA CONTACT: Timothy K. Goropevsek, Director of Communications (timothyg@worldea.org), +1 212.233.3046 x149
About the WEA Mission Commission:
The Mission Commission aims to inspire, advocate and strengthen God’s mission agenda among the global Christian community. The Mission Commission Associates (MCA’s) serve, catalyze and facilitate global missional affinity clusters for greater effectiveness, developing strategic relationships and resources. More information is available at mc.worldea.org.
