Our People

BIO:

Kim Reisman is an author, pastor, teacher, and theologian, focusing her work in the areas of evangelism, spiritual formation, leadership development, and the intersection between faith and culture. Ordained in the United Methodist Church, she was appointed Executive Director of WME in 2014. She is a frequent speaker and has written numerous books, most recently, ”Embrace: Showing and Sharing the love of Jesus.” Also, ”Public Witness,” in E. Stanley Jones & Sharing the Good News in a Pluralistic Society (Wesley’s Foundry Books, 2018), “Before all Else” in Holy Contradictions: What’s Next for the People Called United Methodists (Abingdon Press, 2018), and “The Church’s Global DNA,” in A Firm Foundation: Hope and Vision for a New Methodist Future (Seedbed, 2017).

Born in Gulfport, Mississippi, Kim lived in California, Tennessee, Georgia, Ohio, and Connecticut before moving to Indiana in 1993. She received a Bachelor’s Degree from Emory University, a Masters of Divinity from Yale Divinity School, and a Ph.D. in theology from Durham University in the United Kingdom. Kim is a senior Harry Denman Fellow, a senior John Wesley Fellow, an Adjunct Professor at United Theological Seminary in Dayton, Ohio, Seattle Pacific University in Seattle, Washington, and Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky, and a Visiting Fellow at St. John’s College, Durham University in the UK.

In all her work, Kim seeks to serve God by awakening, strengthening, and enlivening the faith commitment of individuals as well as empowering communities of faith to become visible witnesses to the love of Christ for the world. Kim lives with her husband, John in West Lafayette, Indiana where she enjoys music, sports, reading, and jewelry making. They have three adult children, Nathan, Maggie, and Hannah.

BIO:

Bonnie Hollabaugh joined World Methodist Evangelism in October 2017 in the newly established role of Director of Development.

Prior to joining World Methodist Evangelism, Bonnie served as the Director of Development for Christ Community Health Services in Memphis, TN. She has also held the positions of Major Gifts Officer and Director of Annual Giving at Hutchison School, Vice President of Development at Girls Incorporated of Memphis, and Development Director at Ronald McDonald House Charities of Memphis.

She served a two-year term as president of the Memphis Chapter of the Association of Fundraising Professionals and serves as a Board member of the Alliance for Nonprofit Excellence.

During her years of membership at Christ Church in Memphis, Bonnie has served on the Executive Committee as well as volunteering as a Sunday School liaison, a Lenten Study facilitator, and a small group leader. She has had the joy of touring the Holy Land and has participated in mission trips to Zambia and Guatemala. Bonnie enjoys travel, biking, cooking, and hosting dinner parties with friends.

BIO:

Paulo Lopes is originally from Brazil and he believed his calling was to become a diplomat. He and God just disagreed on what kind of diplomat he would become.

He and his wife Juliana came to the US shortly after marrying in 2007. They now have three Brazilian-American daughters, Carolina, Sofia, and Olivia.

Outside of WME, Paulo has been on staff in the local church and denominational levels, most recently as Director of Next Generation Ministries for the Virginia Conference (UMC). Additionally, he currently serves as a leadership coach through Spiritual Leadership, Inc (SLI). Paulo is passionate about helping people and ministries become clearer and better at what they do, and he loves getting to preach or teach.

BIO:

Juliana Lopes has been serving WME as the Marketing, Communications and Event Coordinator since 2022. She is originally from Brazil, and has been living in the United States for over a decade with her husband Paulo, and three daughters: Carolina, Sofia and Olivia.

Juliana is usually the one sending e-mails and posting on social media. She also helps coordinate a few of WME’s trainings throughout the year. She’s happy to have a role where marketing and event management skills can be used to support people and organizations furthering God’s kingdom.

Juliana’s first language is Portuguese, but she also speaks English and French. She has a B.A. in International Relations from the University of Curitiba; and a Certificate in Meeting & Event Planning from the University of North Carolina.

BIO:

Sarah Wanck is the Lead Pastor at Christ Church Quad Cities, a United Methodist congregation in Northwest Illinois, on the Iowa border.She is also a graduate of Asbury Seminary, with her Masters in Youth Ministry and Masters of Divinity. Sarah met her husband Gabe while studying there, and married in the beautiful Estes Chapel in 2003. Gabe is also a Pastor and serves with Sarah at Christ Church, complimenting each other with their gifts for ministry. Gabe and Sarah have one son, Hudson, who loves all things baseball and video games, like most middle school boys.

Sarah recently completed her Doctor of Ministry degree with United Theological Seminary in Dayton, OH, focusing on evangelism and church renewal. The focus of her dissertation was, “Activating Young Adults as Innovators, Leaders, and Pioneers for Fresh Expressions and Church Renewal.”

Sarah has been a guest author for The Wake Up Call, a daily devotion with Seedbed Publishing, and Firebrand Magazine, and has traveled internationally to speak and train leaders in Methodist ministry.

Sarah and Gabe are proud members of the Order of the Flame. Recently, Sarah participated in WME’s Flame Fellows program, traveling to Cuba to experience the lay-empowered revival happening there.

She has a deep love for coffee, dabbles in watercolor in her spare time, and loves soaking in time with her son more than anything.

BIO:

Joseph loves Jesus, his family, books, the outdoors and whatever you want to talk about over coffee or good food. Married to Jennifer for the past 15 adventurous years, they have grown to a family of 6 (Courtney, Caiden, Caleb, and Samuel). He has pastored throughout the state of Indiana learning to love life and ministry in different contexts.

Joseph is ordained in the United Methodist Church, a graduate of Wabash College, Boston University School of Theology and has studied at Asbury Seminary and Macquarie University. He is excited to open up resources for the world through the deep well that is World Methodist Evangelism.

BIO:

Cristian Istrate is the husband and father of two children. He is the founder of Light from Light Methodist church in Sibiu-Romania, president of Global Hope Romania, and a professor of practical theology in mission and evangelization. He graduated from the University of Political Science, the Greek Catholic Seminary, the Methodist Theological Academy, and is pursuing doctoral studies at Asbury Seminary (USA). Alongside his wife, he served as a missionary in the Middle East.

His goal is to see the body of Christ achieve its transformative goal by proclaiming the gospel with power, making disciples, and reaching out to the community through social involvement. He strongly believes that a heart regenerated by Jesus will regenerate the world.

BIO:

Rob Haynes is an author, speaker, teacher, pastor, theologian, and missiologist. His work focuses on local and global mission and evangelism, forming disciples for missional service, leadership development in new and existing church communities, and fostering new spaces for conversations on faith and culture. He is a seasoned mission leader and continues to research new ways of engaging in evangelism and mission.

Born in Paducah, Kentucky, Rob lived in both Ohio and Kentucky until moving to the Alabama Gulf Coast in 1991. He completed a BSci in education at the University of South Alabama, an MA in biblical and theological studies at the University of Mobile. After seminary training at Asbury Theological Seminary, Rob received a Ph.D. in theology from Durham University in Durham, England. He is a senior John Wesley Fellow, senior Harry Denman Fellow, and a visiting fellow at St. John’s College, Durham University. Rob’s publications include Consuming Mission: Towards a Theology of Short-Term Mission and Pilgrimage (Wipf and Stock, 2018), and “‘Come in the Right Way’: Effective Evangelism in Pluralistic Cultures” in E. Stanley Jones & Sharing the Good News in a Pluralistic Society (Wesley’s Foundery Books, 2018).

Rob’s passion is to help individuals and churches join discipleship with witness, mission with evangelism, and personal holiness with social holiness. He is a fan of reading, fishing, football, basketball, and gadgets. Rob and his wife, Beth have two teenage children, Joshua and Megan.