PARACLETE - Key Persons
Job Titles:
- Chairman of the Board
- Data Engineer
Clayton Zylstra is a data engineer working in the medical field in the Denver metro area. Clayton brings strong skills in modeling, analysis, and statistics to the Paraclete board. He has a degree in Mathematics from Seattle Pacific University. Clayton has worked internationally, having served with Operation Mobilization on the ship, Logos Hope, as purser and as a member of the engine room crew. He and his wife, Hanna, met onboard the Logos Hope, and together they feel called to use their home for missions and hospitality. They have three children and live in Lakewood, CO.
Dale Garman recently retired from OM Ships International, where he was the CFO for 13 years. Prior to that he served in various business and educational organizations in financial services positions. His roles were focused on operations and financial analytics. Dale has actively served in his church as an elder. He has taught an adult Bible class for 25 years focused on coming to know God more fully through his word and learning to live out biblical principles.
David Johnson was born to missionary parents in Ecuador, South America, granting him dual citizenship in both Ecuador and the United States. He lived there until completing high school at the age of 18. After that, he earned a BA in Social Work and an MA in Social Sciences with an emphasis on leadership development from Azusa Pacific University. He obtained a doctorate in Strategic Leadership from Regent University in 2021.
Dr. Robin Brennan is a licensed Marriage and Family Therapist, Spiritual Director, and Registered Nurse. After working in private practice as a counselor and teacher for 20 years, Robin now works providing spiritual direction, counseling, and training for cross-cultural workers, leadership, and teams. As a Spiritual Director, her heart is to help others draw nearer to God by companioning them in prayer, discernment issues, and developing an awareness of God's workings in their everyday lives. As a Counselor, she assists with issues of depression and anxiety, debriefing and trauma care, art in healing, cross-cultural adjustment, and singleness on the field. She consults with organizations working with survivors of human trafficking on trauma informed therapy and speaks at Retreats and Conferences. She and her husband Rob have been married for 24 years and reside in Southern California.
Greg Wilburn serves as a Pastoral Care Provider to missionaries, pastors, leaders, and church staff. He offers services of Spiritual Direction, Pastoral Counseling, Relational and Emotional Health Coaching, Ministry Coaching/Support, and Retreat Ministry. Greg's passion is to be a listening ear, a compassionate presence, and a source of spiritual support for leaders and laypeople facing the challenges of life and ministry.
Greg grew up on the Mississippi Gulf Coast before graduating with a bachelor's degree in Biblical studies/Christian ministry from Belhaven University in Jackson, MS. After college, he moved to Louisville, KY where he served as a College Minister for four years and met his wife during this time. Greg and his wife, Dawn, were missionaries in South Asia for five years where they ministered among an unreached people group. After returning from the mission field, Greg completed his master's degree in theology and has served as a pastor and church planter for six years in Kentucky, Indiana, and Florida.
Through the trials and suffering of missionary life and pastoral ministry, Greg has developed a heart of compassion for the wounded, weary, and struggling people of God. His desire is to be a safe and healing presence to those in need of care and support and to point people to God's tender love in Jesus. He is available to help people unpack their life stories and current struggles and seek God's healing. Greg also has a heart to join people on their ongoing spiritual journey and help people go deeper into their own spiritual formation.
Jeff Lander has served as an associate with Paraclete in the Pacific Northwest since 2018. Prior to his time with Paraclete, Jeff served in a variety of ministry positions over the last 27 years, including the local church (in New England and the Pacific Northwest) as a pastor to children and youth and as a worship pastor.
Jeff also spent the next 11 years in missions on staff with Children of the Nations International, a ministry focused on caring for orphaned and vulnerable children. As a missionary with COTN, he served in roles overseeing the Venture Program, short-term mission teams, and as the International Spiritual Care Director. He developed the Spiritual Care Department from the ground up, strategizing, forming standards of service, managing staff, fundraising for development work and creating opportunities for children and staff to receive a variety of biblical programs.
Jeff's real passion is connecting ministry leaders with one another to create synergy and strengthen ministry efforts to accomplish the Great Commandment and the Great Commission. He enjoys listening to, encouraging, and providing coaching and counsel to ministry leaders who have endured years of service to the Lord.
Additionally, Jeff loves to help ministry leaders find ways to rest, recreate, and rejuvenate. He often does this by providing outdoor adventures for Christian leaders and their families to promote relationship building between leaders and their children. There's nothing like spending a day in God's creation to rest and speak life into a worn-out leader.
Above all, his greatest joy is helping ministry leaders thrive and "win," knowing that when ministry leaders "win," God ultimately gets the glory.
Jeff is married to Connie, his lovely bride of 27 years. They have two sons, Benjamin and Nathan. Together, their family is involved in their church, their community, and in loving one another.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Associate With Paraclete Mission Group
Kathie Slusser Carlson is an associate with Paraclete Mission Group, coming alongside ministries around the world to develop transformational discipleship and leadership training, and to bring emotional, relational and spiritual health to missionaries and ministry leaders. Kathie serves multiple mission organizations as a speaker, presenter, and trainer of trainers, and provides personal counseling to Christian leaders. She has over 25 years of work and ministry experience as an education specialist, curriculum developer, team manager, and member care provider with agencies such as Mission Aviation Fellowship, Aphesis Group Ministries, Accessible Hope International, Launch Ministries, and International School Project, as well as multiple churches. She also taught secondary English and journalism for eight years and worked as Director of Communications for an international corporation.
Kathie holds a BA in English and an MEd in Educational Technology. She has partnered with national and international ministries, and worked with multi-cultural teams in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East as an instructional designer and learning strategies facilitator to support church leaders in physically, ideologically, and emotionally isolated contexts. Her passion is to see God's people thrive in the callings God places on their hearts and lives. She and her husband Brad live happily in Boise, Idaho.
Kim Thompson comes to Paraclete with diverse skills, life experiences in ministry, and a love for people. From her home in Olympia, Washington, she serves as Paraclete's head of human resources, hiring new staff and caring for personnel needs. She also mentors Christian women in Olympia and Roma Christians in Europe online.
Prior to joining Paraclete in 2020, she served as a missionary both overseas and in the United States. From 1998 to 2012, she served in Latvia. She married her husband, Bruce, in 2000 and they both served overseas together. After returning to the United States, they worked for a construction ministry from 2013 to 2016 from their RV. Then from 2016 to 2020, Kim led as U.S. director of Roma Bible Union.
Dr. LaVern S. Tarkington is a retired educator. Having retired as the Assistant Superintendent of Human Resources of the Tempe Union High School District, she was selected to return as the Interim Superintendent. Her career within the District included teacher, counselor, director and principal before returning to central office to complete her service at the Superintendent's level. Dr. Tarkington has been involved with many community activities, including the Phoenix Chapter of Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. for more than 50 years. In July, 2012, she completed four years of service as the Far Western Regional Director for Alpha Kappa Alpha Sorority, Inc. As an active member of First Institutional Baptist Church, she has served as a board member and chairman of FIBCO Family Services and was elected to serve a three year term on the Governance Council. Dr. Tarkington has served on the Booker T. Washington Child Development Center Board of Directors since 2010 and is currently on Emeritus status. She has been married to Donald for over fifty years. They have two children, five grandchildren and four great-grandchildren.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- a Spiritual Director and Member
Linda Swanson serves with Paraclete as a spiritual director and member care provider to come alongside global workers and others. With her husband, Kevin, Linda served for 28 years with MAF, both overseas as a pilot/mechanic family and at headquarters in administration and member care. During eight of those years, she helped direct Fairhaven Ministries, a retreat center for clergy and global workers.
Now, Linda lives in Chicago, Ill. where her husband serves with the Evangelical Covenant Church as associate superintendent of the Central Conference. Kevin and Linda are crazy about their two married children, their spouses and their two grandchildren. They are outdoors people who love to walk and bike, explore and get lost. Linda also loves to paint and read.
Job Titles:
- Secretary of the Board
- Director of Operations for a Large Real Estate
Miriam Porter is a Director of Operations for a large Real Estate company in the Seattle metro area. Miriam brings strong organizational skills and cross cultural mission experience to the Paraclete board. She has a degree in Biblical Studies and Global/Intercultural Studies from Puget Sound Christian College. Miriam has worked internationally, having lived and worked in Guangzhou China as an English Teacher. She and her husband, Rob, have two children and live in Lake Stevens, WA.
Job Titles:
- Associate
- Advisor in Information Technology
Pete Holzmann is an advisor in information technology to Christian leaders in mission, churches, philanthropy, and the marketplace. He joined Paraclete after having spent over a decade as a Silicon Valley computer consultant. His growing team includes the following unique programs: Co-Sponsoring a four-person Joshua Project II team that maintains and expands a major directory of strategic ministries worldwide, including a comprehensive list of the world's least-Christian peoples. One function merge related databases developed by the AD2000 Movement, Operation World, Wycliffe, Southern Baptists, and others. Developing a web-based data management and collaboration system, initially used for a large South Asia Leadership Study being carried out by a community of twelve missions-focused evangelical foundations. Leading a process to develop standards that will enable agencies worldwide to more easily share their burgeoning amounts of data on mission opportunities, resources, and results. Managing ICTA, International Christian Technologists Association, which Pete founded.
Bob Barrows brings his extensive counseling and teaching experience to the mission field in a new and enlarged capacity.
For five years, he served with SIM as a teacher at the Igbaja Theological Seminary in Nigeria, West Africa. Then, in 1983, he became the senior pastor of the Pawleys Island Community Church in Pawleys, SC. He retired after 23 years to return to school at Liberty University. After earning a Masters's Degree in Counseling in 2007, he opened a private counseling practice in Murrells Inlet, SC.
But the Lord had other plans for him. In the Spring of 2023, Dr. Bill Rhodes invited him to visit Kapsowar, Kenya. During his month-long stay, Bob realized God was calling him to meet two critical needs.
Samuel David is passionate about the importance that Bible translation plays in helping people understand Christ's love and message in their own languages. As a volunteer Paraclete international associate, he plans to further translation work in Papua New Guinea. Originally from Kuare, Papua New Guinea, Samuel knows firsthand the difficulty of not having a Bible in his mother tongue. He grew up with a father who had five other wives in addition to Samuel's own mother, as is customary in their culture. His father served as a pastor for a few years, but left the ministry, as well as Samuel's mother and siblings. Despite this loss, Samuel's mother's faith grew, and she encouraged her children to go to church, pray and read the Bible. But Samuel couldn't understand the English version of the Bible that they had. Samuel surrendered to Christ in fifth grade and it transformed his life. His church cultivated in him a passion for missions. He joined Gospel Ministries in high school and spent several years helping with outreach work, house visits, prison camp ministry, hospital visits and hosting public crusades. In 2016, he earned his Advance Diploma in information communication technology. Then in 2017, he completed his Diploma Certificate in electrotechnology (electrical engineering). Samuel's specific ministry vision with Paraclete is to serve and support local churches in their translation, stewardship and propagating of God's Word in their own languages. He also plans to help them innovatively reduce the cost of Bible translation so that cost isn't a hindrance to communities gaining access to the Gospel. He most desires to leave behind a spiritual legacy. These verses are his inspiration: "Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for thou art with me; thy rod and thy stuff, they comfort me." Psa. 23:4 (KJV). "No one will take away your joy." John 16:22 (NIV) "So that I may come to you with joy, by God's will and in your company be refreshed." Rom. 15:32 (NIV)
Stuart Rowell comes to Paraclete with an extensive background in missions, primarily in Eastern Europe. He specializes in the areas of supporting pastors and soul care for missionaries. Stuart also has a background in construction management and uses this in missions as he is called. His wife Ellsye currently manages a Christian Conference Centre. The Rowells live in Northern Ireland.
Tasha Irwin is a passionate, Jesus-loving servant of the Most High King. She has the joy of joining Jesus in what He is doing in Papuan Indonesia and the United States-serving God by educating, discipling and advocating for Papuan students in the U.S. and Indonesia. She is a duel-residential missionary, serving half of the year in Papua, Indonesia and the other half in the U.S.A. in partnership with the Indonesian Government and Papua Hope Language Institute (PHLI). She is with the students full-circle: from Papua, to the U.S.A. and then again as they re-enter Papua with the vision of using their degrees to make disciples who make disciples.
She serves with Papua Hope Language Institute as well as Sekolah Papua Harapan. She wears many hats, training teachers in Papua, teaching English, leading spiritual formation classes and helps students as they live in the United States to succeed and return to Indonesia with a vision to use their skills to spread the Good News.
Her master's in Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) has opened many doors for discipleship and equipping the next generation of world changers with a vision to go into all the world and give a reason for the hope that they have.