Board Chair

Mrs. Faith De La Cour has over 20 years of experience as a leader in missionary care, first in Japan with Asian Access and until her recent retirement, as the Chief People Officer for SIM USA. She continues to champion the need for intentional screening, quality preparation, ongoing care and responsible stewardship of global workers sent by mission organizations and churches. This includes serving as a People Care and Development workshop track leader for Missio Nexus. In addition, she is a mentor for new (primarily nonwestern) leaders of various SIM International receiving entities. Faith has a BS from Wheaton College and an MBA from Northwestern University in Organizational Behavior. Faith and her husband, Stan, live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their two adult sons. Both their daughters are married, and their three grandchildren live in England.

Finance Chair

Mr. Dean Merrill has spent his entire ministry life in Christian publishing work—magazines, books, curriculum, and Bibles. He is the author of 10 books and the collaborating author on 40 others (Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Gracia Burnham’s In the Presence of My Enemies, Dr. Wess Stafford’s Too Small to Ignore, etc.); he was also the general editor of Tyndale’s Every Man’s Bible. His international experience was gained primarily during his seven years as a vice-president of International Bible Society (now Biblica), which involved the mentoring of publishing teams in Africa, Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe. He is a graduate of Chicago Bible College (Th.B.) and Syracuse University (M.A., journalism). He and his wife, Grace, have three children and 12 grandchildren.

Board Secretary

Mrs. Patricia (Patty) Wolf is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor. Patty provides volunteer counseling services to women serving across cultures for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With Mission Training International (MTI), she has served as a donor, board member and debriefing adjunct. Currently she serves on the Board of MTI, Tenfold BPO and is a Trustee with Denver Seminary. Patty has served with Restoring The Soul and Thrive Ministry (fka Women of The Harvest) as a donor, retreat volunteer and Chair of the Board. Prior to serving in member care she spent several years in industry in Sales and Operations and then felt called to go to a new career and received a MA in Professional Counseling from Colorado Christian University. She also has a BA in Liberal Studies from San Jose State University. Patty and her husband focus on frontline missions, Christian Education and social programs connected to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They enjoy their 13 grandchildren, traveling, golfing and fly fishing.

Mr. Bruce Cannon has more than 25 years of experience in missions as a church planter, field leader, and in missionary care & development. He spent five years in pastoral ministry in Northern California before meeting his wife Linda during Culture and Language Orientation (now Compass) on his way to Russia. After their marriage, they served for 16 years in Poland, first with Novo, then with SEND International. In 2011, they relocated with their two sons to the Michigan-based US sending office for SEND, where Bruce took on leadership of the Member Care Team. In March 2023, he and Linda moved to a new role with SEND as Care & Development Specialists.

Bruce holds a BS in Business Administration from California Polytechnic University in Pomona, an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Moody Theological Seminary. He is also a limited licensed counselor with a part-time practice called Streamside Counseling and has served on the MTI Board since Fall 2019.

Dr. Bob Watson holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. He is licensed as a clinical psychologist that practices in Illinois and Michigan. After serving in youth and church ministry for a year in Micronesia after college, Bob believed that a career in cross-cultural missions was God’s calling for his life. But God had other plans. Over the next three decades, he worked in faith-based intensive mental health treatment, as a professor training Christian psychologists and counselors, as an organizational consultant developing leaders and teams, and working closely with indigenous churches on many short-term missions. Bob’s vocational journey prepared him for his current role as Clinical Director at Alongside in Richland, MI, an intensive counseling program in a beautiful retreat-like setting for leaders in both cross-cultural and domestic settings. He considers himself privileged to play a part in healing the “noble wounds” of those in ministry and has served on the board of MTI for the past 6 years.

Marty is a Missionary Kid, raised in Japan as the son of WorldVenture missionaries, a formative experience that shaped his lifelong commitment to global ministry. Alongside his wife and two children, he served with WorldVenture in Japan for over 20 years. Their ministry encompassed a wide range of roles, including leadership in Christian camps, church planting, mobilizing missionaries from Japan, interim pastoral work, and country leadership.

Following two years of research focused on global missions themes for WorldVenture, Marty and his wife relocated to Singapore, where they served for a decade as Asia/Pacific Ministry Directors. In this capacity, they provided strategic oversight and support to regional teams across diverse cultural contexts.

For the past 12 years, Marty has held the role of Vice President of Global Initiatives. His leadership has involved developing organizational strategy, coordinating crisis response efforts, and leading a globally dispersed team.

Marty holds a seminary degree in Theology and a doctorate in Intercultural Studies. He has authored academic papers, taught, and presented internationally on missiological topics. Over the last 12 years, he has been an active member of the Evangelical Missiological Society (EMS), serving on its Board for the past seven years. 

Jonathan Cleveland is the Senior Pastor of Pulpit Rock Church in Colorado Springs. Jonathan and his wife Becky met at the University of Northern CO, were married in 1997 and have been serving in church ministry ever since. Jonathan has been a pastor for 25 years, starting in Tucson AZ. When their family started growing, the Clevelands relocated to the Springs in 2004 to be closer to extended family. They have 3 sons: Carter, Grant and Truman.

Jonathan comes to the world of international missions from the perspective of a sending church pastor. Serving at Pulpit Rock for over 20 years he has been deeply connected to the Missions strategy. He travels extensively and has learned firsthand the importance of support and ongoing care for international workers.

President/Ex Officio

Steve and his family served in Zambia as long-term missionaries ministering to orphaned and vulnerable children following multiple short-term mission trips to Central and South America. He and his wife, Jill, have two biological children, Noah and Hollie, and have adopted two daughters, Grace and Izzy. Some of their favorite interests include spending time with family, traveling, and all outside activities. We were blessed to have them join the MTI family in 2022.

Board Member Emeritus

Mr. John N. Campbell is a retired businessman, having extensive international experience with a large international company prior to establishing several of his own companies with international affiliations. He has served on corporate, church, humanitarian and mission boards including Mission Aviation Fellowship Canada, USA and Europe. In addition to MTI he is presently on the Boards of Medical Ministry International, Canada and USA. He is a past Chairman of MTI, MAFC and Mission-Prep. His experience has given him an in depth understanding of the world’s cultural differences and the need for adequate pre-departure missionary training and ongoing member care.He is a graduate from Ryerson University: Mechanical Engineering/ Technology. John lives in Canada with his wife Wilma, children & grandchildren.