Domestic Partners

Adam and Heather Cheney are partnering with Arrive Ministries in Rochester, Minnesota. Their work is two-fold. First, they evangelize and minister among the refugee community. In Rochester, they have a high Somali and Afghan refugee community. Secondly, they mobilize and equip the local church to engage and volunteer among their refugee neighbors as well.

Kareem knew as a teenager that God was calling him to serve those in need after giving out sandwiches in Tompkins Square Park through Graffiti’s FLIP Program. He holds a Masters in Social Work from NYU and an M.Div from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. He was a social worker for NYC Social Services, and directed MNYBA’s Church and Community Ministries before coming to work full time at Graffiti in 2001. Kareem’s wife, Theresa, also serves as director of Graffiti 4, “Gotta Dance, Gotta Serve.” They have three children.

The Habib family are called to disciple and nurture the immigrant and multicultural communities in Dallas through university and college outreach and leadership development in the local churches and in the community.

As a part of the Colorado Ministry staff, JoAnna supports and trains Christian students, preparing them to share the Gospel and stand for Christ on their campuses and in their schools. She also connects students to local church ministries.

The LaBreches ministered in Romania for 22 years (1996-2018). During that time, they assisted with projects at the Areopagus Center for Christian Education and Contemporary Culture, taught in Bible institutes, and did outreach to international students. Andy also served his mission in field leadership, missionary training and member development. Pam served as the Areopagus Center librarian, the mission’s language learning consultant, in Europe-wide mission leadership and on the board of SHARE Education Services.

Since 2011, Andy and Pam have been on the staff of the Center for Intercultural Training, preparing missionaries going around the world for cross-cultural life and ministry and language learning. In 2018 they moved from Romania to work full-time at CIT. In addition to training activities, Andy oversees facilities and operations.

Life in Messiah Ministries believes God radically transforms Jewish people through the faithful obedience, prayer, and persistent love of believer around the world. Life in Messiah’s humble role in this great evangelistic work is to develop teams, utilize technology, and equip the church, all with a priority, “To the Jew first.”

Bob is from Pennsylvania, where he is a member of Wayside Bible Church. After visiting Echo Ranch as part of several work teams, he spent his first full summer with us in 2023, and joined Avant and our full-time staff in 2024. Brynden was born and raised in West Africa, graduated college at Grace University in Nebraska, and loves living in the capital of Alaska! She enjoys Bible journaling, drinking coffee with friends, and exploring the great outdoors. She lives by the motto, "what you do in life, echoes in eternity".

Hannah is the Parent Life Director at Kern Co. Youth for Christ where she oversees a team that comes alongside pregnant and parenting teens through programs designed to help them make good choices and establish a solid foundation for their lives, while sharing the hope of Jesus!

Wade serves as the Chief Ministry Officer of Kern Co. Youth for Christ where he oversees 3 of the 4 main ministries (Campus Life, Juvenile justice ministry, and Camp). His main role is encouraging and equipping leaders to meet the physical, mental and spiritual needs of lost students in Kern Co.

Chuck and Naomi Smith have served with Ethnos360 since 1999. They have ministered in Paraguay for 12 years and are currently at Ethnos 360 Bible Institute in Waukesha, Wisconsin since 2012. Chuck is the registrar and teaches and Naomi works in the Education office. They both want to impact the students in serving the Lord. They encourage the students to go into full time missions.

Jessica serves International Students at a University in the United States.