Leadership

Gordon Showell-Rogers’ advisory role for Christian Daily International plays to his strengths in strategic leadership in global Christian movements. He has lived and worked in different countries and travelled extensively in every region of the world, so is well-connected with the Christian church globally. In the course of his life he has served as a high school teacher, assistant pastor of a local church, General Secretary of a national IFES movement (Austria), the first National Director of Friends International (UK), General Secretary of the European Evangelical Alliance and Associate Secretary General of the World Evangelical Alliance.

CDI is an initiative of The Christian Post. Dr. Christopher Chou began serving as Chief Executive Officer of The Christian Post (CP) in August 2018. Before coming to CP, Dr. Chou served eight years as the Chief-of-Staff and Chief Operating Officer at the World Evangelical Alliance, opening its New York offices, and revitalizing key operations in the areas of communications, development, finance, administration and human resources to better serve Christians in over 120 countries.

Rev. Timothy Goropevsek has been part of the steering committee for CDI and became its Executive Editor on July 7. He has served as the Chief Communications Officer of the World Evangelical Alliance for more than eleven years. Originally from Switzerland, he studied theology and journalism at Olivet University in the United States and is currently completing his PhD in Global Theology with a focus on effective media engagement. He has written articles that have been published in Christian newspapers and magazines in Europe and the United States and has authored a book chapter titled “The Cultural Mountain of Media: A Global Strategy to Turn the Tide” for Half-way Up the Mountain: Restoring God’s Purpose in this Chaotic World. He also serves as Chief Communications Officer for the World Evangelical Center.

Heather Pubols has produced content about and from the majority world church for more than 20 years. As an experienced communications professional, she has directed story gathering strategies on a global scale. Multiculturally competent with experience living in four countries outside the US over a nine-year period, since 2000 she has traveled to around 50 countries and worked with colleagues from more than 60 nations. Most recently she facilitated more than 30 majority world authors to publish in a professional journal for which she serves as editor. Prior to this, she launched and led a globally dispersed photojournalism team that served more than 100 organizations. She is passionate about seeing content produced that informs and inspires people to be more engaged in complex global issues. After living abroad in Kenya, South Africa, Germany and the UK, she and her husband are now based in the USA.

Dr Jay Mātenga’s passion is to strengthen participation in God’s purposes throughout the world, informed by a maturing world Christianity. His intercultural studies have resulted in degrees earned in Australia, United Kingdom and USA. For twenty-five years he served missionary sending agencies, fifteen of those in national and international leadership. Prior to joining CDI, from 2015 he led the missionary and outreach association of Aotearoa New Zealand, Missions Interlink. Mātenga has been an Associate of the WEA Mission Commission since 2006, leader of the mission mobilization network 2011-2019, Associate Director 2018-2020, and now in his second term as Executive Director, appointed in 2020. During his first term he also served as Director of the WEA’s Global Witness Department, part of the WEA Senior Leadership Team. He has authored numerous articles, book chapters, and presented papers with particular emphasis on indigenous and Majority World perspectives as counterpoint to prevailing Western assumptions in the global Church.

Rebecca Goropevsek has served as the Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Children Network since 2020 and previously held several other roles in the WEA, including Representative to the United Nations in New York. She also serves on the Global Leadership Council of World Without Orphans and has been involved in a Christian K-12 school and Christian teen ministry. As part of her Doctor of Ministry, she created a handbook for pastors to counsel couples with infertility and guide them to consider adoption. Born in Slovakia, she lived several years in Austria and Switzerland, and now resides in the United States just north of New York City.

Jeff M. Sellers is founder and editor of Morning Star News (morningstarnews.org), an independent news service covering persecution of Christians. He has reported on persecution, economy, politics and cultural issues as a freelance journalist in Madrid, Spain and Mexico City, and after obtaining a Master’s in Marketplace Theology from Regent College in Vancouver, British Columbia, he served as an associate editor at Christianity Today magazine and as an editor at Open Doors International.

Jim Olang is a seasoned communication and development expert hailing from Kenya, holding a Bachelor of Arts (BA) in Communications (Honours) and a Masters (MA) in Theology from the Africa International University. With a wealth of experience in strategic religious engagement, Jim currently serves as the Head of Communications and Programs at the Association of Evangelicals in Africa (AEA). He is also a key member of the Global Leadership Team of the Refugee Highway Partnership. In addition, Jim acts as the Africa Coordinator for Edifi, a Christian Podcasting Network. Drawing from a diverse background working with international organizations, Jim brings a unique blend of skills and a profound commitment to both the proclamation and demonstration of the gospel.

Ken Kagicha has over 12 years of experience working as a reporter and editor for print, broadcast and digital news platforms in Kenya. He has also trained over 1,500 journalists across Africa on digital tools for reporting and verifying information. Ken holds a B.A in Communication and Political Science from the University of Nairobi and an Executive Masters in Media Leadership and Innovation, Aga Khan University.

Javier Bolaños is a journalist with 20 years of experience in radio, television and print media. He has extensive knowledge of the Latin American reality, having traveled to practically every country in the region. He has been the Regional Producer for Latin America of the Global News Alliance (GNA), a news cooperative that is currently a partner of Christian Daily International. He was General Producer of CBN News' Mundo Cristiano newscast for 10 years and until recently also served as director of Evangélico Digital, an online publication focused on Latin America connected to the Spanish Evangelical Alliance. He has been an international correspondent for various media covering presidential elections, natural disasters, and major sporting events such as the Olympics and World Cups.

Chris Eyte serves as International Correspondent for CDI, covering Europe, the United States & Canada, the Caribbean and Oceania. He has worked in journalism and copywriting for some 17 years, mostly for Christian media publications in the UK, the US and Australia. He is an English graduate from the University of St Andrews in Scotland where he was President of the St Andrews Literary Society. In his free time, he enjoys writing devotionals and runs his own blog (hislovefrees.life). Chris has traveled extensively, living briefly in South Africa and Belgium, and now resides in South Wales in the UK with his wife and children.

A journalism graduate from the National University of Lomas de Zamora, in Buenos Aires, Argentina, Lizzie Sotola has extensive experience working in media, educational and religious organizations as well as Christian publishing houses. She has served with Bible societies, the Evangelical Alliance in Argentina (ACIERA) and the Latin Evangelical Alliance, among others. She also worked as a freelance journalist for the Evangelistic Festivals of the Palau Association for more than 20 years, and runs a Christian broadcasting agency called Noti-Prensa. She has written articles in national and international secular and Christian publications and is co-author of the book "Historias que cambian vidas" (Stories that change lives), a series of interviews with senior citizens.

Obed Minchakpu has served in various capacities in the media industry for over three decades, beginning in 1988. He has written widely about Science and Technology, the Economy, Politics, and Christianity. He was the Editor of Today’s Challenge Magazine, a Christian News magazine published by the Evangelical Church of West Africa, ECWA (now Evangelical Church Winning All), and afterwards the Editorial Manager at ECWA Productions Ltd. He has also served as a correspondent for different Christian news media across the world, including Christianity Today, Charisma and Christian Life, Prism Magazine, Ecumenical News International and others. He’s an award recipient from the Evangelical Press Association (EPA), and is a graduate of the Nigerian Institute of Journalism in Lagos; Jos ECWA Theological Seminary; the University of Jos; and the Ahmadu Bello University in Zaria, Nigeria; where he studied Theology, Physics, Journalism, and Mass Communication.