Missio Nexus Announces Awards at the Mission Leaders Conference

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Missio Nexus Announces Awards at the Mission Leaders Conference

Missio Nexus is proud to announce the recipients of its annual awards, which will be presented at the upcoming Mission Leaders Conference. These awards recognize outstanding contributions to ministry leadership and a lifetime of service.

One of the best ways to embed values into the culture of an organization is to celebrate decisions and actions that evidence a commitment to those guiding principles. At Missio Nexus we have two annual awards that recognize important values. The eXcelerate Award focuses on excellence, innovation, and partnership in ministry leadership. Our second award, The Lifetime of Service Award, recognizes the value of finishing well.

The eXcelerate Award for 2024 will be presented to Brent McHugh, as an outstanding leader in innovation and excellence.

Brent McHugh is the International Director of Christar, providing spiritual, visionary, executive and developmental leadership. His charge is to serve God, Christar workers and the least-reached by shepherding the ministries of Christar, in order to cultivate Christ-honoring transformation in least-reached communities.

Brent and his wife, Kim, became believers after they were married while Brent was pursuing a career at Walgreens. After serving in their home church and attending a “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” course, they felt called to work among the least-reached and attended Columbia International University (CIU) to become better equipped for ministry. There, Brent and Kim became acquainted with Christar and eventually sensed a call to work among refugees in the Middle East.

They served in the Middle East for nearly 10 years, focusing on church planting, leadership development and theological education. Brent also served in a leadership role for workers in the region; Kim briefly served as a regional Women’s Ministry Coordinator before Brent accepted the role of International Director of Christar.

The Lifetime of Service Award will be given to Dr. Tom Steller.

Tom was born in Excelsior, Minnesota. When he was 16, he committed his life to Christ. After he graduated from Bethel College with a B.A. in Biblical and Theological Studies, he pursued further training at Bethel Seminary (St. Paul) and Fuller Seminary (Pasadena, California). He graduated from Fuller with an M.Div. From 1980-82 he worked part-time with college students at Bethlehem, taught Greek at Bethel College, and finished his seminary studies at Bethel Seminary. From 1982 to 1991, Tom served in various roles at Bethlehem Baptist Church in Minneapolis. In 1990-91 Tom and his family served at the Cameroon Baptist Theological Seminary. After returning to Bethlehem, Tom again served in the church.

In 1997, Tom was given a study leave at the Billy Graham Center in Wheaton, Illinois, where he designed The Bethlehem Institute (TBI) for Bible, Theology, and Missions. In 1998, Tom returned to Bethlehem and implemented the vision for TBI. In 2009, TBI became Bethlehem College and Seminary where Tom served until 2020 as the Senior Advisor to the President, Dean of Global and Alumni Outreach, & Associate Professor of New Testament.

Tom is now serving with Training Leaders International as the Director of Theological Education in Cameroon, Africa. Tom and his wife, Julie, are the happy parents of Hannah, Ruth, Katie, Nate, CJ, and Emma, and are grandparents as well.

The Mission Leaders Conference is the largest gathering of mission agency executives, leaders, pastors, and practitioners in North America. This multi-day event equips and inspires attendees through visionary keynotes, informative workshops, and unparalleled networking opportunities. Conference participants can customize their experience through focused tracks on mission mobilization, organizational leadership, field ministry, short-term missions, and more. With over 70 breakout sessions led by respected thought leaders, attendees gain strategic insights to apply directly to their mission context.

Missio Nexus is a collaborative network of deep relationships, shared learning, and innovation among those doing cross-cultural evangelism, discipleship, and church planting. With a mission for catalyzing relationships, ideas, and collaboration within the Great Commission community, Missio Nexus hosts events, provides resources, and fosters a network of mission-focused churches and organizations.

For more information, please contact:

Kurtis Amundson
Director of Communications
Missio Nexus
Email: communications@missionexus.org