John Szymanski

John met Linda, his wife, while in high school. They were married in 1973 and have two adult children and four grandchildren. They have been married for 52 years.

John has served as a pastor, missionary, coach, and consultant for fifty years. John began vocational ministry by working with two inner-city ministries in Pittsburgh, PA in the 70’s. Following, he worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators as a missionary serving in Papua New Guinea and at Wycliffe’s International Headquarters in Huntington Beach, CA. While in CA with Wycliffe, John served as the Southwest Associate Regional Director overseeing ministry in five states. In 1986, he returned to Pittsburgh, PA where he served as a Senior Associate and Missions Pastor at a large church on the east side of the city. Sensing a call to serve internationally again, he was asked to come to London, England in 1992 to work with two Iranian-Persian speaking ministries. Both ministries, based in the UK, were led by Iranian leaders who were focused on reaching Persian speaking people in Iran and those scattered throughout England, Europe, Central Asia, and the Middle East. Upon returning to the states in 1994, he partnered with Issachar Frontier Missions. During this time, John traveled extensively to Central Asia and various Middle Eastern countries, consulting and connecting American Churches to Unreached People Groups in Central Asia. From 1999 to the present, John has pastored at three larger churches in Pennsylvania and Maryland, serving as a Lead Pastor and Main Campus and Executive Pastor of a multi-campus church ministry. As a former pastor and missionary, John understands, firsthand, the challenges associated with leadership and ministry. Thus, he has a heart to help ministry leaders deal with crucial issues, navigate crises, and provide hope and encouragement so they can fulfill their God-given calling and purpose.