John Szymanski

John met Linda, his wife, while in high school. They were married in 1973 and have two adult children, Jason and Tiffany, and four grandchildren, Austin, Michaela, Shawn, and Parker.

John and Linda have been in vocational ministry for 48+ years, serving as pastors and missionaries. They worked with two inner-city ministries in Pittsburgh, PA. Following, they worked with Wycliffe Bible Translators serving in Papua New Guinea and at Wycliffe’s International Headquarters in Huntington Beach, CA. They returned to Pittsburgh in 1986 where John served as a missions pastor at a church on the east side of the city.

Sensing a call to serve as missionaries again, they were asked to come to London, England in 1992 to work with Elam Ministries and the Iranian Christian Fellowship. Both ministries are led by Iranian leaders and focused on reaching Persian speaking people, both in Iran and scattered throughout the Middle East and Europe. They returned to the states to work with Issachar Frontier Missions. John traveled to Central Asia and various middle eastern countries connecting American Churches to Unreached People Groups in Central Asia.

From 1999 to the present, John pastored at three churches in Pennsylvania and Maryland, serving as a Lead Pastor and Executive Pastor. As a pastor and former missionary, John and Linda both understand, firsthand, the challenges associated with leadership and ministry. Consequently, they have a heart to help ministry leaders deal with crucial issues, navigate crises, and provide encouragement and hope so they can fulfill their God-given calling and purpose.