Linda Szymanski

Linda has been married to John for 50 years this June (2023). They met in high school and were married in 1973. They have two adult children and four grandchildren. Linda and John have been in vocational ministry for 48+ years serving as pastors and missionaries.

They began their ministry journey by working with two inner-city ministries in the heart of Pittsburgh, PA.Following this, they completed their training with Wycliffe Bible Translators and served as missionaries in Papua New Guinea, then at Wycliffe’s International Headquarters in HuntingtonBeach, CA. They returned to Pittsburgh in 1986 where John served as the Missions Pastor at a church on the east side of the city in 1986.Sensing a call to serve as missionaries again, they were invited to come to London, England in 1992 to serve with Elam Ministries and the Iranian Christian Fellowship. Both ministries were led by Iranian leaders and focused on reaching Persian speaking people both in Iran and scattered throughout Europe and the Middle East. During this time Linda taught English to Iranian refugees. When they returned to the states for their daughters continuing education, John worked with Issachar Frontier Missions where he 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 Lead Pastor and Executive Pastor.

As a pastor’s wife and missionary for more than 48 years, Linda knows firsthand the challenges of ministry and adapting to foreign cultures. Linda has served in various ministries of the church, most often leading or team leading women’s ministry. In every new place her husband’s role took them, she found ways to use her gifts to serve, help, love and encourage people. She has a heart for women and her passion is to see women walking in the freedom, strength, peace, and joy that God desires for them. She believes God makes it possible, by the power of His Spirit, to live above our circumstances by putting our ultimate trust in Him. She knows through experience and His Word, that we can walk in victory, even through difficult circumstances. She desires to share and restore hope to people struggling with issues, expectations and challenges of life and ministry.