Our Staff

Hans joined the advancement team of Back to God Ministries International in 1996. He serves in the areas of major gift planning and donor development in Canada. Hans has always been passionate about being involved in worldwide ministry and the use of media to gain the world for Christ.

Before becoming involved with Back to God Ministries Hans owned and operated a successful retail and wholesale business for 16 years.

Hans was educated in the Netherlands and finished his training in psychology before moving to Canada. He is married and has three sons and three grandchildren.

Karla has worked for Back to God Ministries International since 2006. She handles church advancement along with donor development. Communicating the mission of the Back to God ministry is one aspect that requires her attention. "While much has changed since Back to God Ministries International was established in 1939, our commitment to our mission has remained a constant. I am inspired and humbled to be a part of this ministry, where the Good News of Jesus Christ is proclaimed around the world."

Annette serves as donor development officer in the Back to God Minsitries International office in Burlington, Ontario. She assists in gift accounting and communicates the mission of the ministry to many of our loyal Canadian donors. Before coming to BTGMI in 2007, Annette served as executive assistant to both the president and development director at a Lutheran seminary. She has served on numerous committees, organized several charity events, conferences and donor appreciation events. In her spare time, you can find Annette spending time with her family or teaching an oil painting class.

Karen has recently joined the Back to God Ministries International team as Church Advancement Officer for Canada. She is excited to work in this dynamic ministry and to share with churches how the Gospel continues to be spread through media missions.

Karen graduated from The King’s University College in Edmonton with a B.A. in Social Sciences and a B.Ed. in Elementary Education. Before beginning work at BTGMI, Karen taught and coached at Lacombe Christian School in Alberta. In her spare time, Karen loves hiking and gardening as well as cozying up with a good book.

Barb serves as producer of Kids Corner, the English language radio/web outreach to children. She is also a follow-up correspondent for ReFrame, Back to God Ministries International English language ministry.

Barb has a Masters in Christian Ministry from Northern Baptist Theological Seminary. She served as group leader and director of Coffee Break Bible Study in her church for 17 years. Barb is blessed with 8 grandchildren who enrich her life and energize her passion for children and their parents to know Jesus and to follow his way.

Jerod joined Back to God Ministries International ReFrame Media team in 2007 to develop a project to help churches energize their church communications. As a result, churchjuice.com was launched to help train and consult with churches on how to use media better as an outreach tool. It's our way of giving back to congregations who help fund our ministry work.

Jerod graduated from the University of Colorado with a B.A. in Journalism and a B.S. in Political Science. Before beginning his work at BTGMI, Jerod spent nearly six years as a local TV news reporter in Joplin, MO and Little Rock, AR. While working as a news man, Jerod met his beautiful wife Sarah. They live in the Chicago area, but enjoy traveling around the world.

Michael serves ReFrame Media (Back to God Ministries International English outreach) as a radio, video and web producer for a number of programs. He has been with ReFrame Media since 2006, and has been the head producer of the Walk The Way program since its inception in 2008.

Michael holds a Bachelor's degree in Communications, Mass Media and Journalism from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI. He has a passion for excellent writing and captivating images, and is always looking for new ways to engage the online community.

Todd joined the ReFrame Media team in 2009 to increase the ministry's social media presence (including 10 different Facebook and Twitter accounts) and develop ReFrame's online communities. He is also a contributor for ReFrame's ThinkChristian.net blog.

In 1999, Todd graduated with a degree in journalism from North Central College in Naperville, IL. He came to the Back to God Ministries International family from Christianity Today International where he worked for 8 years as an editor on various publications. He has been able to combine his love of editing and passion for discipling high school students by serving as the general editor on the Teen Quest Study Bible (Zondervan, 2011). Todd lives in the Chicago suburbs with his wife Kate, who shares his love of reading, traveling and baseball.

Josh Larsen joined ReFrame Media in 2011 after 16 years in the newspaper business. During that time, as either editor or reporter, he covered everything but sports. His longest – and most treasured – beat was the seven years he served as the full-time film critic for The Naperville Sun.
 
Josh graduated from Trinity Chrisitan College with a degree in English and Communication Arts. He attends Christ Community Church in Lemont, Ill., with his family.

Marc started working for Back to God Ministries International in 2007 to help support the growing ministries and increasing number of web properties. He manages the technical aspects of all the ReFrame Media websites.

Marc graduated from Calvin College with a B.A. in Communications. He put that degree to use working on TV commercials and movies in the Chicago film industry for 5 years before switching to a career in web development.

Courtney has served Back to God Ministries International in writing and production capacities since graduating from Calvin College with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication in 2006. She currently produces the Groundwork program, in partnership with Words of Hope, and writes for Spotlight. In the past, she also edited and produced The Back to God Hour flagship radio program.

She received her Masters of Divinity from Northern Seminary in 2011.  When she has free time, she also enjoys running and playing flute in community groups.

Dave has a passion for ministry through media. His own spiritual life grew during his pivotal teenage years through listening to the music and announcer on a local Christian radio station. That birthed a desire to be on the giving end of media ministry. From 1994 until 2007 Dave carried out that desire by working at several Christian radio stations in the Chicago area.

Dave joined the ReFrame Media team at Back to God Ministries International in 2007 as the Marketing Manager. In 2008, he helped launch a new ReFrame Media program Under The Radar, which features the best in under-appreciated Christian music. Currently he produces and hosts that program. Dave, his wife Laura, and three children reside in Oak Lawn, IL.

Laisin Cheung joined Back to God Ministries International Chinese team in 1991. She is the producer of a program called Listen to My Heart, which reflects on contemporary life issues and the Bible. She is also the editor of the Chinese Today devotional and serves as the administrator of the Chinese department. She has a passion for multi-media ministry and always keeps learning so she will thrive in her work.

Laisin received her bachelor’s degree in Chinese language and literature from Hong Kong Baptist College before she came to the United States. After working with Back to God Ministries International for eight years, she completed an M.Div degree at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 2003. Her goal for getting a seminary education was to enable her to be a better servant of God. Laisin and her husband Patrick Cheung attend a church in Chicago’s Chinatown. They serve in the church as youth group counselors and Sunday school teachers.

Joanne Norregaard joined the Chinese department at Back to God Ministries International in 2000 as a radio host, script writer and producer. She produces two radio programs (Life Lessons and English World) along with developing related websites and blogs. She enjoys working in the studio with her co-workers, and hearing back from those who listen to our programs.

Joanne holds an M.A. in Communications from Wheaton Graduate School. Before coming to Back to God Ministries International she worked for Far East Broadcasting Corporation’s Chicago branch.

Jackson joined Back to God Ministries International's Chinese team in 2011 as an administrative assistant. Prior to that, beginning in 2004, he worked as a volunteer for the Chinese team and as a summer intern during the summer of 2008. He now serves the Chinese ministry as an assistant in both computer and administrative responsibilities.

Born and raised in Hong Kong, Jackson came to the U.S. at the age of 14. He graduated from Calvin College in Grand Rapids, MI with a B.A. in Mathematics. A big music and sports enthusiast, Jackson spends his spare time listening to music and watching sports games.

Jean first joined Back to God Ministries International Chinese in 2008 as an intern, to finish her MA of Biblical counseling from Calvary Theological Seminary in Kansas City, MO. During her internship, she helped develop a new weekly radio program Life Lessons, along with a companion blog and booklet. She will soon launch a new ministry called Bible and Woman, a radio program, website and blog that specifically deals with women’s life issues.

Jean enjoys working at Back to God Ministries International, using biblical truth to help people face their daily life situations. Most importantly she enjoys working with all the coworkers who have the same mind and heart to achieve the same goal— furthering God’s kingdom using media as the tool. Her prayer is that she will walk with the Lord day by day, and by God’s grace, will continue to worship and serve the Lord as her Savior.

Josh graduated from Columbia College in 2008 with a bachelor’s degree in Radio Communications. He completed numerous on-air and post-production internships, including an internship at Back to God Ministries International, where he began working full time in 2008. Josh writes scripts for Kids Corner, our children’s audio drama for radio and web, where he loves using his creative side. Currently he serves on the audio team as a project/program producer. He is the voice for the audio version of This is Today. Josh enjoys working out daily and watching his beloved Chicago Cubs!

Debbie began working for Back to God Ministries International in 2004. As our data processing specialist, she inputs all the donation information and keeps mailing records updated. Before coming to Back to God Ministries International she worked for 20 years with Household International Financial Services as an account executive and then as administrative assistant for the director of development for the Reformed Church in America.

Debbie has lived in the Chicago area her whole life. She is married and enjoys spending time with family and her dog she “is crazy about.” Debbie especially enjoys her coworkers at Back to God Ministries International. She says she has developed friendships that will last a lifetime, both at BTGMI and the RCA.

Ken White holds the record for the longest-employed person with Back to God Ministries International! He began his work with us in 1967. His photo is featured in the 1979 book, Worlds Beyond, a historical account of the media ministry. Ken serves as warehouse foreman. (If you or your church receives the Today devotional, Ken is the one responsible for getting it mailed to you.)

Ken grew up in Virginia, and served in the army and worked for Montgomery Ward before coming to Back to God Ministries International. He has been very active as a Cadet counselor with his church for many years. He and his wife have three children living in the Chicago area, and one who recently passed away. Ken loves spending time with his 8 grandchildren.

Ann joined Back to God Ministries International in 2007 as the Receptionist/Administrative Assistant. One of the things she enjoys most about her job is hearing from donors who are so excited about the various media ministries being carried out through the work of Back to God Ministries International.

Ann grew up in Evergreen Park, IL.  She married Frank in 1982, and worked as an Administrative Assistant for Bank of America full-time for 15 years and then worked part-time for several years after her children were born. Ann and Frank have one daughter, Sarah, and one son, Alex. She enjoys reading, camping, and spending as much time as possible outdoors with her family.

Maribeth Stech joined the advancement team for Back to God Ministries International in 2006, also serving as administrative assistant to the director. She previously worked for Trinity Christian College as office manager in the Advancement Department. Her experience as an event planner and former travel agent provides great background for making travel arrangements for North American and International ministry staff. She has also served as a volunteer for Youth Unlimited since the early 1990s.

Maribeth is married to Jim and has a beautiful stepdaughter and an adorable dog, Grace. She is an avid basketball fan, faithfully following her nieces’ careers in high school and college basketball.

Nancy Vander Meer began her work with Back to God Ministries International in 2004. When people ask her what is an “Information Associate,” she answers, “I collect stories, photos, statistics and all kinds of information, and turn them into articles and materials to help tell the story of how God is changing people’s lives through our worldwide media ministry.”

Nancy is a graduate of Dordt College, and has been a teacher, youth and worship leader, and children’s librarian. She loves reading, writing, camping, scrapbooking, and—her husband Dan, daughter, stepson, daughter-in-law, and new grandson!