our people
Sarah Dickson
Hi there! I work as a speech-language pathologist in the local hospital in Coeur D’Alene, Idaho. I studied music (vocal performance) and English literature at Depauw university and received my masters degree from Purdue University in speech pathology. I was born in...
Dani Reyes
I was born and raised in Bogotá, Colombia. During the summer of 2016, I moved to the South of France, Aix en Provence, and stumbled into an amazing international Christian Church – ICCP. Becoming part of this church opened in my heart the desire to be part of a...
Shannon & Catalin Popa
Shannon & Catalin's story began in 1990 near Vienna, Austria and reads something like this:"Romanian refugee meets American missionary and the two fall in love and live happily ever after."100% truth, minus a few important details! They did meet in the summer of...
Bryan & Rachel Hehr
Bryan grew up in a Christian home, but it wasn't until high school that his faith became real. After studying finance at the University of Colorado, Bryan entered into ministry, serving in a college ministry as well as overseeing the finances at a local church....
Jay Benfante
I am an inspired follower of Jesus who believes God loved humanity so much that he entered into our pain, our dysfunction, our selfishness, our greed, our violence, and our suffering; he heals us, redeems us, and walks with us through these things; and he invites us...
Riley & Lauren Hall
Riley and Lauren have been in Glasgow since November 2020, where they work with The Upper Room Church, a dual-language community made up primarily of Iranian refugees and asylum seekers. Though they are both involved in a range of ministries within the church,...
Brenda Renderos
Brenda has always had a knack for questioning the status quo. The questions have often been inner and personal but in recent years she has become more vocal. Her questions are not just for the sake of questioning but to deepen her understanding and guard against...
Hadi & Sepideh Jafarizadeh
Hadi has been in Glasgow since 2015, and part of Upper Room Church since 2016 when it was a House Church at Wesley White's flat. Although he had not joined Communitas International at this point, his role was growing and developing so that now he is sharing the same...
Kristen Lalley and Thanos Pappas
An American woman met a Greek man at a cafe in central London. It may sound like the set-up to a good joke, but it's really their calling to ministry and intercultual living. Kristen and Thanos lived in a combined 5 countries and speak two languages at home. They also...
Thomas and Laura Leonard
Over the course of their careers, Thomas and Laura have worked as community development professionals, student ministry leaders, and pastoral care providers. Thomas has extensive experience in West and North Africa, Spain, France, and within immigrant communities in...