Fekadu Amanu came to Christ in Ethiopia under the military socialist Derg regime, at the height of its persecution of the evangelical church. Coming from a traditional religious background, he counted the cost of faith from the start, and that conviction has shaped everything since.
Fekadu is an evangelist at heart: apostolic and mission-minded, drawn to people of other faiths, and always looking to break new ground where the church has not yet taken root. He planted churches in some of Ethiopia’s least-reached regions, and those congregations have since multiplied into many more in the remotest places. Later, he planted a congregation among the Ethiopian diaspora in North America. He has built an extensive network among Ethiopian diaspora communities worldwide, including Ethiopian workers across the Gulf. Closer to home, he continues to support the rural school his father once mobilized their community to rebuild for four decades the only middle school in the village.
In Ethiopia and in the United States, Fekadu’s ministry has always run alongside a career in health. He began as a professional registered nurse and head nurse in eastern Ethiopia, serving with a Ministry of Health hospital and with Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders), where he directed outbreak response in low-resource settings. He then led integrated community-based public health programs with international NGOs such as the Lutheran World Federation and CARE International in Ethiopia. After relocating to the United States, he spent nearly two decades in acute and critical care nursing, as a clinician, in hospital administration, and as a mentor to nurses new to the profession.
Fekadu’s partnership with the Francis Asbury Society began with an invitation. He brought the FAS team to Ethiopia, where together they held conferences in many parts of the country. He later joined the Society as staff.
Fekadu holds a Master of Divinity from Asbury Theological Seminary and a Master of Public Health in International Health from Boston University. He is completing a PhD in Leadership at Taylor University.
An ordained minister, Fekadu serves as an elder at Great Commission Fellowship, a Vineyard church. He and his wife, Mimi, have been married for more than two decades and live in Wilmore, Kentucky, with their three children: Sifaan, Naatol, and Simalee.
Jim Harriman obtained his Bachelor of Arts (History) from Asbury College (now University) and his Master of Arts in Religion from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, KY. He received his Ph.D. in Old Testament Studies from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY.
He was a missionary with World Gospel Mission (Assignment: Paraguay) from 1988 to 1994. He has been a member of The Francis Asbury Society since 1997. Jim preaches in churches and camp meetings across the United States as well as ministering internationally.
In August 2012, Jim took on the responsibility of being the international representative for the Bolivian Evangelical University (UEB) in Santa Cruz, Bolivia. He serves on the school’s Board of Directors and helps raise funds for its various projects and programs. As a professor, Jim teaches theology and Old Testament.
Jim and his wife, Mayoli, currently reside in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.
For 17 years, Jerry and his wife, Jan, served as missionaries in Europe with the Free Methodist Church. The last 11 years he served as the overseer for continental Europe. Since joining FAS in 2013 Jerry’s call to the nations is becoming more realized as he has had the opportunity to preach and teach in over 70 countries in the world.
A career in his family’s business was redirected when Jerry felt a call to full-time ministry in the early 1980s. He was ordained in 1987 in the Free Methodist Church and pastored two churches in the USA. Jerry served as the assistant director of VISA and personnel for Free Methodist World Missions before moving with his family to Europe in 1996.
Jerry is a graduate of Greenville College, now University (Greenville, IL), and Asbury Theological Seminary (Wilmore, KY).
Jan Coleman’s training and experience is in education. She taught English in public schools and English as a foreign language to adult learners. Jan uses her platform as a teacher of English as a stepstool for evangelism. As a member of the church planting team in Budapest, Hungary, she also had regular opportunities to teach, preach, and lead worship in the Hungarian language. Since returning to the USA in 2013, Jan has had the privilege of traveling with Jerry both as companion and as a fellow evangelist.
Jerry and Jan have three married children: Sarah (Russell), Kristin (Spencer), and David (Alison); and seven grandchildren.
To hear more of their story, read Jerry’s book, One Way Ticket: Leaving Home for Good.
