Staff News

Rebekah Fodale has joined the DM staff team!

We are thrilled to announce that Rebekah Fodale has joined the DiscipleMakers staff team! If you’ve spent any time around DM as a student, you’ll recognize the Fodale name, as Mark and Shannon Fodale, Rebekah’s parents, have been serving with Disciplemakers for over 30 years!

Rebekah has grown up seeing college ministry lived out at home, but she had the opportunity to invest in DM’s ministry herself during her time as a student at Lafayette College. She served as a student leader there and recently graduated in May. Rebekah has a huge heart for international missions as well and we are excited that she’ll be joining us to minister to international students and working in the missions mobilization of DM students and our internship programs.

Upon the acceptance of her position with DM, Rebekah shared, “God has given me such eternal hope because of Christ. I can't wait to share it with others as a full-time staff with DiscipleMakers!”

Rebekah will soon begin her support-raising journey. Please pray for her as she works to raise up a team of ministry partners, and please praise the Lord with us for another kingdom laborer!

Colby & Kierstyn Benedict have reached their ministry funding goal!

Colby & Kierstyn Benedict

We’re pleased to announce that Colby & Kierstyn Benedict have reached their ministry funding goal! They will now transition to their next ministry assignment: ministering to students at Wilkes University as members of DM’s North Eastern PA Team. In fact, they reached their goal just in time to connect with students from Wilkes at our Focus Conference which is going on right now!

Upon reaching their funding goal Colby and Kierstyn shared, “We had no idea what the journey would look like when we started support raising 10 months ago, but what a journey it has been! Preparing for our ministry with DiscipleMakers has been full of ups and downs. But no matter what, God has constantly been good and faithful to us. We have learned more about expectant prayer, faithful striving, and patient endurance than we ever could have imagined. We are so excited to finally get on campus and reach students with the gospel so that they too can experience the love and grace of God, just as we have over these past months!”

We also talked to Mike & Felicia Kreider, the Benedict’s mentors through their support-raising journey who shared, “Colby and Kierstyn displayed an incredible amount of perseverance and commitment to the Lord through their season of ministry support-raising. They have a strong desire to see the gospel advance among college students, and that showed through their ferocious work ethic over these past 10 months. They encountered many joys & sorrows along the way, and yet time and time again, they learned to trust the Lord as their Refuge. We loved seeing their reliance upon Christ deepen and transition from a theoretical concept into a tangible need for His daily strength. We’re so excited to see how the Lord uses Colby & Kierstyn in this next phase of their DiscipleMakers ministry!”

Praise God with us for sending another laborer into His harvest field on campus! Please pray for Colby & Kierstyn as they move, find a church, and get settled in the Wilkes-Barre area. Pray that the Lord would use the summer to prepare them to jump head-first into ministry on campus this fall.

Taylor Maslin has joined the DM staff team!

We are excited to announce that Taylor Maslin has joined the DiscipleMakers staff team! Taylor has been involved as a leader in our fellowship at Penn State for the past few years as she completed her master’s degree. We’re thrilled by Taylor’s eagerness to answer God’s call on her life into full-time ministry, and can’t wait to welcome her into our Headquarters where she’ll be serving the entire ministry behind the scenes.

Upon the acceptance of her position with DM, Taylor shared, “While at Penn State I have witnessed the blessing and impact of Christian community—one that points you back to Christ in all circumstances. I am beyond excited to serve students behind the scenes so that they can be blessed by this same community!”

Taylor will begin her support-raising journey in May after she completes her degree. Please pray for her as she works to raise up a team of ministry partners while also working a part-time job for a few months, and please praise the Lord with us for another kingdom laborer!

Justin Negron to serve on the Berks Team!

We’re excited to announce that Justin Negron will serve on the DiscipleMakers’ Berks Team when he reaches his ministry funding goal!

“I’m praising God for the awesome opportunity to serve on the Berks Team, and be a fisher of men!” Justin said. “There’s a ton of wisdom that surrounds this experienced team, and I’m excited to glean it from them!”

His soon-to-be team leader, David Royes, said he is excited to welcome Justin and see how God will use his gifts and talents to help the ministries of the Berks team continue to grow and flourish!

Justin received his campus placement after reaching a significant milestone in his fundraising when God provided 50% of his DiscipleMakers funding goal. He began raising support in June, having graduated from Albright in May. Please pray for Justin as he raises the remainder of his ministry funding - that God would quickly provide and bring him to campus.

Jessie Martin has joined the DM staff team!

We are excited to announce that Jessie Martin has joined the DiscipleMakers staff team! Jessie is an alumnus of our DM fellowship at Gettysburg College and has spent the past five years serving as a High School chemistry teacher in the Washington, DC area. She recently answered the Lord’s call on her life to apply to serve full-time with DiscipleMakers and we now eagerly welcome her onto our staff team to serve behind the scenes in our headquarters.

Upon the acceptance of her position with DM, Jessie shared, “I am excited to be joining an organization that God used so mightily in my life as a student, and can't wait to see how He will use me in this next chapter of my life!”

Jessie will begin her support-raising journey part-time in just a few weeks while she finishes out the school year as a teacher. Please pray for her as she works to raise up a team of ministry partners in the midst of her current work responsibilities, and please praise the Lord with us for another kingdom laborer!

Michael Usilton has joined the DiscipleMakers' staff team!

Michael Usilton has joined DiscipleMakers’ staff team! Michael is a senior at Penn State University and got involved in our DM student fellowship where he serves as a key leader. He also joined us for our summer internship this year where he showed a real passion for the gospel and an eagerness to build community.

Compelled by a real need in our ministry and a heart to serve behind the scenes, Michael plans to support the gospel work happening on campus through our headquarters.

In accepting his new position, Michael shared, “I am so excited to see how the Lord will continue to use me through serving on DiscipleMakers’ staff team! I can't wait for this next chapter in my life!”

Praise God for raising up Michael to serve on our staff team, and please pray for him as he prepares to raise support full–time for his ministry with DM after his graduation from Penn State in May 2023.

 

Jay Svec has joined the DiscipleMakers' staff team!

Jay Svec has joined DiscipleMakers’ staff team! Jay is a senior at Penn State University and got involved in our DM student fellowship there during his junior year. Jay quickly dove into the community and leadership on campus. He even joined us for our summer internship this year where he showed a real passion for the gospel.

Compelled by that passion and a real need in our ministry, Jay plans to use his degree in Accounting to serve behind the scenes, supporting the gospel work on campus through our headquarters.

In accepting his new position, Jay shared, “I am so excited and look forward to serving the Lord full-time and seeing His gospel have an eternal impact on others!”

Praise God for raising up Jay to serve on our staff team, and please pray for him as he begins raising support full–time for his ministry with DM this January and works towards his graduation from Penn State in May 2023.

 

Clark Mummau has joined the DiscipleMakers' staff team!

Clark Mummau has joined DiscipleMakers! Clark first connected with us through our online Summer Discipleship Challenge in the summer of 2020 through a DM intern that summer. Two years later, Clark interned with us this past summer and we are thrilled to have him join us as a missionary.

In accepting his new position, Clark said, “DM has had a huge impact on my life, and I rejoice in the Lord that I can join DiscipleMakers in going out and sharing the Good News of Jesus Christ with college students!”

Praise God for raising up Clark to serve on our staff team, and please pray for him as he begins raising support full–time for his ministry with DM upon the completion of his Biblical & Religious Studies/Christian Ministries degree at Grove City College in May 2023.

 

Colby and Kierstyn Benedict will serve on our NEPA Team!

We are excited to announce that Colby and Kierstyn Benedict will serve on the Northeast Pennsylvania (NEPA) team when they reach their ministry funding goal! They are just over halfway in reaching this goal. The NEPA team serves on East Stroudsburg University and Wilkes University.

Colby and Kierstyn have been praying since the beginning that God would place them where they could best serve Him. “Over the last few months, it has become abundantly clear that the NEPA team, and the campuses that it serves, is the place where we can play a strategic role in fulfilling the vision of DiscipleMakers to bring the love and grace of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ to the college campus.” They added, “We are so excited to be joining what God is doing in and through this team to work in the lives of their students!"

Brian Seay, the leader of the NEPA team, shared his anticipation for their arrival on campus by saying, “The Benedicts are the Lord’s answer to long prayed prayer! We’re so encouraged by their eagerness in accepting the assignment and embarking into the NEPA region with us."

Please pray for the Lord to complete Colby and Kierstyn’s initial support raising, as well as their preparation to join the NEPA team.

Tony Beard has reached his ministry funding goal!

Tony Beard

We’re pleased to announce that Tony Beard has reached his ministry funding goal! Tony and his wife Angela will now transition to their next ministry assignment: ministering to students at Elizabethtown College as members of DM’s Lancaster Team.

Tony joined DiscipleMakers after a successful career in higher education. He has a passion for reaching college students with the gospel and can’t wait to do that directly through his ministry with DM.

Upon reaching his ministry funding goal Tony shared, “Support-raising was a unique challenge that God called our family into. Through this process, it's been incredible to see how supporters have surrounded us in prayer and affirmed this calling into college ministry. God grew my faith in ways I never imagined and revitalized a prayer life that was nearly dormant. We are so excited to start connecting with students and be part of what God is doing at Elizabethtown College. It's such an exciting time!”

We also talked to Gary Christman, Tony’s mentor through the support-raising journey, and his new teammate on the Lancaster team, who shared, “Tony’s journey through support-raising has been marked by God’s hand of faithfulness. Over and over when the way forward seemed unclear, God led Tony forward. I marvel at Tony’s response in each of these circumstances to move forward, with God, in faith, and despite uncertainty. I’m thankful to have him as a friend and coworker!”

Praise God with us for sending another laborer into His harvest field on campus!