Board Chair

Dr. Terri Watson serves as professor of psychology in the School of Psychology, Counseling & Family Therapy at Wheaton College. As a board-certified clinical psychologist and approved supervisor with the American Association for Marriage and Family Therapy, her clinical and research interests include the integration of clinical psychology and Christian faith, clinical supervision, cross cultural applications of psychology, and couple and family therapy. She is the author of Developing Clinicians of Character with InterVarsity Press. Terri served in Micronesia for a year after college, engaging in youth and church ministry with Campus Crusade for Christ. She and her husband, Bob, are grateful for continued opportunities to engage in cross cultural service including the privilege of serving on MTI’s board of trustees.

Board Vice-Chair

Mrs. Michelle Essary is a licensed professional counselor. She is acting director for Iron City Counselling working with member care. Michelle has training in individual, marital, premarital, couples, family and group therapy. She earned her Bachelor of Arts in Cross-Cultural Sociology from Lee University in 2004 and a Masters of Arts in Clinical Mental Health Counseling from Denver Seminary in 2012. She specializes in depression, anxiety, stress management, cultural adjustment, women’s relationship and identity issues. Michelle currently lives in Alabama with Brad, her husband, and they have two boys.

Finance Chair

Mr. Dean Merrill has spent his entire ministry life in Christian publishing work—magazines, books, curriculum, and Bibles. He is the author of 10 books and the collaborating author on 40 others (Jim Cymbala’s Fresh Wind, Fresh Fire, Gracia Burnham’s In the Presence of My Enemies, Dr. Wess Stafford’s Too Small to Ignore, etc.); he was also the general editor of Tyndale’s Every Man’s Bible. His international experience was gained primarily during his seven years as a vice-president of International Bible Society (now Biblica), which involved the mentoring of publishing teams in Africa, Asia, South America, and Eastern Europe. He is a graduate of Chicago Bible College (Th.B.) and Syracuse University (M.A., journalism). He and his wife, Grace, have three children and 12 grandchildren.

Board Secretary

Mrs. Patricia (Patty) Wolf is a retired Licensed Professional Counselor. Patty provides volunteer counseling services to women serving across cultures for the sake of the Gospel of Jesus Christ. With Mission Training International (MTI), she has served as a donor, board member and debriefing adjunct. Currently she serves on the Board of MTI, Tenfold BPO and is a Trustee with Denver Seminary. Patty has served with Restoring The Soul and Thrive Ministry (fka Women of The Harvest) as a donor, retreat volunteer and Chair of the Board. Prior to serving in member care she spent several years in industry in Sales and Operations and then felt called to go to a new career and received a MA in Professional Counseling from Colorado Christian University. She also has a BA in Liberal Studies from San Jose State University. Patty and her husband focus on frontline missions, Christian Education and social programs connected to the Gospel of Jesus Christ. They enjoy their 13 grandchildren, traveling, golfing and fly fishing.

Board Member Emeritus

Dr. John Powell, professor emeritus Michigan State University has provided psychological services to missions for four decades. He has conducted research on missionary issues and families and is the co-editor of the book Enhancing Missionary Vitality. He is the co-founder of the Annual conference on Mental Health and Missions and a trainer for the Consultation on Debriefing and Renewal. John currently lives in Michigan.

Mr. John N. Campbell is a retired businessman, having extensive international experience with a large international company prior to establishing several of his own companies with international affiliations. He has served on corporate, church, humanitarian and mission boards including Mission Aviation Fellowship Canada, USA and Europe. In addition to MTI he is presently on the Boards of Medical Ministry International, Canada and USA. He is a past Chairman of MTI, MAFC and Mission-Prep. His experience has given him an in depth understanding of the world’s cultural differences and the need for adequate pre-departure missionary training and ongoing member care.He is a graduate from Ryerson University: Mechanical Engineering/ Technology. John lives in Canada with his wife Wilma, children & grandchildren.

Mr. Bruce Cannon has more than 25 years of experience in missions as a church planter, field leader, and in missionary care & development. He spent five years in pastoral ministry in Northern California before meeting his wife Linda during Culture and Language Orientation (now Compass) on his way to Russia. After their marriage, they served for 16 years in Poland, first with Novo, then with SEND International. In 2011, they relocated with their two sons to the Michigan-based US sending office for SEND, where Bruce took on leadership of the Member Care Team. In March 2023, he and Linda moved to a new role with SEND as Care & Development Specialists.

Bruce holds a BS in Business Administration from California Polytechnic University in Pomona, an M.Div. from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School, and an MA in Counseling Psychology from Moody Theological Seminary. He is also a limited licensed counselor with a part-time practice called Streamside Counseling and has served on the MTI Board since Fall 2019.

Mrs. Faith De La Cour has over 20 years of experience as a leader in missionary care, first in Japan with Asian Access and until her recent retirement, as the Chief People Officer for SIM USA. She continues to champion the need for intentional screening, quality preparation, ongoing care and responsible stewardship of global workers sent by mission organizations and churches. This includes serving as a People Care and Development workshop track leader for Missio Nexus. In addition, she is a mentor for new (primarily nonwestern) leaders of various SIM International receiving entities. Faith has a BS from Wheaton College and an MBA from Northwestern University in Organizational Behavior. Faith and her husband, Stan, live in Charlotte, North Carolina with their two adult sons. Both their daughters are married, and their three grandchildren live in England.

Dr. Bob Watson holds an M.A. in Clinical Psychology from Wheaton College and a Psy.D. in Clinical Psychology from the Illinois School of Professional Psychology. He is licensed as a clinical psychologist that practices in Illinois and Michigan. After serving in youth and church ministry for a year in Micronesia after college, Bob believed that a career in cross-cultural missions was God’s calling for his life. But God had other plans. Over the next three decades, he worked in faith-based intensive mental health treatment, as a professor training Christian psychologists and counselors, as an organizational consultant developing leaders and teams, and working closely with indigenous churches on many short-term missions. Bob’s vocational journey prepared him for his current role as Clinical Director at Alongside in Richland, MI, an intensive counseling program in a beautiful retreat-like setting for leaders in both cross-cultural and domestic settings. He considers himself privileged to play a part in healing the “noble wounds” of those in ministry and has served on the board of MTI for the past 6 years.

Mr. Jim Hill has been married to Stacy for 30 years. They home schooled their 3 children, Bethany, Samuel and Nathan who are all graduated, married and involved in their careers and ministry. Jim and Stacy run their own business together and have been involved in ministry nationally and internationally.