Speakers – ccdnetwork

Our Contributors to the CCD Conference 2025

Johannes Reimer

Dr. Johannes Reimer is Professor of Missions Studies and Intercultural Theology
at the University of South Africa, Pretoria. For the past seven years he was the
Director of the Peace and Reconciliation Network of the World Evangelical Alliance and now heads their Public Engagement department. He is personally involved in a number of conflict resolution programmes and has written several books on Mission and Peace. Reimer is married to Cornelia, together they enjoy three children and two grandchildren.

Sonja Brink

Sonja Brink is an Art and Trauma Healing group facilitator. She has been serving in missions fulltime for 3 decades and feels at home on 3 continents. The Brink family moved to the Netherlands in 2009 to minister to Turkish speaking immigrants in Europe. After the completing of her Building Arts degree at The University of Port Elizabeth (Now Nelson Mandela University), she worked as an interior designer in South Africa. Sonja married her university sweetheart Gerrit and they have been serving with OM fulltime since 1993. The couple served in Northern Iraq and were involved in health education and building projects for two years. In 1996 they moved to Türkiye where they served the Turkish church for 13 years, their three children were born there. Sonja was involved with church planting, a job creation project, facilitated creative workshops, attended Inner Healing conferences and seminars, took part in Member Care training, and served as the Member Care consultant for the OM Türkiye field. Since the move to The Hague in 2009, Sonja has been facilitating creative workshops in a variety of crafts and received creative therapy training. Her ministry involves facilitating trauma healing groups with Muslim immigrants and private therapy sessions. In 2021 she did an Art and Trauma Healing course at Dallas International University. Sonja is a certified Healing Group Facilitator with the American Trauma Healing Institute and currently training to become a Master Facilitator. Seeing the power of creativity at work to help bring emotions to the surface and the joy of deep conversations motivates her to do healing groups. Sonja creates spaces where hurting people can meet with our Creator, allowing Him to show them His healing power through the creative process and Biblical truth through stories. It is a blessing to witness God’s healing power and experience the transformative influence of art in the Trauma Healing process.

Matthieu Dobler Paganoni

Matthieu is the father of two daughters (5 and 2 years old), likes groovy music, exciting philosophical-theological discussions and the culture of Latin America. He lives with his family near Basel (Switzerland) and works as the Executive Director of Interaction, the Swiss umbrella organisation of 34 Christian development organisations. He studied Sociology & Theology (BA) and International Development Studies (MA) and spent 5.5 years in Honduras after his studies. In his free time, he enjoys talking to interesting people for his Justpeace podcast, should do more sports and is happy when his children allow him to sleep in a little longer on weekends.

Mark Galpin

Dr Mark Galpin is a Postgraduate Programme Leader, Tutor & lecturer in Poverty & Justice studies and Leadership at All Nations Christian College in Ware, UK. BSc (Hons) Environmental Science, MSc (Tropical Agricultural Development), PhD (Agricultural Development). Mark has been involved in cross-cultural mission and community development for the last 30 years. He lived and worked in East Africa (1991 – 94), where he grew up. In the year 2000, Mark completed his PhD in Agricultural Development at the University of Reading. He and his family served in Nepal, initially with the International Nepal Fellowship (INF) in a number of different programme focused roles and then in senior management. In 2007-8 Mark briefly taught Development Studies at All Nations as a missionary in residence before returning to Nepal to serve as Executive Director of the United Mission to Nepal (UMN) from 2009 to 2016. In September 2016 Mark returned to All Nations as a lecturer and tutor, heading up two of the major streams of the college; Poverty & Justice studies and Leadership. In March 2018 Mark became the All Nations Postgraduate Programme Leader. Mark is the chair of the Global Connections Integral Mission Forum and a board member of charity 28 Too Many. He recently co-edited a book titled Undivided Witness and has a keen interest in linking theology and community development and seeing the local church act as an agent of change in society.

Benjamin Isaak-Krauß

Benjamin Isaak-Krauß (he/him) is a spouse, a father, and a Mennonite pastor in Frankfurt, Germany. He is passionate about courageous peacemaking, costly solidarity, and strategy board games. As a participant-observer in various local and global movements for community resilience and active nonviolence, he tries to bridge nasty ditch between the sanctuary and the streets.

Ulrich Nitschke

Ulrich Nitschke is a governance expert and a real change maker. He is Deputy Managing Director of the faith-based Consultancy PIRON Global Development in Bonn. PIRON is hosting a network of excellent consultants in Africa and Europe and facilitates change processes, leadership and human resource development. In 2015, Ulrich established the international network PaRD (International Partnership on Religion and Sustainable Development) on behalf of the German Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development and many faith based partners. He was simultaneously head of the sector program „Values, Religion and Development“ of the Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Previously, he led and implemented governance and civil society development programs for several years in Palestine/ Israel as well as in Benin and Southern Africa. He is known as an excellent listener, trainer and facilitator and supported several NGOs and FBOs in developing their advocacy strategies. He is serving as leadership coach for senior management of NGOs and FBOs. Ulrich is married, has three grown up children and holds a degree in Theology and Philosophy from Fribourg/ Switzerland. Currently he lives and works from the UN City of Bonn and serves as a government consultant in various countries.

Betty Pries

With over 31 years of experience coaching, mediating, training, facilitating and consulting, Betty is highly regarded as a Conflict, Change, and Leadership Specialist. Betty specializes in working with complex challenges, supporting leaders and their organizations to be at their best. Betty’s capacity to care deeply, listen well, and provide wise and thoughtful support allows her to help her clients engage in tough, meaningful, and important conversations, set directions, and achieve positive organizational change.
Betty is a specialist in equity, diversity and inclusion (EDI), leading anti-racism / anti-prejudice workshops, supporting EDI committees, reviewing and writing EDI-related policies, coaching leaders and offering support to organizations wrestling with EDI challenges.
Betty brings a wealth of experience to her work, having worked with a wide range of organizations, both nationally and internationally. Betty has extensive education, training, and experience in coaching, mediation, negotiation, consensus building, consultation, facilitation, and organizational health. As Co-Founder and CEO at Credence, Betty’s great joy has been the opportunity to mentor and support the growth of the Credence team. Betty has a PhD from the Free University Amsterdam on the topic of conflict transformation. She is a Chartered Mediator with the ADR Institute of Canada and a member of the ADR Institute of Ontario. Betty is a regular instructor at the University of Waterloo.
Dr Betty Pries, and others at Credence, have experience supporting numerous organizations with both recent and historical allegations and/or findings of abuse by leaders and/or congregants/employees.

Cornelia Reimer

Cornelia Reimer (MA), born and raised in Germany, is involved both in Christian peacebuilding education and in coaching & mediation with the international Peace & Reconciliation Network of the World Evangelical Alliance. She is married to Prof. Johannes Reimer, a missiologist from Estonia, with whom she loves to talk theology, do church planting ministry locally, and discuss global issues after having raised their three children.

After her studies at three German and one US university, Cornelia worked as a freelance editor & translator before she taught English, Spanish and Political Science at a Christian high school in Germany. In her freetime she enjoys her family, a good read, Nordic walking, traveling, photography, music and the arts. She loves to see people flourish, develop to be their best and regain their strength when crises have hit. Workshops and seminars on peacebuilding or successful communication to inspire those interested in a flourishing environment are much on her heart.

Bethany Serengheu

Bethany Serengheu is founder of ONE Coaching and Conflict Management and Team Coordinator for the Peace and Reconciliation Network in Europe, a commission of the World Evangelical Alliance. She was born in Canada but grew up in Asia. After marrying a Romanian, she began to minister in Romania. She ministered as a leader of worship, in Women’s ministries, and with NGOs in operational, administrative, humanitarian and church development. After completing her Masters in Peace and Conflict Studies, Bethany worked with a peace institute as a Project Manager establishing Protection Support Hubs for Ukrainian Refugees fleeing the war in Ukraine. She has also completed her Coaching training and offers both conflict coaching and consulting. Bethany continues working to see the church embrace their commission as ambassadors of Christ, fulfilling and engaging others in the ministry of reconciliation. What she enjoys most is time with her boys, friends who enjoy deep conversation, and discovering new foods.

Joel Zantingh

Joel Zantingh started out as a church planter 30 years ago. He and Christie are parents to adult children, as well as grandparents. Joel has a heart for the nations, both locally and globally. He is a graduate of Fuller Seminary (M.A. in Global Leadership), and is currently enrolled in Portland Seminary, completing a Doctor of Leadership in Global Perspectives. He has served in national and global mission leadership within the Evangelical Missionary Church of Canada. He has experience teaching in formal and informal settings with Bible college students and leaders from various cultures and generations, which includes teaching Christian Community Development for the “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement” course since 2023. Joel serves as the Canadian Coordinator of the World Evangelical Alliance’s Peace and Reconciliation Network, and as Director of Engagement with Lausanne Movement Canada.