Who is
Gospel Joy?
Since 2009, God has been using our ministry to make Christ known all across Africa.
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Our Team
Emily Pohl
Executive Director
Having traveled to some of the most remote parts of Africa, Emily has seen the need for spiritual development first hand. She has a heart for rural Africa and the growth and development of the rural church.
Emily holds a M.A. in International Development from Brandeis University and a B.A. in Intercultural studies with a minor in Biblical Studies from Biola University. In her free time she loves to garden, spend time with friends, and get lost in a good book.
Sylvia Agboh
Bible Study Trainer & Voice Actress
Originally from Togo, Sylvia currently lives in Minnesota with her two daughters. She enjoys leading the children’s ministry at her church Bethel Christian Fellowship and recording audio Bible studies with Gospel Joy.
She loves God and has a heart for prayer ministry as well as preaching the Gospel to the unchurched. She is passionate about discipling God’s people to grow and mature in the Lord.
Dan Schmidt
Audio Engineer
A husband and father of three, Dan enjoys creating and recording music. He uses his studio to provide sound engineering, editing, and mixing for Gospel Joy so the Gospel can reach the nations.
He also works as a manager for a financial systems team in the corporate world and is an active member in his local church. He is driven by 1 Peter 2:24, which says, "He himself bore our sins in his body on the tree so that we might die to sin and live to righteousness. By his wounds you have been healed."
Amy
Content Advisor
Helping women know and follow Christ is Amy’s passion She first used Gospel Joy audio Bible studies in West Africa with women and girls and tested them before they were produced.
Back in the States, she assisted with producing the studies, overseeing the recording of Colossians, Ephesians, and Hebrews. Recently, she moved to Spain to offer immigrant women and girls the opportunity to know and follow Christ.
Lindsey Holsman
Administrative Assistant
A wife and mother of four, Lindsey enjoys caring for her family, local church, and community. She obtained a B.A. in Ministry with an emphasis in Counseling from the University of Northwestern, St. Paul. She loves to seek out edifying Biblical resources, so she is overjoyed to support in providing audio Bible studies to women and families in Africa.
She is motivated to share the hope in Jesus as stated in 1 Peter 3:18: “For Christ also suffered once for sins, the righteous for the unrighteous, that he might bring us to God, being put to death in the flesh but made alive in the spirit.”
Our Board
Greg Jones
Co-Founder & Board President
Registered Nurse at Veterans Affairs
Terry Kurshner
Finance Chair
Vice President of Finance, Truth78
Kristin Tabb
Author and Blogger at Desiring God and The Gospel Coalition
Sarah Tofteland
Owner of Sarah Tofteland Interiors LLC
All of our staff and board members believe and joyfully affirm our Statement of Faith.
Founding
In 2009, Gospel Joy Mission was founded by two seminary friends, Chad Carlson and Greg Jones, who had a desire to strengthen the church in Africa through discipleship and leadership training.
Primarily working in Kenya, the Carlson and Jones built a network of churches and orphanages where they mentored and discipled leaders. A stable ministry had emerged and was growing.
2009
Changes
In 2016, Chad had unexpected family challenges and needed to step away from Gospel Joy, leaving a gap in leadership and vision.
At the same time, Emily Pohl had a vision to produce audio Bible studies for rural African women. As she networked, she found that no such resource existed.
During that process, she was introduced to Greg and the board of directors who were looking to fill the executive director role. That’s when Emily was hired. At that point, the board specified its vision of discipling leaders to an intensive focus on women and audio Bible studies.
2016
Revitalized
In 2018, the first audio Bible study was written, recorded, and tested with a group of believers in Cameroon. With adjustments made, GJI began producing audio Bible studies in earnest.
Since then, women in Cameroon, South Africa, Kenya, and Zambia have used the material. In 2018 GJI received its first grant to translate studies into French and now features a robust, multi-lingual audio Bible study library.
2017
Moving forward
Our goal is to put the audio Bible studies in the hands of churches across the continent of Africa and to add more studies to our library.
With God’s help, we predict our audio Bible Studies will be used 100 times by 2025.
Will you join us in making this possible?
2023
Legal & Finance
As a legally registered non-profit, Gospel Joy is required to have publicly-visible finances. Use the buttons below to view our latest 990 and our latest annual report. If you need a previous years’ document, please contact us.
We need your help
Financial or otherwise, we need your support.