Leadership

Amazing as it seems, statistics reveal that some 130,000 new Believers are added to the Church globally every day! By conversion, Christianity is the fastest-growing religion in the world. However, discipleship opportunities are not keeping pace with evangelism. Unfortunately, many new converts fall away from their new found faith because they lack the resources that would equip them to become fully-functioning followers of Jesus Christ, equipped to be salt and light in their own culture. The Word Is Out seeks to address this challenge by offering engaging discipleship tools that guide the learner through an in-depth, inductive study of all 66 books of the Holy Scriptures. Our teaching method is inductive Bible study.

Dr. Alan Meenan

Founder and President

ALAN J. MEENAN, PhD, DD. is founder and president of The Word Is Out. He is the author of numerous articles, books and study guides. He teaches extensively throughout Asia, Africa and America. Born in Belfast Northern Ireland; besides growing up there, he has lived in Scotland and East Africa. He has served the Church in the United States for more than 40 years, in Virginia, Texas and California – most notably as Senior Pastor of the famed Hollywood Presbyterian Church in Los Angeles.

Dr. Meenan holds five academic degrees: from the Queen’s University of Belfast (BA Hons), Asbury Theological Seminary (MDiv & ThM) and a PhD from Edinburgh University. He was elected to membership in Theta Phi, an international honours society as well as the Tyndale Fellowship for Biblical Research in Cambridge, England. He was appointed Research Fellow at Yale University and was later honoured with a Doctor of Divinity degree from his Alma Mater, Asbury Theological Seminary in 2011.

Dr. Brad Johnson

Executive Director

BRAD JOHNSON is the Executive Director for The Word Is Out and serves as an Affiliate Professor at Asbury Theological Seminary. He holds two Master of Arts degrees in Theological Studies and Biblical Studies and a Ph.D. in Biblical Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary. His publications include “The Form and Function of Mark 1:1-15: A Multi-Disciplinary Approach to the Markan Prologue” (Pickwick, 2018) and “The Gospel of Mark” in the OneBook Daily-Weekly series (Seedbed, 2017). He lives in Wilmore, Kentucky with his wife, Christina, and their four sons (Sam, Luke, Matthew, and Caleb).

Rev. Lael Zulu

Director, Zambia Center for Biblical Understanding

In 2013 a pastor in Zambia by the name of Sam Lael Mwase Zulu sensed God’s call, and accepted the invitation from The Word Is Out to come to the US to prepare for the work of a Champion in his country. In the fall of 2015, Lael earned an M.A. in Biblical Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary and founded the Zambia Center for Biblical Understanding in 2016.

Thanks to Lael and his amazing teaching team, our students in Zambia, each year, are able to reach over 5,100 people in their respective ministries with the knowledge gained in Inductive Bible Study. He continues to inspire Lead Followers throughout Zambia to get to know God through intentional study of the Scriptures. Many testimonies continue to come in about how lives and ministries are forever impacted by him and the method of Inductive Bible Study.

Yee Nge (“Carol”) Lin

Director-in-Training, Myanmar Center for Biblical Understanding

Yee Nge (“Carol”) Lin is The Word Is Out’s current director-in-training for a future International Center for Biblical Understanding in Myanmar (formerly Burma). Carol began her studies at Asbury Theological Seminary in 2019 with joint support from an agreement between The Word Is Out and Asbury Seminary. Despite the political turmoil facing her home country of Myanmar and long-term separation from her family, Carol has gracefully leaned into this “equipping opportunity of a lifetime” as a global champion for The Word Is Out. She earned a Master of Arts in Biblical Studies in 2021 and, since graduating, has been able to bring God’s Word to Burmese communities both online and across the U.S. with conviction and passion. She currently teaches at Bethel Myanmar Christian Church in Nashville, Tennessee, as she awaits her dream to teach sound, biblical interpretation in Myanmar, where she has four older sisters—some of whom are pastors themselves.

Deanna Spangler

Director of Operations

Deanna Spangler is the Director of Operations at The Word Is Out and has been on the team since 2018. She earned a Master of Spiritual Formation degree from Asbury Theological Seminary in 2017. In addition to her role in operations, she is a leader in Bible Study Fellowship and in her church’s nursery, specifically the 2-3 year old class. She loves to learn and will likely be a student for life. She and her husband Matt, who is a hospital chaplain, spoil their twin girls and their dog Buddy who looks like a real life giant muppet.

Board Members

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