International (MNN)–Carl A. Moeller has been appointed new President/CEO of Open Doors USA, according to the Open Doors USA Board of Directors.
Open Doors with Brother Andrew, which will be celebrating 50 years of ministry in 2005, is an outreach to Christians worldwide who are being persecuted for their faith in Jesus Christ.
Moeller, 42, previously served as Pastor in membership at Saddleback Valley Community Church, one of the largest and best known churches in the country.
“God has given Carl a unique blend of academic knowledge, worldwide field experience, development skills and pastoral care,” says Al Janssen, Chairman of the Open Doors USA Board of Directors. “With all of these qualities combined with the gift of leadership, I believe Carl will play an important part in expanding the mission of Open Doors as it continues to help millions of Christians who are being persecuted for their faith.”
Moeller says he is “thrilled to accept the position as President/CEO of Open Doors USA. My wife and I have truly felt the hand of God leading us to this ministry. We look forward to the many great things that the Lord has planned for Open Doors.”
He adds: “I believe that the single most important assistance that Christians in the United States can give to the suffering Church is prayer- but that prayer is uninformed without a concentrated effort to bring awareness of the need to Christians here. I believe that mobilizing the support of Christians in the United States is vital, and my most important task with Open Doors is to unite and motivate believers all across this country to meet the challenge of supporting our suffering brothers and sisters.”
Moeller was responsible for all ministry activity for single adults at Saddleback Church, which includes over 2,000 single adults in small groups and approximately 10,000 single adults who attend Saddleback. He helped grow this area from 100 singles in small groups and approximately 250 attending a weekly meeting.
Moeller’s ministry began in 1983 when he joined Campus Crusade for Christ International. His positions at Campus Crusade included serving on the campus staff at the University of Minnesota, associate chaplain at Yale University, manager for The Dick Purnell Ministry and European representative based in Starnberg, West Germany.
Moeller says his experiences with Campus Crusade had a huge impact on his life.”My experience with Campus Crusade had a profound impact on the nature of my ministry as well as my personal spiritual development. I gained a world Christian perspective from working with church leaders in eastern European communist countries. My wife and I found that the church was vitally alive despite decades of persecution and harassment from government officials. “Previous to that, in one central Asian region I led one of the very first efforts of Campus Crusade to make contact with believers there – my teammates and I were interrogated by local officials about our activities.
God was faithful and we were able to complete our ministry assignment. However, I found that many of my friends in the United States were almost completely unaware of the needs of the church in these countries. Since then God has directed my ministry in various fields to equip me for my position with Open Doors.”
Moeller’s work experience also includes Director of Institutional Advancement and Director of Alumni Relations at Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in Chicago; Director of Development/Major Gifts Officer at the University of Illinois at Chicago; Assistant Vice President for Institutional Advancement at Westminster College of Salt Lake City and
Associate Pastor at the Evangelical Free Church of Salt Lake City.
Moeller earned a Bachelor of Science degree in biology from Pennsylvania State University in 1983 and a Master of Divinity degree (cum laude) from Trinity Evangelical Divinity School in 1993. He will receive a Doctor of Philosophy degree in Educational Leadership and Policy from the University of Utah in December.
He is a member of the Salt Lake Theological Seminary Board of Directors and is an adjunct faculty member at Biola University (La Mirada, CA).
Moeller is co-author of the book “Being God’s Man As A Satisfied Single.” Moeller and his wife Kim have been married for 16 years and have four children ages 3 to 10. They reside in Trabuco Canyon, CA,
An estimated 200 million Christians worldwide suffer interrogation, arrest and even death for their faith in Christ, with another 200 to 400 million facing discrimination and alienation.
Open Doors, founded almost 50 years ago by Brother Andrew, author of the best-selling book “God’s Smuggler,” serves and strengthens the Persecuted Church in the world’s most difficult areas through training, Bible and literature distribution, community development and personal encouragement.
For more information, go to: www.odusa.org. Or, to request a complimentary six-month subscription to the monthly newsletter and prayer bulletin, call 888-5-BIBLE-5.
