The Team
Brian Walck, Executive Director
In the fall of 2000, Brian began to sense God calling him to leave his high-tech career to pursue a new “career” in ministry. After much prayer, God made it clear that he was to leave his current position and move to Dallas in order to pursue a THM in World Missions and Intercultural Studies at Dallas Theological Seminary (awarded in 2007). It was during these years at seminary that God opened Brian’s eyes to the potential for “Business as Mission” (or BAM) and Brian resolved that, post-graduation, he would dedicate his energies to seeing business used as a tool for reaching the lost with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. Shortly thereafter, Brian was introduced to Iris Liang, then Executive Director of Videre, and to Ben Chatraw and Tyler Self, the organization’s founders. In the spring of 2009, Brian joined Videre’s board of directors and in June of 2010 became its chairman. After the conclusion of Videre’s first pilot in Sudan, he led the transition from a traditional microfinance agency to the model we use today – Micro-BAM incubation. When it became time for Videre to focus on building up a leadership team and Iris Liang announced her desire to focus on operations, Brian was the natural choice to take over as Videre’s new Executive Director.
Prior to receiving his THM from Dallas Theological Seminary, Brian held a number of management positions with companies in the computer networking industry. He most recently served as Vice President of Product Management and Business Development at ArrowPoint Communication until its acquisition by Cisco Systems. He has also held positions in Engineering, Customer Service, Systems Engineering, Sales, and Strategic Planning.
In the ministry world, Brian has served as a Director at Pioneers, Right Now Ministries, Videre, and Development Associates International (DAI) and as an advisor to RAIN (Reaching Asian Indians Now). Brian, his wife, Dawn, and their two boys, CJ and Matthew, attend the Village Church in Flower Mound, where he and Dawn lead a small group and are involved in global missions. Previously, the Walcks were a founding family of LifeWay Community Church in Derry, New Hampshire where Brian served as an elder.
Iris Liang, Director of Operations
@irisliang
http://irismliang.com/
In September 2008, Iris took a major step of faith, left the investment banking world in New York City, and moved to Dallas to launch Videre. In April 2009, Iris went to South Sudan to start Videre’s first microfinance pilot site and in July 2010, traveled to northern Ghana to explore Videre’s second pilot. She served as Videre’s Executive Director for the first 3.5 years of Videre’s startup. Prior to Videre, Iris worked in private equity fundraising for UBS Investment Bank in New York City. Iris attended Cornell University, where she received a bachelors of science in Applied Economics and Management. She would attribute to Cornell as the place where she first came to know and follow Jesus Christ. This has transformed her in every way, including how she perceives the enormous gap between mainstream business and serving the poor. Iris first came in contact with bridging that gap through microfinance when she went to India in 2005 to consult a local microfinance organization. Iris was born in China and moved to the United States at the age of seven. She grew up in New York City. Iris is currently a member of The Village Church in Dallas, TX.
Iris on her transition from investment banking to nonprofit: “I’ve had a passion for economic development ever since my trip to India, but I thought banking would be a stepping stone. I thought that when I get the credibility and the money and my ducks lined up in a row, then I’d be ready to do what God has called me to do. But I had put myself in a myth of security. I heard God saying very clearly ‘I never asked you to be ready; I ask you to be willing. And when will you ever really be ready to do what I’ve called you to do? It’s too big for you.’ So I quit my job at the worst time of the recession so that I could give economic development a shot. People thought I was crazy. But I knew that as long as I stepped in obedience, God would provide. When I was asked to lead Videre a few months later, I knew that was it.”
Partners: Yendi, northern Ghana
Abukari Yakubu, Lead Pastor of Bible Church of Africa
http://yakubufamghana.blogspot.com/
Abukari grew up as a Muslim in northern Ghana. He became a follower of Christ as a teenager when a Korean missionary shared the Gospel with him. Now Abukari oversees more than twenty church plants in the Yendi area, an area where the majority of people are Muslim or traditional idol worshippers and only 5% are Christian. Abukari, his Dutch wife Joke, and their two sons Samuel and Micah are a light in that region, where they work tirelessly to help the people. They’ve started many different projects in the area that continue to change the surrounding communities for Christ, including a discipleship program, a literacy program, a goat project to provide for children to go to school, and a Home of Hope where young people can stay to continue to have an education.
Sala Seidu, Local Program Manager
Sala lives in Tamale, a city in northern Ghana. She was formerly a Muslim and is now a member of Bible Church of Africa (BCA). Sala received her degree at the University of Development Studies in Tamale and is currently finishing a teaching degree in Kumasi. Sala has previous experience working with NGOs. As Videre’s Local Program Manager, Sala is responsible for translation for business training teams, administrating loan repayments, and consulting the entrepreneurs monthly on their businesses.
Pastor Azindow, Pastor of Bible Church of Africa
Read Azindow’s incredible testimony here.
Before he became Christian, Azindow was a shrine man who practiced traditional idol worship and hated Christians. At one point, he even tried to use witchcraft to get rid of Christians in his village. But when Jesus Christ took a hold of him, he could not deny the living God and saw how foolish it was to worship things created by human hands. When Azindow became a Christian, his entire village predicted that he would die in three days, but by the end of the third day, he did not die! They extended his life to three weeks, which he survived again! Azindow has now dedicated his life to serving Jesus Christ and pastors a church in his village Kulkpene. Almost 200 people from his village who used to be traditional idol worshippers are now followers of Christ directly through him and his family. Azindow, his wife Rebecca, and their five children continued to be a light in their community.
