Erick Schenckel recently began a new role as Executive Team member in Global2033, an evangelical alliance serving in and through the Catholic Church. Shortly after his graduation from Harvard College, Erick led a church-planting team that had experienced revival while on campus to establish a church and an elementary school in Massachusetts. While leading this church and earning two master’s degrees and a Ph.D. from Harvard in the Study of Religion, Erick and his wife, Elizabeth, heard God’s call to work among unreached people.  They moved with their family to Central Asia in 1996 to establish churches alongside JESUS Film teams. While in Central Asia, Erick also worked as a professor in the state university, founded a non-profit organization specializing in education and economic development, started a Bible school and served as director of a movement of nationally-led churches.  After eleven years in Central Asia, he served as strategy director for North Africa, the Middle East, and Central Asia for Campus Crusade for Christ, International® and one year as CCCi Area Team Leader for Persian and Turkic countries, before serving as executive director of Jesus Film Project from 2012-18.

Elizabeth Schenckel has been actively involved with Erick at every stage of their ministry. From 1974 to 1996, she worked alongside Erick as a teacher in the church and the elementary school. When the Schenkels lived and worked in Central Asia and then in the wider Middle East, Elizabeth served as a mentor to young Muslim women who became followers of Jesus. Elizabeth was also writer and co-producer for Jesus Film Project’s RIVKA film series, a discipleship curriculum for Muslim-background women. When the Schenkels returned to the USA, Elizabeth served Jesus Film Project as a film writer, a director of short films and leader of Women’s Strategies. She is currently active on the writing team for an animated feature-length film on the life of Jesus.