Shawn Bakker Nominated to Lead Core Unit at Global Ministries

New York, NY, June 1, 2012 -- A commissioned deacon who is a young leader from the North Texas Conference will lead the development and communications efforts of The United Methodist Church’s worldwide mission agency.

Shawn Bakker was nominated by the personnel committee of the General Board of Global Ministries to serve as the interim deputy general secretary of the agency’s Development and Communications unit effective immediately.

The Advance, Mission Communications, and Development departments were brought into one unit under a restructuring process in 2009. While executives in each of the areas work in partnership with each other, this new position is designed to be a bridge, creating integrated strategies that serve annual conference and local church needs.

“She has done an outstanding job directing The Advance,” said Thomas Kemper, who leads the agency, “and I am confident that in this role, she will share the stories of mission in ways that are meaningful to United Methodists throughout our connection.”

Bakker has worked for The Advance, the designated giving channel of The United Methodist Church, since 2005. Blending communications and fundraising gifts, she was instrumental in the success of 10-Fold, an annual awareness-building campaign for mission held in October.

As the Associate General Secretary of The Advance and Development department, she effectively coordinates support for missionaries and mission projects around the world, including the work of the United Methodist Committee on Relief. “I look forward to bringing Communications and Development more closely into alignment so that we can be a resource to the people who support the work of Global Ministries,” she said.

Shawn is married to Jeremy Bakker, a PhD candidate in Religious Studies at Yale University. They live in New York City with their two children, Elijah, who is three years old, and Savannah, who is four months old. As part of her leadership in the local church, Shawn serves on the Education Committee at St. Paul and St. Andrew United Methodist Church in New York, where she is an affiliate member. She maintains membership in the North Texas Conference.

Prior to her involvement with Global Ministries, Bakker was the founder and director of Project Transformation, a not-for-profit organization in Dallas that connected young adults seeking leadership opportunities to urban communities.

Shawn has other faith-based non-profit experiences as the program director at Wesley-Rankin Community Center in Dallas. She graduated from Perkins School of Theology with a Masters of Theological Studies and from Bethel University in St. Paul, Minnesota, with an education/psychology degree.