Core Discipleship Trainers

Shadrack Hoidi – Core Discipleship – Africa Training Director

Shadrack Hoidi serves as the Africa Training Director for Core Discipleship, providing relational oversight, alignment, and encouragement to trainers across the continent. His role is rooted in service—strengthening biblical disciple-making, guarding the Core Discipleship process, and helping raise up faithful leaders in every nation God opens.
Shad is married to Millcent Hoidi, and together they are raising their son, Ethan. Since 2018, Shad has been deeply committed to discipling and training young people in universities in western Kenya. Week after week, he opens his home to student discipleship groups, and during university holidays, he hosts extended training intensives focused on obedience-based disciple-making. His life and ministry reflect a consistent pattern of relational investment, spiritual depth, and reproduction. In addition to his work with students, Shad disciples pastors and missionaries in countries such as Nigeria and Congo, helping leaders return to simple, biblical patterns of following Jesus and making disciples. He has completed Core Discipleship’s Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced training and is a member of the Core Master community. He has worked in close partnership with Core Discipleship since 2021.
Shad holds a BSc in Disaster Management and Environmental Technology, bringing both practical wisdom and spiritual discernment to his leadership. Those who know him consistently describe him as humble, faithful, and deeply committed to seeing lives transformed through obedience to Christ. As Africa Training Director, Shad walks alongside certified trainers in multiple countries, supports the development of national training leaders, and helps cultivate a culture of depth, faithfulness, and multiplication. He believes Africa is being positioned by God as a missionary-sending continent—and that disciple-making, lived out in everyday relationships, is the tool God is using to bring lasting fruit.

Abo Godfrey – Core Discipleship Trainer Nigeria

Abo is from Benue State in Nigeria’s Middle Belt. Born in 1990 into a religious Catholic and polygamous family, he grew up active in church but without a transformed life. In May 2011, during his final year of secondary school, Abo had a life-changing encounter with Jesus Christ and committed himself to following Him faithfully. Since then, he has continued to grow in his walk with God through consistent discipleship, Bible study, and ministry.

He pursued higher education beginning in 2013, serving as General Coordinator of the Deeper Life Campus Fellowship (DLCF). He earned a diploma in Local Government Administration and later completed an HND in Public Administration (equivalent to a BSc). He also completed a one-year certificate with Shiloh Apostolic Mission School (Australia) through its Nigeria branch, along with other Christian training courses. He is married to Angela Godfrey, and they are blessed with three children: Mishael, Tomuter, and Gospel. Abo joined Core Discipleship in 2023 while seeking a clear, biblical model to help new believers grow strong in their faith. He sees Core Discipleship as an answer to prayer and gives glory to God for the journey.

Stephine serves as a deputy overseer with Team of God Worship International Ministries in Uganda and as General Secretary for the Born-Again Pentecostal Churches in Dokolo District. He came to faith in Christ in 1999 and has remained committed to preaching the true gospel and equipping believers for faithful service. Stephine is married to his wife, Grace Opio, and together they are raising their children: Teopista, Christabel, Godlive, Paul, Abel, and Jaspher. Their home also reflects a deep commitment to caring for adopted orphans. He is currently pursuing a bachelor’s degree in biblical studies, continuing to deepen his understanding of Scripture for effective ministry. With a heart for multiplication, Stephine leads in church planting, discipleship, and leadership training across Uganda and beyond. His ministry also includes compassionate outreach, serving orphans, widows, youth through sports ministry, farmers, men, women, church leaders, and impoverished communities. Stephine has completed the Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Core Discipleship training and is an active participant in the Core Discipleship Master’s Community. Through this ongoing formation, he is committed to living out and multiplying a gospel-centered, relational model of disciple-making. Currently, Stephine’s primary focus is disciple-making and outreach, with special emphasis on the Core Discipleship vision, helping ensure that the true gospel is clearly heard, faithfully lived, and passed on to others.

Abeid Mwambanga was born in 1971 in Tanzania and accepted Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior 2000. His life and ministry have been shaped by a deep commitment to the Word of God, the work of the local church, and the calling to make disciples. Abeid completed his advanced level education in 1995. He earned a Certificate in Theology in 2006 and later completed his Degree in Theology in 2018. He has also completed Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced Core Discipleship training and is a member of the Core Discipleship Master’s Group. Abeid has served as a pastor since 2010 and continues to lead with faithfulness and perseverance. Together with his wife, Grace, he oversees Harvest International Church in Tanzania. Their ministry focuses on evangelism, disciple-making, and church planting, especially among outlying and unreached communities. Tanzania is home to many Christians yet also includes numerous unreached and resistant tribal groups. Abeid and Grace actively take the gospel beyond church walls, reaching rural and remote areas, including nomadic peoples such as the Maasai and the Hadzabe. In a context where outside influences increasingly challenge the Church, their work remains rooted in Scripture, obedience to Jesus, and the multiplication of disciples. Through Core Discipleship, Abeid is committed to training believers to follow Jesus faithfully and to help others do the same—strengthening the Church and advancing the gospel throughout Tanzania and beyond.

Sebsibe Wolasso – Core Discipleship Trainer Ethiopia

Sebsibe Wolasso serves as a seasoned Bible teacher, missionary, and disciple maker based in Dilla, Ethiopia. He is married to his wife, Sarah, and together they are raising six children. Their family is deeply committed to the work of God’s kingdom across Ethiopia and beyond. Sebsibe served faithfully for 25 years as a Bible school teacher at Dilla Amharic Bible School, investing deeply in the formation of pastors and leaders. He has also served cross-culturally as a missionary, sent by his local church. His ministry experience includes short-term service in South India, seven years as a long-term missionary in South Sudan where he planted two churches, and one year in Isiolo County, northern Kenya, where he planted another church.

Currently, Sebsibe is focused on prison ministry, serving five prisons across southern Ethiopia. These include Dilla Prison with approximately 1,800 prisoners; Yabelo Prison with 2,500 prisoners located 212 kilometers from Dilla; Adola Prison with 1,800 prisoners located 167 kilometers away; Bule Hora Prison with 1,200 prisoners located 110 kilometers away; and Moyale Prison with 950 prisoners located 413 kilometers from Dilla. His vision is to establish Core Discipleship groups in each of these prisons, training inmates to follow Jesus deeply and reproducibly. He began Core Discipleship training at Dilla Prison in 2025, where five Core Groups are now active and continuing. Due to financial limitations, training has not yet begun in the remaining four prisons. Sebsibe remains ready to travel and train as the Lord provides resources for transportation and ministry expenses.

Sebsibe has completed the Core Discipleship Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced trainings and is an active member of the Core Discipleship Master’s Community. He holds a Bachelor of Theology degree in Pastoral Ministry and a Master of Theology degree in Christian Leadership. Sebsibe and Sarah have six children: Lidia, Samuel, Benjamin, Solomon, Yisak, and Temesgen.

Taizul Morol – Core Discipleship Director Bangladesh and South Asia

Taizul lives in Bangladesh, was born into a Muslim family. He was then introduced to Jesus and He became his Lord and Savior. Taizul began attending and completed his studies at CCC Theology College. He worked as a mentor for two years, then trained for two more years as a Master Trainer with Tree of Life (IMB) in Bangladesh. Later, God led him to evangelize in new areas, and he graduated from a program in India focused on Muslim evangelism. He left Tree of Life and started independent missionary work. In God’s grace, he is now reaching hundreds of Muslims and Hindus with the Gospel.

Today, Taizul has completed Core Discipleship’s Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced training, is a member of Core’s Master community, and oversees a group of more than 30 Core Discipleship leaders who have launched more than 100 Core Discipleship-based house churches throughout Bangladesh. Taizul is married to Mukta Khatun, and they have two children: Jesun and Jessica. In God’s grace, his entire family has accepted Jesus as Lord and Savior.

Kashif Christopher – Core Discipleship Director Pakistan

Kashif was raised in a Christian family in Faisalabad, Pakistan, but his true walk with Jesus began in 2008 when he was baptized and born again. Since then, his life has been devoted to preaching the Gospel and making disciples. He founded the International Prayer Group (IPG) to intercede for the lost and to strengthen believers. Kashif also has a special passion for serving families living and working in Pakistan’s brick kiln communities—places where many are trapped in cycles of debt-bondage and poverty while laboring in dangerous conditions. Through small schools and Sunday schools, he provides children with both education and the hope of Christ. His ministry also reaches Hindu, Sikh, and Muslim communities with the Good News of Jesus. He has completed Core Discipleship’s Basic, Intermediate, and is enrolled in Advanced training by Taizul Morol. Since then, Kashif began multiplying disciples and raising leaders more effectively. By God’s grace, he has helped establish over 65 home churches across Pakistan—centers where believers grow in faith, worship together, and live as disciples who make disciples.

Ashish Pal – Core Discipleship Director India

Before coming to Christ in 1995, Ashish’s life was marked by sin and destruction. God intervened when he received a small booklet about forgiveness, and Romans 6:23 deeply convicted his heart. Through prayer, discipleship, and regular church attendance, Ashish’s life was transformed, and in 1997 he was baptized, surrendering fully to Jesus Christ as his Lord and Savior. Since then, Ashish has dedicated his life to making disciples and planting churches. He now leads six house fellowships, four children’s ministries, and a local church with over 65 believers. He continues to reach villages where the name of Jesus has not yet been heard, training believers and leaders to multiply the work of God’s kingdom. Ashish’s family also follows Christ with him, and together they are committed to serving Him faithfully.

Sujit Kumar Nayak – Core Discipleship South India Training Director India

Sujit serves as the South India Training Director for Core Discipleship. He lives in India and was born into a Christian family. From a young age, his parents dedicated him as the eldest son of his household, shaping his sense of responsibility and service. Sujit completed his Bachelor of Arts and later pursued theological training at Asian Biblical Seminary in Kerala, where he earned his Master of Divinity. He has served as a pastor and Bible school teacher, teaching Certificate and Graduate-level theology students with Gospel for Asia for four years, and later at the I.E.T. Institute in Maharashtra for two years. Following God’s leading, Sujit served as an evangelist in Odisha, ministering in rural villages across India. He later began independent missionary work, equipping pastors, evangelists, and believers throughout the country. His burden is to reach India’s villages, equip believers for Jesus Christ, and prepare them for God’s Kingdom. Sujit has completed Core Discipleship Basic and Intermediate Training. He oversees 20 Core Discipleship leaders who have launched more than 28 Core Discipleship–based house churches across India.

Dem Khuo Thang – Core Discipleship Director Myanmar

Dem was born and raised in a Christian family in Yangon, Myanmar. He accepted Jesus Christ as Savior and Lord in 1994, a decision that marked the beginning of his lifelong call to ministry. He pursued theological training in India, earning a Bachelor of Theology in 1998 and a Master of Divinity in 2001, both accredited by the Asia Theological Association (ATA). Over the years, Rev. Thang has served faithfully as a full-time lecturer at the Christian Bible School in Tamu, Myanmar, and as Youth Director in the Christian Church of Myanmar Assembly. He is married to Sayama Khin San Win, and together they are blessed with two daughters. In 2018, he completed a Master of Arts in Intercultural Education at Bethany International University in Singapore. That same year, the Lord placed a vision in his heart to reach the unengaged and unreached people groups of Myanmar. In response, he established the Myanmar Crystal School of Missions (MCSM) in 2019. Under his leadership, MCSM continues to train and send young believers across Myanmar to share the gospel, make disciples, plant churches, and help new believers stand firm in their faith as active members of the body of Christ. Dem has completed Core Discipleship’s Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced training and is a member of Core’s Master community.

Claudette B. Laganipa – Core Discipleship Trainer Philippines

Before planting a church in Iloilo City, Philippines, with her husband Ron in 2023, Claudette served faithfully as a church leader with a deep passion to help people follow Jesus. Iloilo City is predominantly Roman Catholic, with deep roots of devotion—especially to Our Lady of the Candelaria of Jaro. While this tradition shapes much of the city’s religious identity, it also presents a significant challenge in evangelism and disciple-making, as many people equate cultural devotion with personal faith in Christ. Together, Claudette and Ron have made disciple-making the heartbeat of their ministry—patiently walking with people toward a personal relationship with Jesus and nurturing a growing movement among young adults and families. In 2025, they launched Empowered Leadership, a ministry initiative designed to equip pastors and church leaders across Iloilo City and Province with practical, professional, and spiritual training for effective ministry.

Henri Gultom – Core Discipleship Trainer Indonesia

Henri and Ima Gultom serve faithfully among orphans and students in North Sumatera, Indonesia. With very limited personal resources, they are sacrificially building a discipleship outreach center where children can be welcomed long-term, loved deeply, and formed as disciples of Jesus. They minister on the streets and among vulnerable children, seeking to raise a new generation in a culture marked by widespread prostitution, abandonment, and orphanhood. Many children are brought into their own home, where Henri and Ima live life with them, model Christlike love, and train them in godliness. Henri has completed Core Discipleship Basic, Intermediate, and Advanced training and currently serves as a member of the Core Discipleship Master’s Group.

Michelle Buchanan – Core Discipleship Global Women’s Trainer

For the past twelve years, Michelle Buchanan has been walking alongside women, helping them grow in their relationship with God and discover His unique calling for their lives. Her heart beats for life-changing transformation through Christ. With a background as a ministry leader, life coach, consultant, writer, and teacher, Michelle brings a wealth of experience and a deep passion for sharing the love of Jesus both locally and globally. Michelle lives in Texas, USA, and is the proud mother of five adult children. She holds a Bachelor’s degree in Deaf Education and continues to grow in her own spiritual journey—having completed the Basic Core Discipleship Course and now progressing through the Intermediate level. She currently leads several Core Discipleship groups, where she guides others in deepening their faith and walking boldly with Christ. By God’s grace and in His perfect timing, Michelle is now Core Discipleship’s Global Women’s Discipleship Trainer- equipping women around the world to follow Jesus and lead others to do the same.

Dave Martin – Core Discipleship Trainer

Dave retired in 2017 after a diverse career that included serving as a chiropractic physician, executive assistant, and corporate trainer. Throughout his professional journey, he developed a passion for teaching, mentoring, and helping others grow—skills he seamlessly carried into his ministry work. For many years, he has been deeply involved in local church teaching and disciple-making, investing in believers to help them grow as faithful followers of Jesus. Dave is the founder of Mosaix PDX, a multiethnic church network, and the PDX Diaspora Coalition, both initiatives focused on building vibrant, diverse communities united in faith and mission. A lifelong Portlander, he treasures his roots in Oregon and the relationships he has cultivated there. He has been married to his wife, Becki, for 53 years. Together, they have raised two children and are proud grandparents of four, all of whom live nearby—allowing Dave and Becki to enjoy daily blessings of family, faith, and community.

Doug Morrell, President/Founder and Global Core Discipleship Training Director

Doug is dedicated to helping followers of Jesus learn how to make more disciples. He started in 1989 with a small group of three men and has since discipled many men and women around the world. Doug has a strong passion for disciple-making and has worked with ministries like Wycliffe, DiscipleLand, Center of Hope, Bridge Builders, New River Fellowship, and Project 4031.