Mike & Judy Manna
Global Youth Ministry Trainers
Dr. Mike Manna is the Global Trainer Director for Youth for Christ International (YFCI). Mike and his wife Judy have been serving in youth ministry for 35 years. From 2002 to 2012, Mike and Judy lived in Kyiv, Ukraine. Mike was the founder/director of the National Center for Youth Ministry at Kyiv Theological Seminary where he trained over 100 youth ministers. He has taught Masters level youth ministry courses at several seminaries in Europe and Asia. Mike has his PhD in Intercultural Studies from Biola University specializing in cross-cultural contextualization. Judy has not only supported Mike in his ministry, but has written a chapter in the published book The Facilitator Era: Beyond Church Multiplication, as well as a respected women’s speaker. Mike and Judy have 4 children, including one child adopted from Ukraine, and 9 grandchildren. The Manna's live in the state of Indiana, USA and serve globally with YFCI.
Global Training Teams
Mike leads both the YFCI’s Global Training Team (GTT) and the YFC Academics Team as they serve more than 100 nations. The GTT facilitates training collaboration, produce training materials and develop leaders across the Youth for Christ family. The newly formed YFC Academics Team serves as an extension of YFCI’s vision and strategic focus as they train national youth workers through indigenous seminaries and bible colleges.
YouTube Channel
Mike has shared several videos on his YouTube channel called “Folding Cultures.” The focus on the beginning of their channel has been interviewing Ukrainians that are serving others despite the war. From Mike’s perspective, “Folding Cultures” means connecting to other cultures as they engage with people around the world. Mike writes, “AND we want YOU to connect to those cultures too. Folding is ‘bending or rearranging …. typically to make it easier to use.’ We see this as a form of ‘contextualization.’ We speak/read English and Russian. I wrote my PhD dissertation on contextualizing culture. We have seen so many different people who have folded cultures as they moved into a new host culture. I will share my observations of how others have folded cultures who lived before us. History, culture, language, and the spiritual all relate - and I love learning from those who have already done this. So … join us on this journey of travel and learning …” Click the link below to check out their YouTube channel. And be sure to Subscribe to their channel too.
Cross-Cultural English Camps
Mike & Judy Manna have led several cross-cultural trips with a focus on leading English Camps. In June 2024, we led a small group of Americans to partner with Armenia Youth for Christ to lead an English Camp to this beautiful country.