DAI Region
North America
Countries Served
- U.S.A*
- Canada*
*Indicates Ministry Center(s)
Statistics
2023 statistics
Workshop Attendees
Mentoring
Connecting
Consulting
Overview
Immigration is having a profound effect on North America.
Of the more than 370 million people who live in Canada and the United States, 55 million are first generation immigrants. More than 350 languages are now spoken in homes across the continent. Christians need to celebrate diversity as a gift from God and embrace the opportunities and the challenges of our increasingly multi-cultural family. Foremost among these challenges is the unequal distribution of resources between established and immigrant churches.
DAI’s Response
DAI is responding to the challenges of North American Christian leaders in two ways.
First, DAI trains and mentors leaders of diaspora/immigrant churches and ministries to lead with effectiveness and integrity. Pastors and ministry leaders are struggling with how to help their congregations not only adjust to their new homes, but also impact their communities here and in their home nations with the gospel. By walking alongside these leaders, DAI is impacting not only the leading edge of church growth in North America, but also the global church. Secondly, we provide consulting services as we walk alongside pastors and ministry leaders who desire to see their local and global outreach ministries become more effective.
Equipping the Diaspora Church in North America
History of DAI in the Region
DAI was birthed by Dr. James Engel and Dr. David Fraser as the Center of Organizational Excellence at Eastern College in Philadelphia in 1996. In its first two years of existence, leaders from Africa and Asia gathered with the founders at Eastern to determine the organization’s mission and new name and to help design DAI’s first ministry strategies.
In 1999, DAI moved its primary office to Colorado Springs, but currently has staff from 8 nations scattered across the continent from Los Angeles to Toronto. While never a “headquarters,” the Colorado Springs office acts as a service center to DAI’s growing fellowship of leader developers around the world through fundraising, IT, marketing and accounting. The office is also a home base for DAI’s Master of Arts in Organizational Leadership degree program and DAI’s current President.
DAI opened a ministry center in Canada in 2017. The center directs DAI’s work with Diaspora leaders in all of North America.
Our Team
Our North American team is led by Karl Mueller in Canada and Ashok Ghimire in the USA. Working alongside them are a group of trained and experienced volunteers. Each of our team members are immigrants to North America or have significant cross-cultural experience. They come from nations as diverse as Nepal, Myanmar, India, China, Egypt, Cameroon, Peru and South Africa.
Our Partners
Programs
Seminars
Our highly interactive one-day or weekend seminars cover topics such as:
- Worldview, Culture and Leadership
- Kingdom Leadership Principles
- Discovering Your Leadership Style
Additional topics:
- Leading from Below: Power and the Servant Leader
- Identifying, Selecting and Multiplying Leaders
- Mission/Purpose, Vision and Values
- Resolving Conflict
- Implementing Change
- Integrity and Accountability
Online Classes
DAI offers a number of courses in an interactive online format using Zoom throughout the year. These courses are facilitated by experienced men and women and allow everyone to learn from each other, ask questions and discuss the materials.