Oye Waddell
Mike Gunn has been a friend, mentor, father- figure, discipler, shepherd, and colleague of mine for the past 25 years. Mike Gunn is a man of deep conviction and leads people into the way of loving and following Jesus. In college, I learned (specifically) from Mike Gunn the "heart of being a servant of the Lord" in all areas of my life. For example, I had an opportunity to live with Mike Gunn in Seattle, Washington (while playing football at the University of Washington) for two years. I watched Mike lead students, pastor a church and most important love his family! He was a great example of how men should sacrifice and live their lives for the sake of his family and others. I appreciate the opportunity to write this reference in that I have been able to follow in the steps of Mike Gunn as a Church planter and Community Leader. Currently, I lead a ministry named Hustle PHX. The mission of Hustle PHX is to empower men/women in urban-inner city communities throughout Phoenix with the intellectual, social and financial capital to start businesses that glorify God and serve their neighbors. In addition, I am in the process of planting an urban-inner city community church within Phoenix, AZ. Watching Mike Gunn model loving his family and leading in ministry has inspired me to do the same! I endorse Mike Gunn for not only his academic and pastoral achievements but also for the way he loves, cares and sacrifices for people!
Simply put, Mike Gunn has been the single most important and impactful Christian man I’ve known in my life, and is the greatest example I’ve encountered of a man who truly and fully endeavors to be Christ-like. To be sure, there are many good Christian men in the world, but among those I’ve known, he stands apart for his ceaseless integrity, passion, and humility. He has been both a mentor and a friend over the 28 years I’ve known him, and he continues to serve and lead in the way the Bible instructs, with wisdom and selflessness. I endorse his work and character without hesitation, and in the strongest possible terms.
I've known Mike for 30+ years and admire him greatly. Like most 'missionaries' he has set aside many of the comforts of this world for the sake of God's Gospel. His passionate heart for our triune God & His Truth and for all people, especially those who need to know Jesus, is exemplary. And he is a wonderful father, grandfather, husband, and friend to everyone. Mike is also one of the most intelligent & insightful people I know. His only Achilles heel is that he's very competitive. He'll never let you win at anything. But, as I mentioned, he's zealous about truth!! I love the guy anyway
Michael Sylvester
We could not offer a stronger word of support for the Antioch Initiative under the leadership of Mike Gunn.
Loving God. Loving people. God’s Word. Semper fidelis in praxis (always faithful in practice): these words reflect the work of the Antioch Initiative. As founder and executive director, Mike Gunn has been skillfully and faithfully leading the Antioch Initiative Strategy of: Gospel Training, Community Outreach, and Serving the Marginalized. Global in scope and world class in excellence: we have enjoyed partnering in work, laboring together in prayer, and admiring our God for His work through the Antioch Initiative. We continue to enjoy the blessing of continued service together both now and in the future: we are richer for it…
I have known Mike Gunn for almost 30 years. I first met Mike on the University of Washington campus, during his time serving with Athletes in Action. I am fortunate and blessed to count him as a long term, strong and trustworthy friend. He has a passion for reaching people with the wonderful Good News of Jesus. This outreach is local and to the far ends of our planet, while it has spanned decades. It is easy for me to provide Mike the strongest of references.
Mike Gunn has been my pastor and a close friend. He has a tremendous desire to share the Gospel with unreached people in the U.S. and abroad. His depth of biblical knowledge and ability to convey what he knows to others can be seen in the countless believers that have come to know Jesus through his efforts. I've spent early mornings and late nights with Mike in Bible studies or theological discussions that helped me sharpen my faith and continue on my Christian walk. He has also worked towards inclusion and diversity in all forms of his ministry, choosing people of varying ethnic backgrounds to serve on leadership teams and planting a church in the heart of a historically Black neighborhood in Washington. Mike lives out his faith in a way that is rare & is real and I'm excited he's sharing his teachings and insight with others
Mike and Donna Gunn have served as our spiritual mentors for the past 4 years. Our relationship began in early 2017 when we walked through the doors of Anchor Community Church and we were greeted by a leadership team (led by Pastor Mike Gunn) that valued sound biblical teaching, community outreach, missions, and justice. Both Mike and Donna provided premarital counseling and were instrumental in establishing our relationship with a strong foundation. Over the years, we have supported their missions work and continue to reap the fruit of their counsel in our daily lives.
I was the lead Elder on the Search Team that brought Mike in as our senior pastor at Anchor Church in Long Beach, California. During that time, as an elder, partner, friend etc, I worked closely with Mike and developed a relationship that has endured to this day. I found Mico to have an unquenchable passion for teaching, preaching and spreading the gospel. He is an indefatigable worker for the Kingdom of God! It was evident from the start that his heartfelt desire for reaching lost souls and discipling them for Christ was present in every facet of his ministry and was the focal point of his life. Mike’s knowledge of the Bible, his writing, speaking and teaching skills are immeasurable. In addition to his many talents, Mike defines the word “friend.” “Great is Thy Faithfulness” is a song written about our Lord, but those words can also be applied to Mike Gunn.
I have known Mike for almost 30 years. He was my pastoral supervisor during my last year of seminary and we have been very close friends ever since. He served on my external advisory team when we planted our church 18 years ago and brought incredible wisdom to that team. Mike was a big influence in my life when it comes to the development of my reformed soteriology and view of missional engagement. Mike has positively influenced countless pastors and is committed to equipping pastors in the most difficult areas of the planet. We have traveled the world together training pastors and church planters on four different continents. He has an incredible grasp of the gospel, is robust theologically and doesn’t back away from the challenges of equipping pastors. Our church and our family have been a part of financially supporting Mike and Ai for years.
Thanks to God for the emboldened and inspiration in Christ through Pastor Mike Gunn. He has been visiting us in Pakistan since 2016. Pakistan is an orthodox Muslim Majority country. No doubt, mission work is tough and risky in Pakistan. Religious minorities in Pakistan, including Christians, are sometimes subject to violence and unequal treatment. Some violence against Christian aims at targeting American interests and symbols of Western cultures, which has undoubtedly influenced the church in Pakistan in many ways. But I humbly want to endorse the passion and dedication of Pastor Mike Gunn for the Gospel in Pakistan. He has a devoted heart for the Church Leaders in Pakistan. His missionary visits in a challenging environment of our country are always fruitful for local Pastors.
Mike Gunn was an Acts 29 international director who helped plant several churches in Africa as well as the United States. For many years preaching, training church planters, and coordinating missionary trips to many countries were his passion. My wife and I met him personally in May 2005 when he was planting Harambee Church in the Seattle area. The following year, in March 2006, my wife and I visited Mike Church for a week. Their church moved into the place of worship they bought in Washington state. Next, Mike Gunn, David Fandey, Gene Cook, and Rob Smith came to Kitwe, Zambia to host a conference. It was at this conference held in January 2007 that I was trained and later assessed to become an A29 missionary. Eventually, Mike led four mission teams in Kinshasa and they helped teach in our seminary in Kinshasa, plant the Bel-Air church in Southwest Kinshasa, preach in our churches in Yolo, Kindele, Makala, to visit our community school in Kindele, orphans in Mont-Ngafula and to host pastoral conferences in Kasavubu. It is a divine privilege to partner with Mike Gunn and we look forward to his visit next year. Please join us in prayer that the Lord will continue to strengthen him and use him as an instrument for his glory.
True Ministers of the Gospel are known and respected on the basis of the nature of the gospel they preach and the life they live that reflects the nature of that gospel they preach. Mike's life and ministry is a true reflection of the true gospel of Jesus Christ both in the sound interpreted gospel content and in his daily personal and family life. They have stood with People For Jesus Ministry since the year 2008 in areas of Church Planting, Church leadership development, and empowerment, and Community projects and development among others. Michael Gunn and his wife Donna Gunn train our Church leaders every year at national conferences in which they are the key speakers. Their children and their whole family is a good Christian family worth emulating. The Antioch Initiative/Jesus Culture is a ministry that truly stands for the Jesus model of holistic and transformational leadership. I strongly recommend pastor Michael Gunn and The Antioch Initiative/Jesus Culture to any Theological seminary, Church, and Christian ministry that needs to develop a truly holistic and transformational ministry. Our ministry partners and myself value Mike and his ministry because of the valuable contributions they make in the work of the Kingdom of God as stated above.
Through our partnership with The Antioch Initiative, we are able to bring Bible back to the Biblical lands. Working with mature, faithful people who are knowledgeable in the Word of God is such a blessing and encouragement for us. Certainly, the gospel needs to be preached and Turkey is a difficult and challenging environment, and we are so thankful for The Antioch Initiative to take a lead on that. We need to have sound teaching in our land and other unreached nations, so my prayer is that the Word of God is to be preached around the world through the ministry of The Antioch Initiative. It is truly a privilege to call them a partner.
Mike Gunn has been a personal friend of mine for over 35 years. We were together at Talbot Seminary where we met for the first time. I know Mike &Donna and also their kids when they were small. Mike and Donna have been visiting India every year since 1997 and have personally influenced and sharpened my theological thinking in many ways. He has been a great encouragement for me personally since the time our ministry was small. He has been involved in teaching and training several hundreds of people in sound doctrine, missions and culture and also at our Seminary in India. When God started increasing the work of Vision Nationals every year, he recognized that we needed more funding to meet the needs of growing ministry. Burdened, for our needs, he had introduced VN to many of his friends and some of whom became great supporters to VN, while some others visited and blessed us in many ways especially by involving in teaching. His passion for missions, teaching, taking challenges in visiting hard places all around the globe is admirable. He doesn’t slowdown in going around the world to teach and train nationals and influence people for the Kingdom of God. He is a great teacher, a good friend and encourager of true disciples. We continue to uphold Mike Gunn and his family and all that he does through Ai to bring the good news to the world.
I serve as the senior pastor of a church in Sydney’s south west. Mike has generously sowed into me, our young leaders, our church, and a network of pastors in Sydney. Mike’s gift of reading culture and urging the church to contextualise it’s ministry of the gospel has been a tremendous help to me and our network
Shebu John (Australia)
I am thankful for the ministry of Mike and Donna. Their love for Jesus and His gospel shapes everything they do. Mike’s ministry experience in various contexts brings insight into many contexts
