Our Board
A Pastor, a firechief, 2 nurses, a farmer, a tool and die maker and three African churchmen. Different perspectives and life experiences but all filled with the Spirit of Missions and committed to the advancement of the Kingdom of Christ. Each one below loves the Church of Jesus Christ and each one is impressed with what has already been accomplished since we organized ourselves in October 2025.
Pastor Mark Looman
Director
Mark and his wife, Dorothy, have been married for 52 years. They have 2 married daughters and 4 grandsons. Mark has led 4 churches over a span of almost 40 years, has written 5 discipleship books, and has gone on many international teaching trips. In addition to directing the work of Tanzania Rising he works in association with Live Global.
President
Andy Riley
Andy Riley is a lifelong farmer and has been married to Sarah for 21 years. Together they have 4 children, Clayton, Macy, Travis, and Reed. Andy and his family wish to be obedient to the call of our LORD and Savior, Jesus Christ, to spread the Gospel of the Kingdom to the great people of Tanzania through Tanzania Rising!!
Scott Hopkins
Vice President
Bio Here
Claire Jansen
Secretary
Claire has been married to Rick for 12 years and they have 8 year-old twin girls. Rick works at Grace Adventures camp in Mears, MI and that is where they live. Claire is a RN and works as a public health nurse and the Communicable Disease Coordinator for the public health dept. (She met Rick at camp when she signed on to be the camp nurse). Claire went on a college mission trip to Africa and since then has had a heart for the people who live there. She loves being a part of Tanzania Rising and is very excited about what the Spirit of God is doing. She is amazed at what He has already done through TR.
Treasurer
Karen Nienhuis
Karen has been married to Dave for 49 years. They have 2 sons, 2 daughters-in-law, 7 grandchildren, and 1 great grandchild. Dave and Karen were a pilot/mechanic missionary family in the 1980’s until Dave was injured in a crash resulting in a severe injury to his brain. Karen has been his caregiver since. She has supported her family by working as an RN in long-term care and rehab for 30 years. She is now retired and is serving the LORD in her local church. She counts it a privilege to serve with Tanzania Rising, helping reach people in Tanzania’s Tabora Region with the Gospel of Jesus.
Jack White
Member-at-Large
Jack and wife Priscilla have been involved in missions since their early days in Hart. They did mission trips to Mexico, (her several times} Ghana and England. She went home to glory in 2023. Jack spent 47 years working with dairy cattle both as a farmer and as a region rep. for a co-op. He just started his 56th year as volunteer firefigher and has been chief of his department for the last 20 years. —‘Tanzania Rising has increased my passion for missions and I am excited about what God is doing, and is going to do there.
Our Tanzanian Partners
Ruben Ntiyaga
Ruben has been married to Juliana for 22 years and they have five children: Spora, Daniel, Bidion, Hekima and Ilakoze. He started Hope Baptist Church 17 years ago and since then has planted 6 other churches. He understands the vital importance of discipleship. He is the area co-ordinator for Tanzania Rising and is also the area chairman for the Tabora and Nzega districts of the Association of Baptist Churches.
Charles Masanja
Charles works as a project manager for Tanzania Rising. He has worked as an engineer in the construction industry for 30 years. He is an experienced elder at Hope Baptist Church and is passionate about evangelism, church planting and discipleship. He is a proficient translator with good English skills. Charles has been married to Grace for 36 years. They have five daughters: Happy, Ruth, Anna, Elizabeth, and Sara.
Noah Mackunda
Noah is a youth ministry leader at Hope Baptist Church, Igunga. He is 28 and engaged to be married in March this year. He is an up and coming leader at Hope Baptist. He aspires to be a key teacher for Tanzania Rising. Noah has translated “The Great Apprenticeship”; “The Great Obedience”; and “The Great Indwelling” from English into his native Swahili and he has led several discipleship conferences featuring the second of these books.