Allen Close

Home Church:  Waynesboro Church of Christ, Waynesboro, Virginia

Employment:
Waynesboro Church of Christ, Pulpit Minister

Education:
Master of Divinity from Abilene Christian University

Year Joined Board: 2009

Why serve on the Mission Alive Board
I serve on Mission Alive’s board of directors because I believe that Mission Alive is stepping into the future where God is leading His church and I want to be part of that movement.

Favorite Bible Verse:

James 4:8
Draw near to God and He will draw near to you.

Debra Ham

Bio:
Debra is the treasurer for Mission Alive and is attending Grace Crossing a Community Church of Christ. Debra graduated with a BBA from the University of Texas in Arlington. She worked for several years in the fields of accounting, finance, and auditing. Debra was blessed with the opportunity to stay home to raise her kids, which also afforded her the opportunity to volunteer at church and in the community. Debra has 25 years of leadership experience in a variety of volunteer organizations. She most recently served as the treasurer for the Kennedale Education Foundation. In her free time, Debra enjoys reading, travel, crafting, and hanging out with family and friends. Debra is inspired daily by her husband, Shawn, and has three grown children, Clayton, Carson, and Olivia, and a daughter-in-law, Laura.

Home Church:
Grace Crossing a Community Church of Christ

Education:
BBA from The University of Texas in Arlington

Year Joined Board: 2021

Why serve on the Mission Alive Board?
I believe we all have a purpose to help those around us and God puts opportunities in our path along our journey. Mission Alive is an opportunity for me to get involved with an organization that is involved with church planting and equipping leaders and I am thankful that I can serve on this board.

Favorite Bible verse: Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Jeff Hook

Jeff Hook is a partner at Headstorm, a high-end IT consultancy, headquartered in Dallas, with offices in Pittsburg, PA, and soon-to-be, Costa Rica. Headstorm helps its clients architect modern digital strategies, design innovative products, and develop software solutions that transform industries to better serve their customers.
Prior to Headstorm, Jeff was the founding CEO of a platform start-up by the name of Communitas Technologies. Communitas attempted to digitally transform the entire Faith industry by providing a modern technology platform across the various churches, denominations, para-church, and ancillary non-profit organizations. The end goal was to help people live more functional Christian lives through more personalized discipleship resources based on where a person was within their life stage, relational situations, and spiritual maturity.
Prior to Communitas, Jeff spent over 16 years helping churches improve congregational engagement through better systems to achieve better outcomes. He was the COO of ParishSOFT, a software company serving half of the Catholic market. Before ParishSOFT, Mr. Hook also founded Fellowship Technologies in 2004. Its product, Fellowship One, served over 3,000 churches in 15 countries. Fellowship One had 54 of the top 100 largest churches and 46 of the top 100 fastest-growing churches in America.
Prior to becoming an entrepreneur, Jeff spent time in executive positions in major software companies and as a management consultant, including Oracle, i2 Technologies, RealPage, Price Waterhouse, and Deloitte Consulting.
Jeff has always had a heart to help churches serve their proper role in a healthy community. Jeff grew up a pastor’s son in a small town in Missouri. His grandfather and two uncles were also pastors. He and his wife of 24 years, Brigitte, have three grown children: Jeff Jr., London, and Harry.

Jason Locke

Michael Martin

Home Church: Camarillo Christian Church in Camarillo, CA

Profession: Attorney and partner at the law firm of Myers, Widders, Gibson, Jones & Feingold, LLP in Ventura, CA

Education: BS in Biblical Studies/Missions, Abilene Christian University; MDiv, Princeton Theological Seminary; JD, Ventura College of Law

Favorite Bible Verse: Romans 8:31-39

Year joined Board: 2024

Why do you serve on MA’s board? Because it focuses on an essential aspect of Jesus’ ministry to the marginalized – to proclaim good news to the poor, to free captives, to restore sight to the blind, and to set the oppressed free (Luke 4:18-19).

Charles Pierson

Home Church: Creekside Church, Midlothian, Texas

Education:
B.S. Vanderbilt University
M.B.A. Vanderbilt University

Year Joined Board: 2018

Tom Cooper

Growing up in St. Louis, Missouri, Tom attended Missouri State University. Later, he took a job in Dallas, Texas, where he met and married Nancy. They have two adult daughters. Tom spent much of his professional career in the technology industry. After retiring, Tom and Nancy moved to Naples, Florida, where they are active in their local church, discipleship, and volunteer with Court Appointed Special Advocates (CASA). Tom has served on the Big Brothers Big Sisters, Lone Star chapter board of directors and is the founder of New Horizons of North Texas, an after-school program for underprivileged youth.