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President and Founder

 

Ron Luce is the president and founder of Teen Mania Ministries, a Christian youth organization that reaches millions of young people worldwide.  

Raised in a broken home, Ron ran away at the age of 15 and became involved in drug and alcohol abuse before finding Jesus at the age of 16.  The life-transforming impact of Christ inspired Ron to dedicate his life to reaching young people.  After receiving a bachelor’s degree in Theology and Psychology and a master’s degree in Counseling, Ron and his wife, Katie, started Teen Mania in 1986 with nothing more than a Chevy Citation.  Their dream was to raise up an army of young people who would change the world.

As a part of Teen Mania, Ron rallies teens all over the U.S. in arenas and stadiums at events called Acquire the Fire, with over 3 million attendees to date. In addition, the 472 acre head quarters in Garden Valley Texas host the main campus of the Honor Academy, an internship that trains high school graduates before college to be leaders with honor and integrity. The weekly international television program, Acquire the Fire, and web initiatives reaches hundreds of thousands monthly. Teen Mania has sent over 60,000 teens all over the world on summer missions trips with Global Expeditions.  Ron appeared as a teen culture expert on CNN God’s Warriors, ABC Nightline, NBC, The Sean Hannity Show, The O’Reilly Factor, 700 Club, and Focus on the Family.  

He has also written 30 books for teenagers and their parents, including one of his newest releases, ReCreate: Building a Culture in Your Home Stronger than the Culture Deceiving Your Kids, empowering parents of this young generation to reclaim influence in the home and take back the hearts and minds of their children. The teen version ReCreate Your World, which was co-written by his daughter Charity Luce, was released to aid young people in their pursuit of taking back what the culture has robbed them of; as well as, Connecting with God: A Teen Mania Devotional which was published to help teens in their daily connection with God.

Ron and Katie live in Garden Valley, Texas, with their son Cameron while their two daughters, Hannah and Charity are off at college.

Global Expeditions Staff

Emmie Harper
Director

Determines trip line up and product development

Tom Svitak
Director of Executive Operations

Runs the Operations office and manages Leadership Development

Brian Chinn
Director of International Operations

Oversees the ministry and logistics set up for all Global Expeditions projects. 

Luis Castellanos
International Operations Manager

Involved with the ministry and logistics set up for several Global Expeditions projects.

Brittany Svitak
Programs & PD Relations Manager

Creates and implements the content for leadership and missionary training.

Melissa King
Director of Contact Center

Leads the contact center in the recruitment and placement of all youth groups and missionaries

Nina Haller
Youth Group Trip Manager

Specializes Youth Group trip communications and custom opportunities

Keith Smith
Recruitment Manager

Responsible for the recruitment and application processing for solo missionary students

Kelly Denison
Retention Manager

Directs the team providing support and encouragement for solos missionaries accepted to projects and fundraising

Andrew Weibert
Admissions Manager

Processes incoming travel paperwork and domestic flight information.

Heather Murphy
Acceptance Manager

Responsible for the entire acceptance process as well as parent communications and alumni retention

Tonjua Shepherd

Marketing Director

Responsible for managing and organizing processes of mass communications through print and online resources, implements promotional programs and brand expansion.

Contact Us: 1.866.545.6239
P.O. Box 2000, Garden Valley, TX 75771