VALLEY FORGE, PA (ABNS 9/21/09)—Rev. Joan Friesen has been elected to serve as the next executive minister for ABC Greater Indianapolis (ABCGI).

“Rev. Joan Friesen brings a variety of skills and experiences well suited for ministry with the American Baptist Churches of Greater Indianapolis,” said Dr. Wayne M. Paulsen, interim executive minister of ABCGI.

“I am delighted that she has accepted this call and I believe that she will provide the needed leadership to help the Region move ahead with both promise and possibility,” Paulsen said.

Friesen comes to this position after serving since November 2007 as director of church relations at Redwood Glen (a San Francisco Bay Area Christian Camp and Conference Center).

Prior to that, she served as minister of mission support in the American Baptist Churches of the Northwest and as a consultant to the America for Christ Offering Committee of the Board of National Ministries. Friesen is a graduate of Linfield College in McMinnville OR and American Baptist Seminary of the West in Berkeley, CA.

“Rev. Friesen will be a wonderful match for the current needs of the region and is perfectly equipped to lead the congregations and leaders to new heights of ministry in the Greater Indianapolis area,” said C. Jeff Woods, associate general secretary for regional ministries.

“I am both honored and excited to see what God will do in us and through us in the Greater Indianapolis Region,” Friesen said. “I've already been able to experience first-hand several churches that are taking seriously the call to be Christ's hands and feet in their communities."


American Baptist Churches is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with 5,500 local congregations comprised of 1.3 million members across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.