KING OF PRUSSIA, PA (ABNS 4/24/25)—International Ministries (IM) is pleased to announce that Dr. Rebecca (Becky) Shenton has been named Area Director for East and South Asia. Her appointment is the culmination of a months-long global search for a successor to Rev. Benjamin Chan, who retired at the end of August 2024 after serving 32 years as IM’s primary liaison with partners in India, China, Nepal and other nations in the region.
Becky holds a Ph.D. in ethics and philosophy and has taught ethics in the U.S. and Asia at all levels, from informal to graduate, for ten years. She also brings extensive experience with non-governmental organizations, having served in leadership capacities with several nonprofit organizations in the U.S., most recently as Administrator of the Agriculture, Food, and Human Values Society.
Since 2018, Becky has served as an IM Special Assistant for Nepal Relations. She has also served on the leadership team of the Community Social Enterprise Development (CSED) Initiative launched in 2022 by IM and the North East Christian University in India. This initiative aims to train and empower individuals to start businesses that meet critical social needs in their respective contexts. Through these activities, Becky has established relationships with many IM global servants and partners throughout the area.
“Becky Shenton is coming to serve as IM Area Director for East and South Asia with significant academic and administrative experience in non-governmental organizations, and established relationships and credibility with many of IM’s global servants and partners in the region,” notes Jim Bell, IM chief program officer.
Becky began her work as Area Director for East and South Asia on Monday, April 14. She joins IM’s team of area directors, which also includes Adalia Gutierrez-Lee (Area Director for Iberoamerican and the Caribbean), Karen Smith (Area Director for Africa), Kyle Witmer (Area Director for Southeast Asia and Japan), and Reid Trulson (Interim Area Director for Europe and the Middle East) while Area Director Charles Jones is on personal leave.
Rev. Dr. Sharon T. Koh, executive director and CEO of IM, expressed her enthusiasm about Becky joining the organization. “Becky will be a wonderful addition to our global mission team. Her love for her students and passion for education are immediately evident, and it is encouraging to see how God is calling Becky to this role at just the right time in her life and in IM’s history. I am very much looking forward to the chapter ahead of us in East and South Asia.”
American Baptist Churches USA is one of the most diverse Christian denominations today, with approximately 5,000 congregations comprised of 1.3 million members, across the United States and Puerto Rico, all engaged in God’s mission around the world.