LEGACY 2025 SPEAKERS
PLENARY SPEAKERS
GEORGES HOUSSNEY
Teacher and author, Georges Houssney was raised in the predominantly Muslim city of Tripoli, Lebanon. He came to faith in Jesus Christ as a teenager. Soon, God grew a deep love for Muslims in his heart, and he began to sense God’s call to full-time service among them.
Well-known for his work supervising the translation and publication of the Bible into clear, modern Arabic, Georges and his family moved from the Middle East to the United States in 1982 to minister to international students.
Georges is passionate about reaching internationals in the U.S. and abroad with the great news of salvation. He writes and lectures internationally about ministry to Muslims, and he strives to awaken a new generation who will proclaim the gospel boldly.
HANY EMMANUEL
After finishing his degree in Business, Hany started serving in the regions of North Africa and the Middle East. Hany began serving in 1994 with a major focus on discipleship and leadership training out of Egypt, Spain, and the North Africa and Middle East region.
He now resides in the United States with his wife Natalie and their two children. Hany has a passion for the church to receive God’s heart for the millions of sons and daughters of Ishmael today and spread it around the globe.
ABDU MURRAY
Abdu is an attorney, international Christian apologist, and the author of several books, including Saving Truth: Finding Meaning and Clarity in a Post-Truth World and Grand Central Question: Answering the Critical Concerns of the Major Worldviews. For most of his life, Abdu was a proud Muslim, until a nine-year historical, philosophical, theological, and scientific investigation pointed him toward the Christian faith.
Abdu has spoken to diverse international audiences and has participated in debates and dialogues across the globe. He holds a B.A. in Psychology from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, and earned his Juris Doctor from the University of Michigan Law School. Abdu lives in the Detroit, Michigan area with his wife and their three children.
BREAKOUT SPEAKERS
ADAM SIMNOWITZ
Adam Simnowitz is a minister with the Assemblies of God. He and his wife have ministered for over 25 years in Dearborn, Michigan, home to many Arabic-speaking Muslims. Their ministry includes church planting, evangelism, teaching, and writing.
He has taken part in the Legacy Conference since 2006.
SCOTT CHERRY
Scott Cherry is the Executive Minister of Advance Ministries in Dearborn, Michigan. Scott and his family of four have lived in Dearborn for over 25 years in a multi-ethnic neighborhood with Middle Eastern roots. Their mission is to advance the cause of Christ among the nations that God has brought to America—especially those represented on local university campuses.
For Scott, being both a non-traditional minister and student is a fitting identity for campus ministry among students, including Arab-Americans who are Muslims. The campus is a highly strategic sphere of ministry that intersects with other spheres in the Advance portfolio. It is often the site of first encounters with 2nd generation Muslims who also live in the community.
At the University of Michigan, Dearborn, Scott cultivates an identity as both a learner and a teacher who can intelligently, patiently, and lovingly explain the Christian faith—using the Bible as the primary source and relational apologetics as a supplement.
AARON AND JILLIAN BASHORE
Aaron Bashore has spent over 20 years ministering among Muslim communities worldwide. From leading church-planting efforts in North Africa to working with refugees in Germany, he has focused on creative evangelism, discipleship, and cross-cultural ministry. Now serving as the Lead Pastor of Christ Community Church in Dearborn, Michigan—a church in a Muslim-majority community—Aaron continues his mission of reaching the nations with the Gospel.
Jillian and Aaron have served on and led church planting teams in South America, North Africa, and Europe. She currently leads the Arab American Friendship Center in Dearborn, Michigan where she employs her passion for cross-cultural ministry to refugees and immigrants.
MARCUS REGAN
Marcus Regan and his family have lived among Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan since 2011. He earned his undergraduate degree at Hope College, where God continued to cultivate his heart for the spread of His kingdom, especially among the least reached peoples of the world. Hope is also where he met his wife, Jennifer. They now have three beautiful children.
Marcus and Jennifer have been involved in ministering to their Muslim friends and neighbors in Dearborn in a variety of ways, including teaching English and Bible lessons to women in the community, distributing gospel literature in local parks, engaging in local social media evangelism, and supporting other outreaches through their local church.
TREY AND BECKY HANCOCK
Trey and Becky Hancock have served among Arab Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan, since 1987 as Assemblies of God U.S. Intercultural appointed missionaries.
In 2000, the Hancocks started a church, meeting in their home and inviting friends to dinner and fellowship around music and the Word. They continue to minister in the community through park and neighborhood outreach, as well as English as a Second Language. The Lord has been faithful in helping plant a young church, and Trey and Becky now feel called to train others who are called to church planting in a Muslim context.
They have three children. Their daughter Ashleigh and her husband, Vesa Mättö, serve as missionaries in Asia with their three children: Rebecca, William, and Elisabeth. Their daughter Grace and her husband, Luke Halford, partner in leadership and ministering to Arab Muslims, focusing on evangelism and discipleship of young men and women. They have four children: Anna Claire, Hudson, Jane, and Bo. Their son Paul, an officer in the U.S. Army, lives in Destin, FL, with his wife Rebeka, and their family, where they minister to fellow soldiers and their families.
DR. EZIES EBRAHIM
Dr. Ezies is a passionate evangelist, teacher, discipler, public speaker, and author with a deep love for sharing the gospel and ministering to the broken. A Christian woman from the Middle East/Arabian Gulf, her life is a remarkable testimony to God’s grace, sovereignty, healing, and faithfulness.
She is the author of From Pain into Glorious Hope and is currently working on her second book, written in Arabic, to encourage and equip Arabic-speaking women around the world.
Dr. Ezies writes and records for various media platforms, including the Arabic Christian radio program Bashayer (بشاير), broadcast through the Arabic Broadcast News app. She holds a B.A. in Psychology and Cross-Cultural Studies, an M.A. in Biblical Mental Health, and a doctorate as a trauma specialist. With over 36 years of experience, she has helped countless individuals recover from emotional, mental, and sexual trauma.
Her passion is to be a voice for the voiceless and to bring hope to the hopeless through writing, teaching, and media. Dr. Ezies is also a cultural bridge-builder, using her background and insight to advocate between Arabic and American communities.
BARBARA YANDELL
Barbara Yandell is an ordained minister, teacher, and international speaker. She calls both Austin, Texas, and Holland, Michigan, home. She attended Gordon-Conwell Theological Seminary in Christian Education and holds a Master of Divinity degree. Barbara is currently working on a doctorate to mobilize the Church for evangelism to Muslims.
She is the founder of Hope for the Nations, a college missions fellowship birthed by the Christian college revivals of 1996. She also started the Legacy conference that aims to reclaim the legacy of Samuel Zwemer, the first modern missionary to the Arab World—himself the product of another college revival: the Student Volunteer Movement.
She helped publish the Engage Muslims with Christ course and workbook. Additionally, Barbara is a supporter of Horizons' refugee center in Beirut, Lebanon, and coordinates and teaches Perspectives on the World Christian Movement classes.
WISSAM AL-AETHAWI
Wissam Al-Aethawi is a convert from Islam, a native of Baghdad, Iraq, and a graduate of Sunset International Bible Institute.
His ministry, The Arab Christian Ministry, is both local and global.
Locally, he shares Christ with Muslims in Dearborn, Michigan, and teaches Christians about Islam at a global level.
JEFF AND DEBBIE DAVIS
Jeff and Debbie Davis serve in Dearborn, Michigan, where Jeff pastors Dearborn Evangelical Covenant Church and many of their church members are involved in ministry alongside them.
They serve Arabic and Latino immigrants in the greater Detroit community through ESL and other outreach ministries. They show them love and respect, and share the Good News of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
STEVE KELLEY
Steve was born and raised in Egypt. At age 19, he converted to Christianity. Prior to that, he was introduced to a Christian young people's group, which left a great impact on him. Nevertheless, though not yet interested in becoming a Christian, he did become interested in exploring the Bible.
A small group he was attending began comparing Islam to Christianity. After many months, he became convinced he wanted to become a Christian and was soon baptized. After his open declaration of conversion, Steve suffered arrest and interrogation, and was nearly killed.
After conversion, Steve became involved in ministry with Campus Crusade at Cairo University and led many college-age youths to Christ. He came to the United States in 1979, joined the Plymouth Heights Christian Reformed Church in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and studied at Reformed Bible College.
At Urbana 1979, Steve felt the call to missions. He attended Calvin Seminary, graduating in 1989, and later became associate pastor at Dearborn Christian Reformed Church, where he started the Arab American Friendship Center (AAFC) to serve and witness to the Arab community. In 1996, he became the Islamacist-at-large with Arab World Ministries, based in southern England.
He is the author of From Cairo to Christ and earned his doctorate from Providence College and Seminary. His goal is to bring Muslim Arabs to Christ and to disciple believers from Muslim backgrounds.
DR. CYNTHIA
A retired physician with decades of experience ministering to Muslims, Dr. Cynthia is active in outreach, personal evangelism, discipleship, apologetics, writing, speaking, training, and online ministry.
She has hosted two television series and has been a guest in various media outlets. Dr. Cynthia now hosts www.ChristianfromMuslim.com and YouTube/@ChristianfromMuslim channel, both focused on Muslim evangelism and discipleship. Its free videos range from short answers to a full course of lessons with study guides featuring international experts.
American Ethnic Ministries, which Dr. Cynthia directs, brings the gospel in word and deed to America’s unreached. It pioneered The Path of the Prophets, which is now used around the globe in many languages. The method’s booklets, bracelets, and bilingual dramas put the gospel in a biblical context Muslims understand.
Under a pen name, Dr. Cynthia wrote a well-reviewed book exposing the Quran. Among the awards she has received are an Excellence in Teaching award from a major American university and a Community Physician of the Year award. Former Muslim and bestselling author, the late Nabeel Qureshi, said of her, “Cynthia is one of the most effective evangelists to Muslims I have ever met.”