Praxis - The People

Meet the People of Praxis

A loving God put two guys, very different from one another, sovereignly
together in relationship. From this relationship emerged
The Praxis Center for Church Development.

Tom Johnston is the Executive Director of Praxis, as well as a church planter and the Lead Pastor of The Harvest Community, a network of house churches throughout Southern New Hampshire. Tom has planted four churches with his wife Cathy, with four more having come out of their ministry. In addition, Tom serves as a denominational leader for church & leadership development, and is a trained NCD Coach-Consultant. He coaches denominational leaders across the Body of Christ in church multiplication systems. Tom has also developed training curriculum for leadership development and church multiplication as well as providing mentoring, training and coaching for church planters from emerging generations.

Mike Chong Perkinson is the Senior Developer of Praxis, as well as the Lead Pastor of Estrella Mountain Church in Goodyear, Arizona, and a growing network of churches in Arizona, Northern California, the Philippines and abroad. Mike is also a trained NCD Coach-Consultant. He teaches at various colleges & schools of ministry. Not only has Mike facilitated in the planting of well over 85 churches, he has also helped start numerous training institutes throughout the western United States. Mike is at the forefront of leadership training and development in the greater body of Christ. He holds an MA from Fuller Theological Seminary. Mike & his wife, Teresa, have been married since 1983 and have two daughters.

Together, Tom and Mike have authored A New Testament Trilogy: Our God, Ourselves and Our Community, The Kingdom Quest: Preparing to Church Plant in the Post-Christian West, InBetween: Living in the Tension Between Promise and Fulfillment and are contributing authors to Beyond Church Planting with Bob Logan and Neil Cole. In addition, they have developed the Trilogy Resources for pastors and church leaders.

Coach/Trainers

Steve Seipke is a coach/consultant and trainer with Praxis. Steve also serves Church Planter Strategist with The American Baptist Churches of Vermont-New Hampshire, as well as working with church revitalization. He has been a church planter, pastor, and denominational staff member, and currently serves as the pastor of First Baptist Church in Montpellier, VT. He coaches and provides training for church planters, pastors, and denominational leaders. Steve has been involved in ten church plants and a growing network of new church starts, and is a trained NCD Coach-Consultant. He holds an MDIV from Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary. Steve and his wife, Cecilia, have been married since 1984, and reside in Vermont with their daughter and two sons.

Chris McMicken is a coach/consultant and trainer with Praxis. Reverend Chris McMicken and his wife Laurie, came to New England from Australia with Youth With A Mission (YWAM) in 1982. He was involved for 10 years in discipleship training, evangelism, teaching and missionary trips throughout Australia, USA, Canada, Mexico, Brazil and the Caribbean. He is currently planting Sojourners Fellowship in Concord, NH. In addition to his pastoral role, Chris has served the 150 American Baptist Churches of Vermont-New Hampshire in the areas of Church Health, Congregational Change, Leadership Development, Natural Church Development and Church Multiplication. He studied theology at the United Faculty of Theology in Melbourne, Australia, and is a certified Natural Church Development (NCD) Coach/Consultant. Married since 1978, Chris and Laurie have 5 daughters – and now four son-in-laws, five grandchildren and a canary.

Operations Team

Jodie McCay is the Operations Coordinator at Praxis and is the person who keeps us all on track and moving forward into the calling God has for us. Jodie facilitates all that is going on in and through the ministry of Praxis. If Jesus is doing something through Praxis, Jodie is somehow involved. She and her husband J. Alan have two daughters and are pastors-in-training via the Manchester, NH area Discipleship Development Center (DDC) led by Tom Johnston. Have an operations question for Jodie? Email Jodie here.

Daniel Fernihough is the Coordinator of Project OneEight, our global initiative in church planting through our Discipleship Development Centers. Daniel serves to facilitate these centers around the world, working in support of indigenous leadership teams. Daniel and his wife Summer have a daughter and a son. They live in Goodyear, Arizona where Daniel serves on the staff of Estrella Mountain Church with Mike Perkinson. Questions about our global ministry efforts? Email Daniel here.

Tamara Vrooman is Tom's Executive Assistant and the Prayer Coordinator for the ministry of Praxis, facilitating what is known as PIN, the Praxis Intercessory Network. Tammie has her B.Th. from LIFE Bible College and ministers with her husband Roy as part of the pastoral team in The Harvest Community. They have four children, three boys and a girl, and live in Manchester, NH. Prayer is the fuel the ministry of Praxis runs on, so Tammie’s ministry is vital. Want to join PIN and pray for the ministry of Praxis on a regular basis? Email Tammie here.

Selina McGinnin is our desktop publishing and database expert. Currently working on her accounting degree and heading towards her CPA, Selina and her new husband Tim are pastors, participating in the Manchester, NH area DDC and are currently mentoring a number of youth in inner city Manchester.

Board of Directors ~ Coming Soon!

Want to know more about those who keep an eye on Mike & Tom? Click here to read about the Praxis Board of Directors.

Some of Our Friends

It’s great to have friends and even better to have friends who will admit it in public, and still better yet – friends who will endorse you on a website! Check out what some of these nice folks have to say about the ministry of Praxis.

...click here to continue the journey