cornerstone

Staff

A multicultural team with solid mission experience

Cornerstone is run by a dedicated staff of WEC mission workers who feel called to the ministry of training people to be representatives of Christ in cross cultural mission work. Though all are well qualified for their specific jobs, staff members do not receive a salary but are supported by their churches and support groups. Because of this, college fees can be kept to a minimum.

The college is led by a leadership team: Scot Fogle (Principal), Tiago Fonseca (Academic Dean) and Arjan de Waaij. The staff and leadership team are accountable to the Cornerstone Board.

Scot Fogle
Scot Fogle

Scot trained in environmental science and worked in biology / chemistry in the USA before coming...

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Jens Auer
Jens Auer

Jens (BA equiv. Forest engineering) After having worked in forestry for six years he and his...

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Conni Auer
Conni Auer

Conni (BA equiv. Primary Ed) developed a special love for missionary families and their specific...

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Lydie Fogle
Lydie Fogle

Lydie trained as a nurse in France and later as a midwife in Switzerland. She did exchange service...

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Guest Lecturers at Cornerstone

We have the privilege of welcoming several guest lecturers each year who share their mission experience and expertise with us and our students. To give an impression, a short introduction of some of our regular guest lecturers.

 

Philip Sumpter – England/Germany (PhD)

Philip did a BA in Cultural Anthropology, followed by an MA and a PhD in Old Testament. He wrote his PhD while living in Bonn, Germany, where he was also able to interact with the German tradition of Biblical scholarship.
A missionary with the VDM since 2016, he served four years among Arab Christians in Nazareth, Israel, as both a theological scholar and educator as well as an English teacher in a socially disadvantaged Arab village. Since returning to Germany with his family in 2019 he has continued to serve among Arabs and in theological education. At Cornerstone he teaches parts of Cultural Anthropology, Isaiah, and Genesis 1-11.

Birgit Herppich – Germany (PhD, MA ICS)

Birgit studied Intercultural Studies at Fuller Theological Seminary in the USA. She now works at Fuller as Affiliate Assistant Professor of Intercultural Studies teaching Missiology classes.
Since 1992, Birgit has been a missionary with WEC International. Between 1993-2001 she worked in Ghana, predominantly training leaders and organising the children’s ministry with the Evangelical Church.
Since 2015 Birgit is the International Membership Department Coordinator in WEC, guiding and supporting leaders in over 20 countries in their task of preparing new missionaries joining WEC. At Cornerstone, she teaches leadership.

Michael Haller, Switzerland (MTh)

Michael studied Theology at STH Basel, Switzerland, continued with Arabic and Islamic studies at the University of Zurich, Switzerland and at an Arabic language school in Amman, Jordan (certificate). He also undertook doctoral studies at ETF Leuven, Belgium.
Michael lectures in World religions and Missions at IGW International, ISTL International and SBT Beatenberg, Switzerland. Having grown up in Cameroon he served as pastor of an international church in the Middle East for seven years and now fills various teaching and leading roles with WEC International. He is married and lives with his wife and three children in Switzerland.

Uwe Hutter, Germany (Th.M, D.Div.)

Uwe worked 2 years for the Geneva Bible Societies translating parts of the NT from Greek to German. Since 1986 he is a missionary with WEC in Spain working with church planting projects. For over 20 years he was a professor at SEFOVAN Bible Institute in Madrid, teaching OT, Hebrew (modern and old), Angelology, Christology and Contemporary Theology. Now he is professor at the FTCR (Facultad Teológica Cristiana Reformada). Uwe is also Director of the Department of Theology at Instituto Bíblico Online, Miami (Florida, USA) and member of the theological committee of the European Evangelical Alliance.

J.G, Germany (M.Th.)

J. studied theology in Basel (STH) and after a short pastorate in Switzerland continued training at All Nations Christians College (Postgraduate Diploma in Mission). J. was involved in Bible translation (NT, AT) until 2019 and contributed to media related projects. As branch leader for a few years and for Bible translation he often travelled to the Middle East. Now Area Directors for the Middle East and North Africa, he and his wife regularly visit teams across this region. At Cornerstone, he teaches the ‘History of Mission’.

Ally Gibson (MA)

Ally grew up in London and came to faith in Christ while she was a student at Birmingham University. She joined WEC in 1988 and has served in various roles: teacher and director of an international MK School, Senegal Branch Leader, UK Deputy Branch Leader and Head of Member Care. She has a Masters in Staff Care and Wellbeing and is currently part of the WEC Member Care Strategic Group with a focus on research and training. Ally is married to Keith and they have 2 adult TCKs. Ally teaches about emotional health and resilience in the mission field.

Colin Bearup, UK (MA)

Colin is currently engaged in part-time doctoral research into contemporary Sufi Islam in the West. Colin worked briefly in France and Sudan with OM in the 1980s. For thirty years, he worked with WEC in Chad involved in outreach, disciple-making and Bible translation.

Still with WEC, but located in the UK, he is working amongst Muslims and teaching others to do so. He is the author of five books on the topic of outreach to Muslims. He is married to Jean and they have three children and three grandchildren.

Rev. Randy Hacker (PhD)

Randy brings 30+ years of ministry experience across Poland, Ukraine, and East Africa. Based in Poland from 1999 to 2025, he engaged in campus ministry, church planting, and pastoral leadership while earning a PhD in missiology. Following Russia’s 2022 invasion, he expanded into refugee ministry. Randy teaches at Cornerstone, and now serves as Director of Strategic Initiatives for WorldVenture, leveraging his field expertise and missiological training to advance global discipleship.

Laurens, Netherlands (BA eq.)

Laurens completed three years of Cornerstone training in 1994 and has obtained teaching certification. He then served with his wife in the Middle East from 1996 – 2010. Since 2010, he has been ministering to Muslim migrants in Europe in various capacities. Since 2020, he is the director of Training for Al Massira International. In 2021, he graduated as a psychosocial therapist and now offers help in Dutch and Arabic. His passion is to see many Muslims come to faith and he has written the book “‘Rejected’ and Loved-from Ishmael to Hope for the Middle East”.

Alex van Nes, Netherlands

Alex served as a full-time missionary with the Belgian Evangelical Mission (BEM) in Brussels, focusing on church planting and evangelism while managing an evangelical bookstore. Afterwards, he joined Evangelism Explosion International to lead training courses in personal evangelism across the Netherlands, Belgium, and Luxembourg. Alex is now retired, but continues to serve on a daily basis as an independent street evangelist in university campuses, and inspires Cornerstone students in sharing his evangelism experiences.