About Us

Since 2003, Engaging Worlds has been helping Muslims experience spiritual growth

Engaging Worlds began in 2003 when ten individuals provided funding for an agricultural effort in Central Asia.  

By 2006, our focus had shifted to translation and our team began the process of becoming qualified to review and approve translations for publication, as well as to train translators.  

Today, Engaging Worlds is active in nine countries across the globe.  We’ve translated scripture resources into eighteen different languages and continue to sow seeds of faith, cultivating and nurturing them as they grow.

 

Leadership

  • While in college, Joe Rice had the unique opportunity to have a Palestinian as a roommate, his first step toward understanding a Muslim's heart. After college, Joe attended graduate school, where God continued to narrow his calling to pursue building meaningful relationships with Muslims. In 1998, Joe moved his family to Central Asia and, eventually, into the home of a Central Asian host family. What started as an experimental six weeks turned into an eight-year journey of watching a family of strangers become grandparents, aunts, and uncles to their children.

    From Central Asia, God led Joe and his family to the Middle East, England, and then Turkey. In the early 2000s, Central Asia was in significant need of international development efforts. Joe saw the unique opportunity before him and founded Engaging Worlds in 2003 as a social impact organization focused on agricultural initiatives.

    As Joe gained cross-cultural experience, His conviction grew that clear, accurate, and appropriate scripture translations are critical for any lasting movement of spiritual growth among Muslims. This conviction led him to study Arabic in 2006 and later invest significant time in linguistics and translation studies at Oxford University in England, where he earned a DPhil/PhD in Islamic studies.

    Engaging Worlds became less focused on agriculture and more involved in translation projects as the years went by. In 2010, Joe began the rigorous process of becoming a translation consultant qualified to approve scripture translations for publication. In 2016, he achieved that goal.

    Today, Joe continues to be passionately committed to providing a viable path for spiritual growth within Muslim communities. Translation remains an essential facet of Engaging Worlds' work, as does developing innovative ways to ensure active and sustained engagement with the scripture resources they translate.

  • Bi-Stone Pest Control, General Manager

    Lance is the General Manager at Bi-Stone Pest Control. He has a B.A. in Biblical Studies from Criswell College. Over the years, Lance has been a church planter and has held various pastoral roles. Lance and his wife, Kelly, have been married for 23-years and have two daughters. The Barkers reside in Fairfield, TX.

  • Westmoreland Mining, LLC, General Manager

    Nathaniel is a mining engineer by degree with 19 years of surface coal mining experience. After completing his B.S. at the University of Missouri – Rolla, Nathaniel began his career with Luminant Mining in Texas before joining Westmoreland in 2018 as the General Manager of the Poplar River Mine in Saskatchewan. Nathaniel and his wife Melissa have been married for 19 years and have six children whom they homeschool. According to the season, their family spends free time engaged in dance, various sports, camping, and bike riding.

  • Seed Co, Director of Bible Translation Exploration

    Moved by the vision of Revelation 7:9, where God reveals that “all tribes and tongues and nations” will be worshipping Him, Brian and Susannah count it all joy to have been a part of scripture translation work for over 20 years. Brian is a FOBAI-qualified translation consultant and currently Director of Bible Translation Exploration for the Seed Company. He has worked with translation teams in Angola, Azerbaijan, Brazil, Nigeria, Tanzania, and Thailand. He has a DMin in Bible Translation from Gordon-Conwell Seminary, an M.A. in Intercultural Studies from Biola, and an M.A. in Biblical Exegesis and Linguistics from Dallas Theological Seminary. He and his wife Susannah have been married for 27 years. They have two kids and live in Dallas, TX.

  • Retired Landowner

    Judy and her husband, Jim, relocated from Lewisville, Texas, to Fairfield in 1985. She was the City of Fairfield's Bookkeeper for 11-years before officially retiring in 1998. In 2007, Judy took her first trip to Turkey, where she fell in love with the people. Since that first eye-opening and heart-expanding trip, Judy has gone back to Turkey 11 times. In 2010, Judy started volunteering in Engaging Worlds’ back office, and two years later stepped into the role of Treasurer.

  • Daniel has spent his career in sales and marketing at Google, Stripe, and now his own consulting business. At these companies, he partnered with Muslims to start interfaith groups and discussion groups in the workplace. Daniel is passionate about the Kingdom of God and seeks to use his skills from the marketplace in the nonprofit and ministry contexts. Daniel and his wife have been married for eight years and have three children. The Stallsmiths reside in Menlo Park, CA.