“We worked with Joshua at SIM International and know him to be a good and godly man. He is highly qualified and fit in every way for this prestigious position… It marks an end to the tradition that missions like SIM which started from the West, must always remain western or even be western led. It opens a new era when people from whatever people, nation, language or tongue can be involved in kingdom building at the highest level.”

“I have known Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko the very year he was appointed as Deputy International Director for Europe and West Africa. Dr. Joshua is a godly man with great vision and passion for missions globally. He is a strategic thinker and planner. He has a big heart for the Lord's work. In fact, I often tell him, "his heart is bigger than his head". I would highly recommend Dr. Joshua to be SIM's next International Director based on the leadership qualities that the Lord has given to him.”

"This is Missions gone full circle. We in EMS of ECWA rejoice to be part of the new thing God is doing in SIM. Our prayers and total support are with the Bogunjokos as he assumes the office of International Director of SIM. May the Gracious Lord continue to lead, guide and bless the entire SIM family in every way for the greater advancement of His Kingdom here on earth as it is in heaven."

"The Lord moved (and continues to move) in the institutions of higher learning in Nigeria between the 70's and 90's. This was the period that marked the rise of indigenous mission efforts pioneered mainly by Christian students and graduates of those institutions. Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko was among those Christian students who caught the fire for missions and got involved in a very practical way. He has never relented in that commitment to fulfilling the Great Commission nor has he diminished in his involvement. Rather he has been on the rise at every stage of his involvement, bringing creativity and innovations into whatever responsibility to which he was assigned. It is no surprise then that the Lord has elevated him to the highest position of leadership in the SIM at the moment. I am therefore confident that through the grace of the Lord of the Harvest - our Lord Jesus Christ - he will excel and take SIM to a greater height even as SIM is already making history through her new approaches to missions and in particular the appointment of Dr. Bogunjoko to this position in SIM. Ride on! Brother, the Lord will see you by the help of the Holy Spirit, our Teacher and Comforter".

“Since I got to know Dr. Bogunjoko, I have been impressed by his sensitivity to the things of God. He is a keen servant of God who has an amazing grasp of International issues facing Christians today. His passion for the growth and well-balanced discipleship of the church is quite obvious as one interacts with him. Yet he is such a humble servant of God without any airs at all. I appreciate Joshua as a leader in this generation and SIM for showing leadership in electing one from the majority south for the next step of era of the ministry. May God use Joshua and SIM to touch the nations of the world in an increasingly powerful way.”

"Dear SIM-family, we cordially congratulate you to the appointment of Dr. Joshua as your new International Director and compliment you to your excellent choice. As European partner organization we have already had the privilege to meet and work together with Dr. Joshua and to be blessed by his wisdom and relational skills. Indeed you have chosen a godly man and outstanding leader. We rejoice together with you and look forward to God’s rich blessings being released to His people through Dr. Joshua’s competent leadership.”

"The historic, bold and decisive step by the SIM global Missions movement through her Board, to appoint Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko, 120 years after the 3 pioneer missionaries first set foot on African soil, precisely Nigeria, confirms that God has chosen to allow the first non-Western International Director to lead SIM. This is to be highly commended without reservation for its bold statement on the future direction of the mission’s movement.

"Thankfully, Joshua is thoughtfully provocative in the right direction in his pursuit of the global mission agenda. From his University days when I first met him as a NIFES student leader, Joshua’s interest in going into missions has neither weaned nor quenched. It has instead grown from strength to tower.

"Joshua’s appointment also represents a re-positioning of SIM for the changing dynamics in the character and strategy of mission work in the coming years. It also shows SIM as a Mission movement with a vision for the future in the continuing process of re-inventing herself. This is a Holy Spirit inspired pragmatic wisdom of the 21st century. In commending Joshua’s appointment, we must also rejoice for the visionary roles played by Malcolm McGregor and Jim Plueddemann, who led SIM with clear visions into the future."

“I first met Joshua Bogunjoko in 1988 when I interviewed him for a position as a house officer (medical intern) at Evangel Hospital, Jos. I was then Director of Medical Services for ECWA and also Coordinator of Training for the Hospital. Needless to say Joshua easily qualified for selection. It was a delight for me, and my medical colleagues at Evangel, to get to know Joshua in the following years as he went to complete his residency in Family Medicine. As he learned and grew professionally, it became increasingly clear that not only was he a committed, capable and compassionate doctor, but he also had a passionate heart for missions. What a joy to now see him as our own International Director! I look forward to interacting with him in the years ahead.”

“SIM-UK has benefited from Joshua’s counsel and leadership in Europe and West Africa for several years. More recently, I have worked closely with him in SIM’s governance review task force, where his clear missiological and strategic thinking, his care for the concerns of others and his appreciation of cultural diversity have all been evident. I am delighted that God has called Joshua Bogunjoko to lead SIM in this era of global partnership in mission.”

‘”We in the European Christian Mission are delighted to hear of Joshua’s appointment. Negotiating our partnership with SIM with him was a model of cooperation and excellence in considering all the necessary aspects.”

"Greater Europe Mission is so thankful for Dr. Bogunjoko and his Kingdom mindedness. Here are two transformational moments that I have experienced with Dr. Bogonjoko.

1. As a keynote speaker to the IFMA (now Missio Nexus) meetings two years ago I heard Joshua's gentle rebuke of 65 or so North American mission leaders transform our understanding of Africa. Yet in the same moment that he was correcting our misguided views of Africa he was opening his hands in partnership. I am working to "internationalize" our 60-year-old, North American organization, and Dr. Bogunjoko is an inspiration to me – he embodies Kingdom cooperation.
2. On a more personal note as we have gone through the process of becoming partners with SIM, I have one simple yet remarkable memory of Dr. Bogonjoku. We were sitting in the airport in Abuja and had a bit of time to talk about what a partnership with SIM would look like. Joshua asked about me, about my family, about my life, and I heard about his. I saw his heart in that moment. There are many organizations that we can work with, many partnerships we can form, yet I believe that the mark of a great leader and follower of Jesus is a man who in the midst of Kingdom work has time, and cares about the people he is working with. I don't think more can be said about a leader than that he cares about people like Jesus cares about people.

"SIM's history begins in the heart of God and it was founded in 1893; two of the first three cross-cultural servants died of malaria in their first year in Africa. That kind of vision, commitment, sacrifice and steadfast obedience has marked SIM over the many decades. It now enters a new phase of its history with the appointment of the first African International Director. For such as time as this, God has been incubating Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko, Nigerian physician and veteran mission leader, to assume leadership of this global mission. From the "Soudan Interior Mission" through its thoughtful mergers to become an Africa-wide and then a global instrument of God's integral mission, SIM will serve in mission in a unique way into the future. It is a privilege to know Joshua personally, and I keenly anticipate the Spirit-guided ways that will mark his place at the helm of SIM, a truly international mission of servants from so many nations investing their lives in so many other nations of our world."

PRESS RELEASE: SIM Names Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko next International Director

Special Edition: Interview with Dr. Joshua Bogunjoko