Heather Mercer, founder and president of Global Hope, a ministry focused on reaching the Muslim world with the Gospel, has spent the last ten years serving in Iraq and Afghanistan. In 2001, Heather and her teammates were captured by the Taliban for sharing the Gospel in the strict Islamic state, tried for a capital crime, and miraculously released through the prayers of the saints and the bravery of the Untied States Special Forces. Her story can be read in the book Prisoners of Hope. Since 2003, Heather’s attention has been drawn to the Kurdish region of Iraq where she has launched several initiatives focused on church-planting. Freedom Center, a holistic outreached-based community center, is underway and looking towards completion in the fall 2008. Last year, Impact Iraq was launched to mobilize the Church for God’s purposes among the Kurds. Twenty-one teachers have been working on the local university campus, and the recruitment and training for next year’s team is underway.

Heather’s primary passion is to see Jesus exalted in the Church and in the nations, and to mobilize the Body of Christ to pursue God’s heart for Muslims. Heather travels around the country and speaks to thousands at missions and church conferences. She can often be heard talking about living “foolishly and fearlessly” in the Kingdom of God.