A Mission Society for Greater Austin
We long to see the gospel of Jesus shared and the kingdom of God expressed in the Greater Austin Metropolitan area.
Greater Austin Mission Society helps the Church across Greater Austin live out its unity in Christ by building trusted relationships, understanding the city together, and supporting work none of us can do alone.
Founded in 2025, the Society is a Christian nonprofit serving churches, ministries, leaders, and disciples across the region. It grew from years of prayer, research, relationship, and shared ministry among people who love the Church and care for Greater Austin.
The Society’s conviction is rooted in Jesus’s prayer that His people would be one so the world might believe the Father sent the Son. We do not create the Church’s unity. Everyone who belongs to Christ already belongs to His body. The Society helps churches and leaders practice that unity through prayer, relationship, shared understanding, and mission.
Our Place in the Body
Christ is the head of the Church, and the Spirit gives it life. The Society does not govern churches, speak for them, or ask them to surrender their particular callings. It serves as connective tissue, helping churches, ministries, leaders, and disciples find one another, understand the city together, and carry shared responsibility in love.
The Society is independent of any single congregation, denomination, network, or movement. That independence allows it to serve across existing boundaries, but it does not make the Society theologically neutral. The Society holds the historic Christian faith and anchors its public confession in the Lausanne Covenant.
People Carrying the Work
The people below are currently carrying the Society’s work. Their experience spans church planting, global mission, discipleship, Christian leadership, research, storytelling, and organizational strategy. Each person brings a distinct calling; together they serve the same mission.
Growing With the Church in Austin
The Society is new, but the relationships that formed it are not. Years of prayer, counsel, and shared ministry among churches and leaders across Greater Austin have shaped its direction.
As the work grows, we hope this team will increasingly reflect the breadth of Christ’s Church across Greater Austin—leaders with deeper roots across the region, broader cultural experience, and gifts the present team does not yet carry.
Todd Engstrom
Todd has lived in Austin since 2004 and has spent two decades in church planting, leadership development, and global mission. He previously served as Executive Pastor of Ministry Strategies at The Austin Stone Community Church and helped found the 100 UPG Cooperative. In the Society, Todd leads strategy, research, citywide relationships, and organizational development. He and Olivia have five children.
David Cervenka
David is a cross-cultural church planter and movement strategist who began serving in Japan with Reliant Mission in 2012. He continues to coach Japanese leaders while investing in disciple-making and church multiplication across Greater Austin. In the Society, David helps practitioners learn from one another and strengthens work in evangelism, disciple-making, and church multiplication. He and Danielle have three children.
Steve Verleye
Steve brings more than three decades of experience in technology, executive leadership, and organizational development. He served as Chief Operating Officer of the Colson Center for Christian Worldview and continues to invest in Christian leaders through the Austin Colson Fellows cohort and The Apologist Project. In the Society, Steve contributes organizational wisdom, leadership development, and counsel for durable shared work. He and Marianne live in Austin.
Zac Tinney
Zac is a creative entrepreneur, storyteller, and convener who founded Sunday SVC and leads the SVC and DCX communities. He helps leaders recognize one another’s work and creates room for relationships to form across church, work, and culture. In the Society, Zac contributes to gatherings, communication, and the stories through which the Church learns to see itself. He, Kaitlyn, and their son live in Northwest Austin.
Shane Stephens
Shane brings more than 25 years of experience in partnerships, product development, and organizational strategy. He also serves Austin leaders through PurposeWorks and Good Works Community. In the Society, Shane listens for what leaders need, strengthens relationships, and helps shared efforts become more useful and durable. He, Casie, and their three children live in West Austin.
Know the Society by How It Serves
The Society’s identity becomes clearest in the work it carries, the partners it honors, and the posture with which it serves.