Born and raised in Chicago, George came to Christ as a nine-year-old boy in the 1962 Billy Graham Chicago Crusade. His parents and several AWANA youth leaders discipled George soon after his conversion. By the time George turned fourteen, he had committed his life to serving the Lord.
He later graduated from Moody Bible Institute in May 1974. He left the USA three weeks later to begin an international cross-cultural ministry to pastors. During the first seventeen years, he ministered to pastors in Eastern Europe during the communist era. Shortly after the fall of the Berlin Wall, George, his wife Linda, and children moved to Moscow, Russia. They co-founded Peter Deyneka Russian Ministries and the Association of Spiritual Renewal, the Russia affiliate.
The focus on pastors remained at the core of George’s ministry as he and his colleagues trained, equipped, and sent out over 1,000 church planters. From the 1990s until 2003, George was working to provide education, resources, and minis
try structures to undergird the training of pastoral ministry leaders throughout the countries of the former Soviet Union.
It was in Moscow that Dr. Jack Eggar met George at his Moscow office. This meeting led to three decades of friendship and common purpose. By 2003, the Lord moved George to expand his sights to global ministry by serving with Jack at AWANA. Through the five years of ministry at AWANA, God prepared George and his wife for ministry worldwide. The key motivation was to make biblical training available to pastors worldwide who lacked access to training.
By 2014, George launched Internet Theological Education by Extension Global (iTEE Global) to focus on the worldwide need for pastoral training. In 2019, he founded iTEE University as a more formal training arm to serve pastors requiring
accredited diplomas and degrees in many countries. ITEE Global and iTEE University are growing, training leaders in 49 countries and making that training available in twelve languages. George continues as President for both iTEE Global and iTEE University.
In early 2023, George and Jack began exploring the idea of launching a new ministry to the North American Church. George sensed a need for equipping professional and volunteer family pastors to bridge a gap between the Church and the home intentionally. With the help of experienced trainers, George and Jack set out to meet that challenge.
George and Jack are co-founders of Next Generation Discipleship, which serves as the umbrella organization for Family Pastor’s Institute and other future ministries focused on resourcing and training spiritual leaders.
George and his wife make their home in Copperas Cove, Texas. They have three children and ten grandchildren.
Education
BA – Moody Bible Institute
MA – Moody Seminary
MA – Lake Forest Graduate School of Management
DMin – Bakke Graduate School