After five meaningful years as the director of International Programs, Daniel Lepojarvi has been appointed as the new chief executive officer for ERDO (Emergency Relief and Development Overseas). Following the faithful years of leadership and the strong foundation set by David Adcock, Daniel is ready to step into this next chapter. Alongside Daniel, our Canadian team, global workers and international church partners remain committed to passionately responding to the needs of people living in poverty and crisis around the world.
Daniel, a strong leader with a servant’s heart, sat down to answer some important questions about his devotion to missions and the future of ERDO.
How were you first called to missions?
My few years working in East Africa in youth ministry solidified my call to missions.
I worked with street children in the slums of Nairobi, and I saw how completely heartbreaking their lives were. They slept on the streets, completely ostracized from the community. Many were sent away from their parents or didn’t have parents at all. The street kids gathered at night and would sleep in a field with newspapers and cardboard as blankets. They’d sleep close together for warmth. There’s security in numbers; people don’t rob or beat you. These sleeping places were called bases, and I met a group of children who called their base Zion. It broke me. Kenya was a Christian country, and these street children knew enough about the gospel to call their base, Zion, a place of refuge. But this abject poverty is not God’s heart.
Seeing how the church lived out its faith in those circumstances set me on a different trajectory. The ministry of the local church saw children experience the transformative power of the gospel. Inspired by what I witnessed, I committed to spending my lifetime trying to make a difference as well.
What experiences and skills do you bring to ERDO from your lifelong career in missions?
I have served alongside churches in different settings, contexts, capacities, communities and cultures. My first degree was in international business, and my second was a master’s in ministerial studies with a focus on development and deaconship. I’ve led cross-cultural teams and served in communities with a variety of development programs and humanitarian interventions. I’ve worked with church funding, government funding, and foundation funding—in closed and open countries, in places where churches have a notable place in society, and in those where they are underground but still engaged in their communities.
What drew you to ERDO?
Being a Finnish Canadian, I was aware of ERDO, and in different roles, I came across people from ERDO. David Adcock and I served on a global leadership team for Pentecostal agencies (Pentecostal Relief and Development Partners). I represented the Finns, and David represented the Canadians. Collaborative work was our first touchpoint.
When David reached out about an open position as the director of international programs, I was already considering moving back to Canada with my whole family. I couldn’t think of a better organization to work for. It was a God-tailored fit.
What exciting initiatives did you implement as the director of International Programs at ERDO?
I developed an International Program Framework, which gives structure, direction and definition to our work. It gives us the ability to connect different projects in a community and track change and impact. For example, we’ve connected the child sponsorship program with community development initiatives. So, as we serve children, we empower their parents and communities to better care for their sponsored students and other children. The Framework helps define where we bring added value to communities through humanitarian or development work.
I’m also excited about how we’ve deepened engagement with local churches, having the church be the main agent of change in the community, and building programs around that.
ERDO’s mission is to passionately respond to the practical needs of people living in poverty and crisis around the world. Our vision is to seek Christ-motivated community and individual transformation by meeting basic human needs and fostering social, economic and spiritual potential. How do you see yourself fulfilling ERDO’s mission and vision as the next CEO?
From a Western mindset, the majority of the world is seen as poor, but the reality is that the majority of the world is made up of middle-income countries. Our mandate is to focus on the most vulnerable. That group is well defined. It’s a group of people struggling to survive. We’re working in places where needs are the greatest and people are the most vulnerable. That’s something I’d like to see us continue focusing on.
When it comes to our vision, ERDO, churches, and Christians have something unique that many others don’t. We respond to poverty not only as a lack of access but as a deeply spiritual question.
We focus on working with local churches as they respond to the needs of the whole person. Transformation often requires reconciliation of relationships with our Creator, creation, our neighbours and ourselves. ERDO is fulfilling its mission and vision by working with local churches to seek the Christ-centred transformation of individuals and communities through our programs.
What do you think is the biggest challenge facing ERDO today? How will you work to address those challenges?
People seem super excited about ERDO but still don’t know enough about us. There’s still talk of us being “The best kept secret at the PAOC.” We want to do a better job of communicating what we’re doing with our constituency, allowing people to be a bigger part of that process.
How do you define success for ERDO in a world of increasing need?
Rather than looking at ERDO—our budgets, our size, or our engagement—the only way to define success should be the saved, dignified, transformed and empowered lives in places where people have been most vulnerable. That is our driver. We exist so that people who have been poor, vulnerable and in crisis aren’t there anymore. We want to see children, families and communities transformed in the most vulnerable places in the world.
Our biggest leverage is working through Canadian and international churches. We want to work in a way that empowers our church partners, allowing them to reach deeper into their communities and transform lives.
Alicia Kolenda is the marketing and communications manager at ERDO (Emergency Relief and Development Overseas).
This article appeared in the July/August/September 2025 issue oftestimony/Enrich, a quarterly publication of The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. © 2025 The Pentecostal Assemblies of Canada. Photos © ERDO. Pictured above: sponsored children with a teacher in Village of Hope Zimbabwe. Second image: Daniel Lepojarvi.