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51��Ƶ is pleased to announce one of two recipients of the 2024 Beyond Borders Alumnus of the Year Award, Rev. Shanon Hladek.

Shanon’s Beyond Borders Award is well deserved as her commitment to God and missions is relentless,” LPU President Dr. Angie Richey shares. “Her love for children and her passion to serve wholeheartedly to transform families and nations is evident in her effectiveness. She is a shining example of someone to follow, and we couldn’t be prouder of the work she is doing for the Kingdom.”

Foursquare Vice President of Global Operations, Dr. Ted Vail, shares, “Shanon is the embodiment of courage and faith put to action. In the face of adversity, she pursues the dreams God has given her throughout the nations. She steps up in any circumstance with Christ’s compassion and enthusiasm as she ministers to children, their families, and their leaders. We are inspired.”

Shanon Hladek grew up as a Foursquare pastor’s kid and accepted the Lord at a very early age. It was through hearing the testimony of Tia Linda Richey (missionary to S. America) that Shanon first heard God calling her to serve children overseas. At the time she was only seven years old. It would be that encounter with the Lord that would begin a lifelong formation to enter the ministry in which she now serves.

Shanon spent much of her childhood in Utah where her parents pastored, and views that time as her first mission field experience. Remarking on her time as a student, Shanon knows that her time at Life Pacific College gave her many of the foundations she now uses on a daily basis to help meet the complex needs of the various generations she serves in the many nations she ministers in. “I’m forever thankful for the wisdom and mentoring that I received from my professors that continues to this day.”

Because of her own encounter with the Lord at a young age, strong Christians investing in her life and all that God was preparing for her, Shanon knows the importance of speaking life and hope to the next generation. Her heart and passion as Foursquare Missions Children and Youth Emissary to SE Asia and the S. Pacific Islands is to partner with all generations to empower and equip anointed indigenous leaders to lead their young people into true encounters with Jesus. Shanon’s mission is to introduce God’s value and love for children and youth into cultures where they are often overlooked, thereby allowing the Holy Spirit to transform families, communities, and nations.

Shanon answers Christ’s call in a variety of ways from serving throughout SE Asia and the S. Pacific islands training Children/Youth Pastors, hosting children’s outreach events, partnering with Foursquare Missions Press to bring God’s Word to those that have never heard, as well as bringing medical assistance during global disasters by using her pharmacy training to serve with Foursquare Disaster Relief Medical. Shanon’s drive is purely missional and biblical. “It’s about being all things to all people,” she shares humbly,

“and using the many gifts God has blessed me with to share the Father’s love and hope with children and youth that haven’t yet heard His Good News.”

Amidst all the opportunity and influence in her Kingdom work, Shanon’s focus remains on the Lord and on the precious ones He has called her to reach, and is perhaps summed up in her simple observation of her ongoing life’s work: “I never imagined that God would hear and answer the prayers said by a seven year old girl – when I responded to His call to serve children around the world when I simply said, ‘I’ll go.’”

Please join LPU in congratulating and celebrating Rev. Shanon Hladek, 2024 recipient of the Beyond Borders Alumnus of the Year Award!