Rev. James May, wife Tiina, and children Tristan, Sarai, Sophia, Jonas, & Matthew

St. John's Adopted Missionary

Rev. James May & Family

James grew up in Cleveland, Ohio and received a Bachelors of Architecture from the University of Cincinnati.  After graduation, he completed a graduate program in Helsinki, Finland.  While there, he assisted at an orphanage in St. Petersburg, Russia which ultimately lead him to attend Concordia Lutheran Seminary in Fort Wayne, Indiana.  Upon graduation, he received a call to Burkina Faso and Togo in West Africa where he was tasked with planting Lutheran Churches.  In 2009 he accepted a call to work with Dr. Anssi Simojoki and Lutherans In Africa.  After Dr. Simojoki retired, James became the director of Lutherans In Africa.

Tiina grew up in Mikkeli, Finland and studied education at the University of Jyväskylä.  Tiina met James while studying abroad in Thessaloniki, Greece and has been by his side ever since.  They have six children; Maggie, Tristan, Sarai, Sofi, Jonas, and Matthew.

For by grace you have been saved through faith. And this is not your own
doing; it is the gift of God, not a result of works, so that no one may boast.
EPHESIANS 2:8-9

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