Our Team
F. Eric & Julie Von Barnau Sythoff
PRESIDENT & OFFICE MANAGER
Eric serves as the founder and president of Passion Center for Children, and his wife, Julie, serves as office manager. They committed their lives to Christ while serving in the military, and since then, the Lord has allowed them to serve Him as missionaries and church planters on three continents! Their hearts' desire is to continue to be used by God to bring Him glory and to expand His Kingdom.
Pilira Chibwana
NATIONAL DIRECTOR
Pilira Chibwana serves as the National Director of Passion Center for Children in Malawi. Along with our founder, he helped start the Passion Center for Children in 2004.
​
As National Director, Pilira oversees and executes all aspects of the Passion Center ministry in Malawi. This includes working closely with the President to execute the vision and mission of the Passion Center, providing guidance and leadership to the Executive Director, and serving on the Board of Directors to guide the overall ministry. He also serves as the Senior Pastor at Mulunguzi Community Church, where Passion Center for Children's first site is located.
Saul Mateyu
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR
Saul Mateyu serves as the Executive Director of Passion Center for Children in Malawi. He joined the Passion Center team in 2016, first as the Assistant Passion Center for Pastors (PCP) Coordinator and Youth Pastor for Mulunguzi Community Church, where he continues to serve today alongside his role as our Executive Director.
​
As Executive Director, Saul is responsible for the effective implementation and administration of all Passion Center operations.
Jodi Gardner
OPERATIONS DIRECTOR
Jodi Gardner is the Operations Director at Passion Center for Children. Her journey with Passion Center began in 2016 during a two-week mission trip. Afterwards, she felt God tugging at her heart to pursue longer-term missions. This led her to serve as a missionary intern in Malawi from 2018 to 2019. ​Since 2021, Jodi has worked as Operations Director, splitting her time between Malawi and Ohio.
Jodi oversees Child Sponsorships, communications, campaigns, and other operational duties. She finds so much joy spending time with the Passion kids and sharing Jesus in Malawi's villages.
Billy Wood
INTERNATIONAL PASSION CENTER FOR PASTORS DIRECTOR
Billy Wood serves as the International Passion Center for Pastors (PCP) Director for Passion Center for Children. He was first involved with the Passion Center as a ministry partner with Pastor Mark Trotter in 2015 and joined the Passion Center team in 2021.
​
As Passion Center for Pastors (PCP) Director, Billy works closely with Abusa Pilira to oversee all aspects of the PCP ministry, including recruiting and leading the pastoral teaching teams, coordinating conferences, developing curriculum, and strengthening and expanding the PCP ministry. Billy is the lead pastor at ONE Baptist Church in Douglasville, GA, and has been in ministry since 1994. He and his wife Shannon have been married for over 30 years, and they have been blessed with 6 children and 8 grandchildren.