PROTECTING THEIR CALLING
OUR TEAM
Our team prepares mission candidates for readiness, equipping them to impact the mission field with the Gospel.
MEET OUR STAFF
Kerrick & Connie
Tweedy
Kerrick & Connie Tweedy
Kerrick and Connie Tweedy founded SOAR in October 2011. After a 26‑year career in insurance software development, the Lord provided a clear plan for them to begin a new ministry preparing mission candidates to serve full‑time in mission aviation. This model introduced a debt‑free training approach designed to remove financial barriers that often delay candidates from progressing from training to the mission field.
Kerrick serves as the Executive Director of SOAR and as the CEO of the International Association of Missionary Aviation (IAMA). He and Connie have also been leading IAMA together since 2023 – Kerrick in his CEO role and Connie assisting with key administrative and organizational tasks.
Connie serves as the Chief of Staff at SOAR, overseeing media, event planning, marketing, internal operations, and other areas that support the mission of both SOAR and IAMA.
Kerrick and Connie have three adult children, six grandsons, and one granddaughter.
Joel & Jennifer
Beyer
Joel & Jennifer Beyer
Joel and Jennifer have lived in the Kansas City area most of their lives and spent a lot of time in the Springfield/Branson area as kids. They have four kids. Joel comes to SOAR from a background in professional flight education. Having a dream to fly from the age of 6, he graduated from UVU with a degree in Aviation Education and has managed several flight schools in Kansas City and Seattle. After reading “In the Presence of My Enemies” the Lord instilled in them a heart for missionary aviation. Jennifer brings an extensive background in hospitality and events planning and will be spending time planning and coordinating SOAR events. They both look forward to bringing solid foundational training in both technical and spiritual skills, and experience to share with the SOAR candidates.
Skyler & Nicki Redding
Skyler & Nicki Redding
Skyler and Nicki met at Ethnos360 Bible Institute in Waukesha WI. There they both felt led to missions with Skyler having an emphasis on aviation. They married in March of 2023 and joined SOAR the following October. Ten months after making the move to Missouri, baby Silas was born. Skyler is currently working towards his airplane mechanic license as well as taking flight lessons. They are currently living in Buffalo, MO, and eagerly awaiting to see where God will lead.
Sarah
Cook
Sarah Cook
Bill and Sarah Cook have lived in Bolivar for over 20 years and have a deep love for serving both their church and community. They have three children and, as a homeschooling family, enjoy learning together while intentionally raising them with strong character, curiosity, and responsibility. Their family stays active through robotics, American Heritage Girls, and caring for God’s creation, including honeybees.
When Sarah had the opportunity to serve at SOAR, it was a natural fit. With a heart for ministry and a desire to support the work of missionary aviation, she now serves as an administrative assistant, helping manage daily operations and support the team behind the scenes.
Rex
Smith
Rex Smith
Rex Smith first heard the term “Missionary Aviation” when discussing with the preacher who led him to the Lord in 1979, how God might use him in the future. He moved his family to Springfield, Missouri and attended Baptist Bible College for two years once he learned he needed Bible training to be a better “soldier for Christ.” While there, he joined a flying club, began earning his pilot’s license and became a mechanics helper logging time towards an Airframe and Powerplant mechanics rating. Rex became a private pilot in 1986 and a year later an A&P Mechanic; however, by this time, the flying club had disbanded and sadly, he experienced the “death of a vision,” losing his intended vehicle for service. Some years of “adjustment” followed, and Rex then sought employment as, and became, a full-time mechanic with various employers. He did not realize that God was preparing him for a future mission. The day came when Rex was approached by a man who told him God was moving him to do something special, and he asked Rex to be a part of this new mission…which involved airplanes. Rex smiled. The man was Kerrick Tweedy, now Executive Director of the organization known as SOAR. Rex is both humbled and proud to be a part of the mission and thanks to God for the return of the “vision.” He is now helping to get missionary pilots and mechanics to the mission field and maintain the aircraft used in their training. Rex and his wife Linda enjoy spending time with their children and three grandchildren.
MEET OUR MISSION CANDIDATES
Bailey & Abigayle
George
Bailey & Abigayle George
Bailey started serving at SOAR in May 2022 to begin flight training and gain maintenance experience. Growing up in South Carolina, he wanted to fly. Friends and family challenged him to pursue missions and aviation together. He earned his A&P and has since earned his Commercial certificate and IA while serving at SOAR. Abigayle earned her nursing degree and has a heart to use her medical training to serve alongside him in ministry. They were married in October 2025, and together they look forward to using their skills to support missions in remote areas.
Jared & Sarah
Lowell
Jared & Sarah Lowell
Jared and Sarah were married in 2023 and welcomed their first child in early 2025. They met at Liberty University, where they discovered their shared calling to missions. Jared’s passion for aviation stems from his upbringing as a missionary kid, as his parents served in a remote region of Papua New Guinea. There, aviation played a vital role in bringing the Gospel to unreached people groups. In February 2026, they joined the SOAR team and began Jared’s flight and maintenance training.
Caleb
Madlom
Caleb Madlom
Caleb has been called to missions since age eight and grew up overseas as a missionary kid. Through his travels, he developed a passion for aviation and saw how it advances the Gospel. He is raising support and preparing to move to Missouri to serve with SOAR. There, he will develop daily hands-on aviation and ministry skills to equip him for long-term service, using aviation to reach and serve those with limited access.
Michael & Breanne Plummer
Michael & Breanne Plummer
Michael and Breanne were married in 2022. They have three daughters, Verity, Rose Elise, and Carmen. Breanne attended New Tribes Bible Institute (now Ethnos360 Bible Institute), having felt the call to missions at an early age. Michael first pursued a career in mechanical engineering, but later felt the call to missions and changed paths. Michael began flight and maintenance training in June 2025.
MEET OUR LAUNCHED MISSIONARIES
Jeremy & Blinda
Dunn
Jeremy & Blinda Dunn
Called to missionary aviation in the fall of 2015, Jeremy and Blinda Dunn were accepted to Ethnos360 Aviation as a maintenance specialist family in January of 2017. In the fall of 2017, Jeremy and Blinda began serving at SOAR. While at SOAR, Jeremy was able to get more experience as the lead mechanic in the maintenance shop and build relationships with new donors. In August of 2018, Jeremy and Blinda started the training process with Ethnos360. In the Spring of 2021, Jeremy and Blinda began serving in Papua New Guinea.
Josh & Bethany Hamilton
Josh Hamilton
Josh felt called to missionary aviation when he learned that aviation mechanics play a direct role in helping missionaries reach unreached people groups with the Gospel. That calling led him to join SOAR in February 2021, where he trained and completed his A&P license while serving with the team. Along the way, Bethany joined him in this calling, and the two were married in 2024. Their son was born in June 2025. After completing their time at SOAR, they were sent to serve with UIM Aviation in December 2025.
Fred & Lydia
Holcomb
Fred & Lydia Holcomb
Fred joined SOAR to pursue missionary aviation, where he received training in both flight and aircraft maintenance while preparing for service on the mission field. During his time at SOAR, he earned his A&P, Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate, Commercial Seaplane rating, and Certified Flight Instructor certificate. Throughout this season, Fred and Lydia built their partnership team while serving with the SOAR community and preparing for the next step in their ministry.
In May 2020, SOAR had the privilege of sending Fred, Lydia, and their five boys to Alaska to serve in missionary aviation. Today, Fred uses the skills he developed at SOAR through flight instruction and aircraft maintenance, supporting ministry efforts that help bring the Gospel to remote communities.
Fred and Lydia praise God for the way SOAR helped prepare their family through training, community, and partnership development, allowing them to arrive on the field ready to serve. As they often say, the Lord used SOAR to help “pave the runway” for their family’s departure when the door to the field opened.
AJ & Stephanie Holloway
AJ & Stephanie Holloway
A.J. moved from Washington State to serve the Lord by pursuing missionary aviation training with SOAR. During this time, he met Stephanie while serving in a local youth ministry, and they were married in the spring of 2020. Together they became part of the SOAR community, growing in their calling to missions while preparing for service in missionary aviation.
After their time at SOAR, A.J. and Stephanie completed Ethnos360’s missionary training and were sent to continue their aviation preparation at Ethnos360 Aviation Headquarters as they prepare to serve overseas. They are also the proud parents of two boys, Truitt and Noble, and look forward to serving the Lord together as a family on the mission field.
Madeline
Hooks
Madeline Hooks
Raised in Indiana, Madeline developed an early interest in aviation. After completing a year of Bible training at Emmaus Bible College, God opened her eyes to the great need for pilots in missionary aviation. She later earned her pilot’s licenses and became a Certified Flight Instructor – Instrument (CFII) at Indiana State University.
Madeline joined SOAR in August 2021, serving with the team while training as an A&P apprentice. During her time at SOAR, she completed her A&P certification in February 2025. In July 2025, she was sent to serve with Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in Tanzania. There she is living among the Swahili people, learning their language and culture, and partnering with the local church as she continues preparing for long-term missionary service.
Lance & Caitlin
Rensberger
Lance & Caitlin Rensberger
Lance joined SOAR in May 2016, where he served with the team while completing his A&P certification in January 2019. During his time at SOAR, he gained the technical skills and ministry foundation needed for missionary aviation, preparing him to serve in some of the most remote regions of the world.
After completing their time at SOAR, Lance and Caitlin were sent to serve with Ethnos360 Aviation and are now serving in the Philippines. Lance now serves as the Program Manager for the Philippines aviation team, helping support church planting efforts by using aviation to reach isolated areas where the Gospel has little or no access. Through his role, he helps equip and sustain teams working to establish thriving churches among unreached people groups in remote communities.
Matt & Abi
McWhorter
Matt & Abi McWhorter
Matt first felt God’s call to missions in early high school, but it wasn’t until his first year at Montana Wilderness School of the Bible that he began to understand that the Lord was calling him specifically to missionary aviation as a pilot.
Abi also felt called to missionary aviation at a young age. Growing up next to a crop-dusting airstrip, she developed a fascination with airplanes early on. After hearing the story of Nate Saint and Jim Elliott, the Lord gave clear direction to her passion for aviation.
Matt and Abi McWhorter joined SOAR in August 2018, where they served while completing their training. Together, they earned their Private Pilot, Instrument, and Commercial ratings, as well as their A&P certifications, and Abi also received her Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) license.
Today, they are serving with Tanalian Bible Camp and Leadership Center in Port Alsworth, Alaska, a remote community on the shores of Lake Clark, about 175 miles southwest of Anchorage. The camp exists to support Bible-believing churches in rural Alaska through evangelism, discipleship, and fellowship. Because the camp and many of the communities it serves are only accessible by air, Matt and Abi use aviation to help make ministry possible in these isolated areas.
Nathan & Kayla
White
Nathan & Kayla White
Nathan joined SOAR in August 2012, where he served while completing his A&P certification in June 2015 and later earning his IA in August 2018. During his time at SOAR, he also completed his Commercial Pilot Certificate and Certified Flight Instructor (CFI) rating.
Nathan and Kayla, both raised in pastor families, met and were married in Bolivar, Missouri while Nathan was training at SOAR. In 2018, they joined the UIM Aviation family and were sent to serve in Tepic, Mexico. Today, Nathan serves as a pilot and mechanic, supporting ministry through aviation. They have three kids, Nora, Hudson, and Sara, and are serving together as a family on the mission field.
