Steve and Holly Niphakis

Eastern Regional Director

Steve Niphakis, with his wife Holly, joined OMF's USA mobilization team in 1999 after 17 years of church planting among the Buddhists of Central Thailand (five of those years also directing the language orientation and training of new missionaries to Thailand).

Steve is passionate about connecting the great stores of resources on the east coast to the needs among the unreached people groups of East Asia, through God's grace seeing a river of new workers, flowing from eastern USA, fully supported in prayer and provision, flooding Asia.

Steve helps seminaries to establish a long-term program whereby students contribute to and are trained in the reaching of a specific unreached people group, connecting the students with a team in East Asia. Steve is a teacher for Perspectives courses, gives seminars and mentors prospective missionaries. Holly helps him with administration.

Steve is a Greek Canadian from Montreal, Canada. He studied and worked in mechanical drafting. He searched for truth in a variety of experiences but did not discover peace until he met Christ. Holly grew up on the east coast of New Jersey and was always very involved in church. She did not understand the personal nature of the gospel until she was studying for her BSRN at Keuka College in New York. Steve and Holly met at Rochester Airport, both snowed in during an April blizzard. They shared Christ and their desire to serve the Lord in missions and married a year later. It was during their three years at New Brunswick Bible Institute that they felt God's call to join OMF because of its emphasis on prayer, on non-solicitation, and on faith.

They have four children: Nate who is now married, Micah, Melody and Harmony, who have enjoyed a wide variety of educational experiences.