CENTER TO
CENTER TO THE UNREACHED
BIOGRAPHIES
It is interesting to see how God brought so many people together from different backgrounds in the makeup of CTU. Reading through our multicolored histories and backgrounds we can truly say that God works in mysterious ways!
Pastor David Westmeier was born to missionary parents in Colombia, South America. He studied at Nyack College where he graduated in 1991. In 1994 he was married to Yeins, a Venezuelan girl he had met at New Life Fellowship church in Queens, New York. They have two children, Matthew and Benjamin Westmeier.
Since 2002, David served as pastor under the Christian and Missionary Alliance with the vision of evangelizing Unreached People Groups in Queens. That same year he started a new church plant named New Life Christian Center (NLCC). In 2013, under his guidance, NLCC began a monthly “Church in the Park,” where MBBs could invite their friends and families to hear about Jesus without the stigma of "going to a Church". In 2014 NLCC sponsored the first Spanish Perspectives class in the QCAC building with 40 people enrolled, including pastors and leaders from five Spanish Churches. In that same year NLCC began working with QCAC to merge their two church congregations into one so that the task of reaching the unreached with the Gospel would be more effectively accomplished. At that time David was serving as the Pastor of Evangelism in QCAC. In 2019 he founded Center to the Unreached, an organization whose mission is to bring the Gospel of Jesus to various UPGs in NYC and around the world. As of 2012 David has also been serving on the Board of Directors for the Jesus for Muslims Network. His vision is to spark church planting movements among UPGs in the greater Metropolitan Area of New York City and around the world, and to awaken the established Church of New York City to rise to the challenge of bringing Jesus to the UPGs in their neighborhoods.
Mursheda Parveen was born in Bangladesh in the year 1969. When was brought up as a strict Muslim woman. At the age of 17 she was given in marriage to man she hardly knew. After a prophecy given to her by an astrologist she and her husband moved to NYC. There she made a Christian friend who had knocked on her door one evening to share the Gospel. After five years of friendship her Christian friend helped her break the astrologist curse and she accepted the Jesus s her personal savior in 2011. In the following years she was able to lead over 60 people from UPG backgrounds to the Lord. As of 2019 she started working for Center to the Unreached and serves as one of their International workers. Mursheda is a gifted evangelist and has been able to establish small group Bible studies among UPGs all around the world down to the thrid generation.
Ruthie Westmeier is a Christian Counselor that believes psychotherapy is more effective when Christ is central to the process. Since God created the child, the adolescent and his/her parents, He is the One who ultimately possesses the wisdom needed to bring healing and restoration to the family. Though she has specialized with children and adolescents, so many adults have requested to see her that she now includes adults in her practice as well.. Miss Westmeier employs Christian Counseling united with Biblical values and the power of the Holy Spirit, together with the knowledge base of psychology and social work, in order to bring the emotional and mental health healing that her clients need.
John has been assisting the Center to the Unreached in missionary-oriented outreach ministries among Unreached People Groups in the Queens/New York City area since 2012, primarily among Muslim-background peoples. He also serves on the National Leadership team with Impact Indo-Malay, a missionary network of church and missions organizations in the USA. In this role he assists overseas church and field-missions organizations as they resource church-planting and disciple-making ministries in the regional Indo-Malay world. He is currently assisting the New Life Community Health Center in Elmhurst, NY as a medical screener helping the medically-underserved, poor immigrant and transient communities of Queens and Greater New York City area.
John's ministry background includes serving as an associate or assistant pastor in three Christian and Missionary Alliance churches. He is a graduate of Alliance Theological Seminary with an M.Div in Urban Ministry.
Ana is a native New Yorkers, born and raised in Queens. She became a believer in 2012 and joined her first church home at New Life Christian Center. When NLCC started reaching out to UPGs and founded CTU, the NLCC congregation merged with Queens Christian Alliance Church. Ana has been part of Queens Christian Alliance Church ever since. Ever since it's inception Ana has been an active part of the Center to the Unreached. Along with her siter Julia, she serves as one of the treasurers for the ministry.
Ana graduated from John Jay College in 2016 with her Bachelor's degree and now works as an administrative assistant in a real estate company in Manhattan.
Julia is also a native New Yorkers, born and raised in Queens. Along with her sister Ana, she became a believer in 2012 and also joined New Life Christian Center. When NLCC started reaching out to UPGs and founded CTU, Julia followed the NLCC congregation in merging with Queens Christian Alliance Church. For the last four years Julia has been an active part of the Center to the Unreached serving as one of the treasurers along with her sister Ana.
Julia graduated from City College in New York CIty in 2019. She holds a postiion as a teacher's assitant in a preschool in Queens.