Board of Directors

George Faris gave his life to Christ at the age of 13. He resides in Fort Worth, TX and is married to Melodi. They have been blessed with three beautiful daughters. George has attended Doxology Bible Church in Fort Worth, Texas for 27 years and serves on their elder board. He is a graduate from the University of Texas At Arlington and is President of Faris Outdoor Advertising, Inc.

Dr. Manny Fernandez graduated with a Masters in Theology and a Doctorate of Ministry from Dallas Theological Seminary in 1983. He founded World Link Ministries and the European Seminary of Theological Formation and Evangelization in Madrid Spain in 1991. He continues to serve as Chairman and CEO of WLM as he oversees the expansion of the ministry which has spread globally. Dr. Manny is a member at First Baptist Church of Dallas. He is married to Glenda and has three children: Manny III., Elizabeth, and Sarah.

Allen Hodges is a proud Fort Worthian with a longstanding commitment to our community. Allen is a past Chairman of the Board of the North Texas Community Foundation (2000-2006) and has served on the Board for many years. Allen is a member at Christ Chapel Bible Church in Fort Worth.

Fulton Murray is an independent investor focused primarily on the life sciences. Prior to this, he was a Managing Director of Hunt BioVentures, a Dallas-based venture capital subsidiary of Ray Hunt’s Hunt Consolidated, for twelve years making clinical-stage investments in both pharmaceutical and agricultural technology companies. Mr. Murray holds a BA degree in Economics from Stanford University and an MBA degree from The University of Texas at Austin. He is married with three daughters. He is a member of Doxology Bible Church.

Jeff Newburg is a former lawyer/cpa and has been a commercial real estate developer in the Phoenix area for the past 30 years. He is a member of Scottsdale Bible Church, holds a Graduate Diploma degree from Phoenix Seminary and has served on the Board of WLM for many years. Jeff has been to several of our field locations to witness the work of WLM firsthand. His family life is a great blessing with three sons and four grandchildren. Jeff resides in the Scottsdale, Az. area.

Dr. Jay Sedwick is Department Chair and Professor of Educational Ministries and Leadership at Dallas Theological Seminary. Jay has more than thirty-four years of youth ministry experience as a volunteer, part-time and full-time youth minister. He and his wife Laurie have been married for 32 years, during which God blessed them with four children, one son-in-law, and three grandchildren. An ordained minister who teaches youth at First Baptist Church of Dallas, Dr. Sedwick is also a popular conference and seminar speaker. His research and teaching interests include youth development, biblical education for youth, curriculum design, and legal and financial issues in ministry.

After 35 years as a banking executive, Barry is now the Co-Founder and Principal of a private equity firm in Forth Worth, Texas called Guardian Equity LLC. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from Texas Tech University with a bachelor’s degree in finance. He has been married to his wife Vaughna for thirty-six years and they have three children and one grandchild.  Barry first became acquainted with WLM through a short-term mission trip to Cuba in 2008. He saw first-hand how God was working and moving through WLM and was compelled to join in with them. He is a member of Doxology Bible Church.

Manny Fernandez has a diverse background in missions and ministry. Growing up as a missionary kid in Spain, he gained a deep understanding of different cultures and experiences. For 15 years, Manny worked with World Link, dedicating 5 of those years to the mission field in Spain. From 2018 to 2023, he served as the student pastor at Central Bible Church, providing guidance and support to the youth. Currently, Manny holds the position of president at World Link Ministries (WLM), where he leads the organization in its global outreach efforts. He is married to Jamie and they have five children: Ava, Asher, Nora, Josiah, and Eliza.