Ecuador (above) is among previous Pioneer Trek locations.
Dr. Todd Keller loves travel and sharing the love of Jesus wherever he goes. Keller is the discipleship & missions pastor at Olathe College Church of the Nazarene and an adjunct professor of missions at MNU. He recently took over the reins of Pioneer Trek, MNU’s travel and service-learning program. With experience as a lead pastor and church planter in Illinois, Keller’s passion for missions, travel, and immersion in new cultures makes him a natural fit to lead the program.
Keller says Pioneer Trek’s experiential opportunities can be both mission-focused and vocation preparation. For example, MNU nursing students and professors have served through annual mission trips to locations such as Guatemala since 1994. Under the supervision of in-country medical professionals and their professors, the students perform health checks and vaccinations, gaining valuable skills while ministering to patients who otherwise have little to no available healthcare. The experience is life changing.
School of Nursing trip to Guatemala in 2024.
Senior Kinley Kelsey has been on multiple trips with the School of Nursing. Upon returning from a trip to Rwanda, she expressed her thoughts about the value of these experiences.
“I’d say these trips are important to me because I not only get to provide healthcare to people who may have never had any before, but I get to experience amazing life adventures that I will never forget,” she says. “Every time I come back, I learn something more about the world and more about myself!”
Last summer, science students from MNU and Olivet Nazarene University traveled together to Africa to study wildlife conservation. Senior kinesiology major Nick Allen expressed amazement at how close they got to a group of rhinos.
MNU science students on African adventure in 2024.
“I was so close I definitely could have run over and touched one of them if I had the courage,” Nick said. “But I got nervous when our guide said, “Just keep your eyes on him [the rhino] so you know when you have to run.”
“When it comes to the different disciplines taking these trips it is invaluable because they gain practical hands-on experiences,” Keller says. “They get to learn in a way that they couldn’t otherwise.”
According to Keller, these specialty trips will continue while Pioneer Trek seeks opportunities for students in any discipline through both established and new partnerships with churches and non-governmental organizations (NGOs). Keller’s goal is to sponsor a fall, spring and summer trip each year. Some of the locations under consideration include Brazil, Spain, Portugal and France. Having recently traveled to South America, he has firsthand knowledge of these locales.
Left: Keller’s daughter, Jillian, Todd Keller, and Pastor Igor in Manaus, Brazil. Right: Keller with his guide on the Amazon River.
“There are villages up and down the Amazon River that are sponsored by the churches in Manaus, Brazil and there are a whole variety of needs there,” he says. In these “vision” trips to uncover collaborations and partnerships for College Church he has created relationships that will also help establish new opportunities for Pioneer Trek programming.
“I would love Pioneer Trek to help people in Appalachia with Encuentro. That’s on the West Virginia, Kentucky border,” he says. “There are a lot of needs there and also in Texas on the border.”
Encuentro is a missions organization connecting students with opportunities to provide Vacation Bible School, medical clinics, sports camps, and construction projects to needy locations.
Beyond academic enrichment or providing service to others, Keller’s goals for Pioneer Trek continue to include a strong spiritual emphasis.
“I believe, theologically speaking, that when we get a larger picture of people around the world, we receive a larger picture of God himself,” Keller says. “And so, I hope for people to not only be stretched in their cultural awareness and intelligence but also to receive a larger picture of who God is and what He’s doing in the world.”
Keller says study abroad opportunities also continue through affiliations with organizations such as The International Business Institute, Nazarene Theological College in Manchester, England and the Coalition for Christian Colleges & Universities Global Ed. Students interested in these opportunities can learn more at mnu.edu/study-abroad.
Ultimately, Keller believes these missions and academic experiences expand one’s cultural awareness and intelligence leading to spiritual growth.
“It is an exercise in learning to implement Philippians 2 when we learn to hold all people in high regard,” Keller says. “That’s where Paul says ‘Make my joy complete by regarding others as yourself.’ It’s an opportunity for students to see that God’s people are beautiful everywhere.”
Keller follows the previous Pioneer Trek director, Dr. Randy Cloud, who now serves as the president’s assistant for church relations. Keller and his wife, Kim, have three adult children and live in Olathe, Kansas.
