Nat Millican
Board Director
Nat Millican brings over 50 years of secular and ministry leadership to CTU. A U.S. Air Force Academy graduate and retired Lt. Colonel, Nat also completed a 23-year career as an UPS International Airline Captain. He is the founder and Executive Director of Unbridled Skies, Inc., where he developed the “Becoming a Well-Balanced Leader” curriculum, training pastors across 15 countries. At CTU, Nat focuses on equipping Central Asian shepherds through specialized coaching and seminars. His academic background includes three master’s degrees, and he serves as a Trustee for The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Nat has been married to his wife and lifelong partner in ministry, Tracy, for 46 years; they have three children—all serving in ministry or digital strategy—and seven grandchildren. Nat remains dedicated to guiding leaders from darkness into light.
Dr. Jonathan Finley
Board Director
Dr. Jonathan M. Finley is a missiologist and leader in cross-cultural church development with extensive experience in multi-ethnic contexts. He previously founded and led a mission entity focused on leadership development and church planting across France and West Africa. Currently, Jonathan provides theological leadership for innovative “Alternate Pathways” initiatives. These programs mobilize Christian professionals—including entrepreneurs, healthcare workers, and educators—to proclaim the Gospel through vocational excellence and relational witness in contexts where traditional ministry is restricted. Jonathan is married to Karen, a French educator, and they have three sons. Together, the Finleys cultivate a bilingual and binational identity, bringing a unique bicultural perspective to CTU’s mission of equipping leaders to live and lead in the “in-between.”
Rev. Dr. Mykhailo Cherenkov
Board Director
Rev. Dr. Mykhailo (Michael) Cherenkov is a Pastor at Revival Baptist Church (Vancouver, WA) with 20 years of experience in international missions across Eastern Europe and post-Soviet countries. A seasoned executive, educator, and NGO board member, he is dedicated to training the next generation of leaders to build sustainable, theologically sound ministries within contexts of crisis, war, and religious restriction. Born in Soviet Russia and raised in Ukraine as the son of a former prisoner of conscience, Dr. Cherenkov holds a Ph.D. in Religious Studies and an MA in History. Michael and his wife, Nina, have four daughters.
Mark Huffman
Board Director
Mark is committed to living out the Great Commission by raising, preparing, and sending workers to communities in North Africa, Asia, and the Middle East where the needs are greatest. As executive director of Interserve USA, he invites others to embrace their role in serving the “hard places” where people have never encountered Christ. Throughout his career, Mark has served as an entrepreneur, pastor, and cross-cultural servant. He spent two decades in Minnesota as a business analyst and church planter before moving with his family to Ukraine. There, he taught business, opened an English school, and started a church that sent out a hundred followers of Jesus. In 2017, Mark returned to the U.S. to serve as COO of Entrust. In 2021, he joined Interserve USA to maximize its global impact. Mark and his wife, Kim, have three sons.
Dr. Talant Aktanzhanov
CEO / President
Dr. Talant Aktanzhanov is the founder of CTU, a movement dedicated to strengthening local churches through an indigenous “pastor-scholar” model. A scholar of world religions with a Ph.D. in the field, Talant has presented research on the Central Asian context at various international academic conferences. He teaches at several seminaries across the region and hosts public conversations on the Bible and theology via Kazakh-language podcasts and YouTube. His work includes serving as Editor-in-Chief for a Kazakh biblical-theological dictionary and translating several theological books into the Kazakh language. At CTU, he focuses on providing the structural governance and theological resources necessary for sustainable ministry in challenging contexts. An avid runner and father of four, Talant is dedicated to seeing the power of God’s speech transform communities through the local church.
