Our Staff
Dr. Ayman S. Ibrahim
Director
Ayman Ibrahim was born and raised in Egypt. He completed two PhDs in Islamic Studies (Fuller 2014, Haifa University 2018). Since 1991, he has taught in various countries in the Muslim world and in the West at the undergraduate and graduate levels. He has taught at Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary and Fuller Theological Seminary in the United States, and at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary in Beirut, Lebanon. Some of the courses he taught include: Introduction to Islam; History and Theology of Islam; Islamic Texts; Islamic Thought; Contemporary Islam; Christian-Muslim Apologetics; and Modern Standard Arabic. He is a member of the Center for the Study of Inter-Religious Encounters at Ben Gurion University of the Negev; the International Quranic Studies Association; the Evangelical Theological Society. He authored Sharia Versus the U.S. Constitution (Think and Tell, 2026), A Medieval Case for Islam’s Superiority (Baylor University Press, 2025), Muhammad’s Military Expeditions: A Critical Reading in Original Muslim Sources (Oxford University Press, 2024), Islam and the Bible (B&H, 2023), Reaching Your Muslim Neighbor with the Gospel (Crossway, 2022), A Concise Guide to the Life of Muhammad: Answering Thirty Key Questions (Baker Academic, 2022), Conversion to Islam (Oxford University Press, 2021); Basics of Arabic (Zondervan 2021); A Concise Guide to the Quran (Baker Academic, 2020); The Stated Motivations for the Early Islamic Expansion (Peter Lang, 2018); and co-edited Muslim Conversions to Christ: A Critique of Insider Movements in Islamic Contexts (Peter Lang, 2018). His articles on Islam and Christian-Muslim Relations appeared in the Washington Post, Religion News Services, Colorado Springs Gazette, Louisville Courier-Journal, First Things, among others. He has been married since 2012 and together with his wife, they serve among Arabs in the United States and the Middle East. Contact him via his email: aibrahim@sbts.edu and follow him on Twitter at @al2ostaz.
Grace Kim
Administrative Assistant
Grace was born in South Korea and came to the United States when she was 10 years old. She grew up in a strong Christian home, and during her freshman year in college, she received a heart to become a missionary in an unreached nation. After college, she went to Turkey for two years and then spent about eight years doing mission mobilization work around the world in 25 countries. She is now a student at Southern, where she graduated with an MA in Missiology and is currently a Ph.D. student in World Religions under the supervision of Dr. Ibrahim. Grace is passionate about serving Muslims and is excited to see greater Christian understanding of Islam through the work of the Jenkins Center.
Contact: gkim@sbts.edu
Laura Humes
Communications Associate
Laura grew up in Texas in a Christian home. She started following Jesus when she was quite young and became interested in missions when she was a teenager. She went on her first mission trip when she was fourteen and from that point forward the Lord began to slowly lead her to ministry. A few years after college, she had the opportunity to move overseas and live in a Muslim context. During this time the Lord gave her a deep love for Muslims and a desire to see them reached with the saving news of the gospel of Jesus Christ. She came to Southern Seminary to pursue an MA in Islamic Studies so that she might be further equipped to minister to Muslims. Through her work at the Jenkins Center, Laura hopes to both grow in her understanding of Islam and prepare others well for ministry among Muslims.
Contact: lhumes@sbts.edu
Our Interns
Lucy
Raised in Illinois in a faithful Christian home, Lucy grew up reading missionary biographies and, from a young age, desired to “go into all the world.” Over time, the Lord has continued to deepen her passion for missions and seeing the gospel proclaimed among the nations. For the past four summers, Lucy has served among Muslims in Albania, where the Lord has strengthened her burden for the lost. She is majoring in Biblical and Theological Studies and is part of the Seminary Track program at Boyce College and The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. Grateful for the opportunity to serve at the Jenkins Center, Lucy prays the Lord will use this season to equip her more fully for ministry and to encourage others to share in His heart for the nations.
Payton
Payton is from a small town in West Michigan and spent four years in Chicago, Illinois, completing her undergraduate degree at Moody Bible Institute. During her time in Chicago, she ministered to Muslim immigrant families and spent a summer serving among Muslim communities in West Africa. Through these experiences and her growing heart for reaching Muslims, Payton decided to pursue an MA in Islamic Studies at Southern Seminary. She was introduced to the Jenkins Center during a preview day visit to campus and was immediately drawn to its emphasis on reaching Muslims. As an intern at the Jenkins Center, Payton looks forward to learning how to share the gospel more effectively and put these lessons into practice. After graduating, Payton plans to be a missionary in North Africa.
Shannon
Shannon is from Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. After high school, Shannon spent a year serving an unreached Muslim people group in East Africa, where she developed a deep love for Muslim people and felt God calling her to pursue missions long-term. Shannon holds graduate and undergraduate degrees in social work and is currently pursuing her MA in Islamic Studies at Southern Seminary. Through her internship at the Jenkins Center, Shannon is excited for the opportunity to grow in her evangelism skills and help Christians be equipped to engage Muslims with confidence and grace. Shannon is currently a missionary appointee with Pioneers and is raising support to move to North Africa following her graduation.
Stephen
Stephen was born and raised in Indianapolis, Indiana. He grew up in a faithful Christian household, and his father is a pastor, chaplain, and proud alumnus of Southern Seminary. Stephen is currently working toward an MDiv, with a focus on Missions and Islamic Studies. After graduating, he hopes to be sent through the IMB to serve long-term in the North Africa or the Middle East region. The Jenkins Center was one of Stephen’s primary reasons for moving onto campus, as he desired to learn from and connect with other students who share a passion for seeing God’s Word made known among their Muslim neighbors. Through his internship at the Jenkins Center, he hopes to continue deepening his understanding of Islam, refining his apologetics, and gaining ample opportunities to share the gospel with Muslims.
Soonmin
Soonmin calls South Korea, Kansas City (MO), and Baton Rouge (LA) home. He holds a BA from Wheaton College (IL), an MTS from Vanderbilt University, and is now pursuing an MDiv at Southern Seminary. Soonmin’s vocational goal is pastoral ministry with interests in Christian education and missions. His research focuses on the New Testament, late antiquity, and Christian-Muslim relations across Eurasia. Soonmin studied Syriac, Greek, and Biblical Hebrew, and plans to study Arabic with Dr. Ibrahim. Soonmin traces figures that exist across cultures, such as Alexander the Great, who appears as Iskandar, Eskender, and, in some traditions, Dhu’l Qarnayn. Soonmin hopes to contribute to a future in which the next generation of Christians gain a fuller understanding of global Christian traditions and more people hear the gospel of Jesus Christ.
Our Team
Become an Intern
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