Mission Aviation

Bailey George

Bailey joined SOAR in May 2022 to begin his flight training and to gain maintenance experience in the aircraft maintenance shop. Born and raised in South Carolina, Bailey grew up wanting to fly for as long as he can remember. While in college, he was challenged by friends and family to pursue missions and aviation together. Bailey earned his A&P while attending Greenville Technical College. With his flight training and maintenance experience, he plans to work as a pilot and/or maintenance specialist on the mission field.

Jared & Sarah Lowell

Jared and Sarah were married in 2023 and are thrilled to be expecting their first child in early 2025! They met at Liberty University, where they discovered their shared calling to missions. Jared’s passion for aviation stems from his upbringing as a missionary kid where his parents served in a remote region of Papua New Guinea. There, aviation played a vital role in bringing the Gospel to unreached people groups. They are currently raising support as they get ready to move to Bolivar, where Jared will undergo training to become a missionary pilot.

Dustin & Sarah Penner

Dustin and Sarah were married in 2015 and have four children: Jed, Ellie, Annie and Moses. After becoming aware of Unreached People Groups they began equipping themselves for ministry by attending Ethnos360 Bible Institute. While there, they learned about the need for pilots and mechanics to assist Church Planting and Bible Translation in hard to reach, isolated places. They are joining SOAR for Dustin to become a pilot/mechanic to serve among the Unreached.

Michael & Breanne Plummer

Michael and Breanne were married in 2022. They have a daughter, Verity, and are expecting their second child in November. Breanne attended New Tribes Bible Institute (now Ethnos360 Bible Institute), having felt the call to missions at an early age. Michael first pursued a career in mechanical engineering, but later felt the call to missions and changed paths. They are building their support team to work at SOAR, and once in Bolivar, Michael will train for flight and maintenance to serve in missionary aviation.

Skyler & Nicki Redding

Skyler and Nicki joined SOAR in September 2023 to begin their preparation for serving in missionary aviation. He was raised in Iowa and always knew the importance of missions. While attending Ethnos360 Bible Institute, God put it on his heart to pursue mission aviation. Skyler and Nicki met while at the Bible Institute and they were married in March of 2023. Skyler is training to earn both his A&P and his pilot’s license.

Jeremy & Blinda Dunn

Called to missionary aviation in the fall of 2015, Jeremy and Blinda Dunn were accepted to Ethnos360 Aviation as a maintenance specialist family in January of 2017. In the fall of 2017, Jeremy and Blinda began serving at SOAR. While at SOAR, Jeremy was able to get more experience as the lead mechanic in the maintenance shop and build relationships with new donors. In August of 2018, Jeremy and Blinda started the training process with Ethnos360. In the Spring of 2021, Jeremy and Blinda began serving in Papua New Guinea.

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Josh & Bethany Hamilton

Josh joined SOAR in February 2021 and has completed his A&P License. When Josh learned that aviation mechanics play a direct role in helping missionaries reach unreached people groups with the Gospel, he began to pursue Missionary Aviation and was led to SOAR. Josh and Bethany were married in 2024. Josh and Bethany have joined UIM Aviation and are currently building their support team.

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Fred & Lydia Holcomb

In May of 2020, Fred and Lydia Holcomb and their five boys moved from Bolivar, Missouri to Soldotna, Alaska to begin serving with Missionary Aviation Repair Center (MARC).  MARC’s goal, “Giving Wings to Alaskan Missions,” is focused on expanding the reach of the Gospel across the vast state.  MARC flies people and supplies where there are no roads, supports missionaries and pastors serving in isolated communities, trains mission-minded pilots and mechanics, provides public flight instruction and aircraft maintenance, and runs the FBO to help fund their mission flights. At MARC, Fred is putting his SOAR training to use, serving through flight instruction and aircraft maintenance. During Fred’s training at SOAR, he received his A&P, Private Pilot Certificate, Instrument Rating, Commercial Pilot Certificate, Commercial Seaplane, and Certified Flight Instructor. In addition to aviation ministry, the family is very involved in their local church and with a community ministry to men and women in addiction recovery.

Fred and Lydia praise God for how He used SOAR to train Fred in flight and aircraft maintenance while simultaneously raising prayer and financial support; this allowed for the family to be fully funded and debt-free when they received the invitation to join MARC.

“The Lord provided a way, through SOAR, to make an IMPACT and pave the runway for our family’s prompt departure to serve on the field when the door opened!”

A.J. & Stephanie Hollaway

A.J. moved from Washington State to serve the Lord by receiving missionary aviation training with SOAR. A.J. met Stephanie while serving in a local youth ministry. They were married in the spring of 2020. They completed Ethnos360's missionary training and are currently receiving advanced aviation training at the Ethnos360 Aviation Headquarters in preparation to serve overseas.

Madeline Hooks

Madeline completed her time at SOAR in February 2025 with her A&P certification. She is now serving with AIM in Tanzania, living among the Swahili people, diving into their language and culture, and passionately partnering with the local church. Every day, she’s growing in teamwork, deepening her faith, and boldly preparing for life as a long-term missionary. 

Lance & Caitlin Rensberger

Matt & Abi McWhorter

Matt felt God’s call on his life to be a missionary in early high school, but it wasn’t until his first year of college at Montana Wilderness School of the Bible that he began to understand that the Lord not only wanted him to be a missionary but a missionary pilot specifically.  

Abi was called to missionary aviation at a very early age. As a young girl, she grew up next to a crop-dusting airstrip and was fascinated by everything to do with airplanes.  After hearing the story of Nate Saint and Jim Elliott, the Lord gave her a more direct purpose for her passion for aviation.  

Matt and Abi McWhorter joined SOAR in August 2018. They have both completed their Private Pilot, Instrument, and Commercial Ratings, and their A&P certification. Abi has also received her Certified Flight Instructor Instrument (CFII) License. They are serving with Tanalian Bible Camp and Leadership Center in Port Alsworth, Alaska.

Nathan & Kayla White

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