About Us
Our Mission
Mobilizing the power of strong partnerships, strategic funding, and prayer support for the decolonization of Christian mission using theory, research, and practice—to promote the Living Learning Community Model.
Our Vision
A future where Christian mission in the majority world will be free from influences of colonialism, replaced by mutuality and companionship, genuine humility, shared vulnerability, and co-development.
What is Decolonization?
The intentional ongoing process of untangling the gospel and the church’s witness from the historical and contemporary legacies of Western imperialism, colonialism, and white supremacy -- moving mission toward mutual, poly-centric, and liberating partnerships.
Image is adapted from Kwiyani, H. C. (2025). Decolonizing Mission. SCM.
Meet our Board Members
Erin Washington
Erin Washington is the Executive Director of the Institute for the Living Learning Communities of Africa (ILLCA). After traveling in Kenya, Burundi, and Rwanda, and meeting so many women of the living learning communities who had been empowered by each other to transform their futures, she knew she wanted to be a part of helping these communities grow and thrive. This work aligns with her passion for social justice and helping to dismantle power structures that harm marginalized groups. Erin has served as Chair of the Mission & Witness Committee at Fourth Presbyterian Church, and is also an educator, learning designer, and social entrepreneur.
Shelley A. Chapman, PhD
Shelley A. Chapmanserves as Associate Director of the ILLCA. She holds a PhD in Leadership and Change from Antioch University. She spent over two decades in American higher education, from 1992 to 2014, before serving as Academic Dean at West Africa Theological Seminary in Lagos, Nigeria, from 2014 to 2016. From 2017 to 2024, she lived and worked in Kenya, teaching at several universities in Kenya and Burundi. During this time, she co-founded the Living Learning Communities of Africa model alongside African women leaders. She was instrumental in helping LLCs start in western Kenya, urban Nairobi, Kigali, Rwanda, and among the Batwa people in Burundi.
Lynn Chapman-Deloge, LMHC, BC-DMT
Lynn Chapman-Deloge is a member of the ILLCA board and holds a master's degree in Dance/Movement Therapy and Counseling from Columbia College Chicago. Based in Boston, she has provided clinical and therapeutic services since 2013. Her work has taken her across Sub-Saharan Africa, including helping develop and facilitate a 2015 symposium on “Raising Awareness for Mental Health in Africa” in Lagos, Nigeria, leading an interactive mental health workshop in Bujumbura, Burundi, in 2022, and providing personal development sessions in Kenya. Lynn has played a central role in shaping the Living Learning Community (LLC) model, providing mental health services to African leaders and training LLC members in lay counseling techniques. She brings deep experience and expertise to her advocacy for the flourishing of living learning communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
William Udotong, PhD
Dr. William Udotong is a member of the ILLCA board. He is a theologian and pastor that currently serves as Vice Provost for Academic Affairs and Lecturer at the Africa Center for Theological Studies in Lagos, Nigeria. He previously distinguished himself as a leader at West Africa Theological Seminary (WATS) in Lagos, first as a pastor and then as a professor, later serving as Provost.
William earned bachelor's and master's degrees from the Universities of Uyo and Port Harcourt in Nigeria, followed by a Master of Arts in Pastoral Counseling and a PhD in Intercultural Studies from Asbury Theological Seminary in Wilmore, Kentucky. He completed his first level of Clinical Pastoral Education at the VA Medical Center in the U.S. His areas of specialization and research include leadership, counseling, anthropology for Christian mission, research methods, migration, and global Christianity, with an emphasis on global migration from the South to the North.
William serves as a member of the African Advisory Committee of the Living Learning Communities. As an African leader, his passion is seeing African women empowered to own and implement ministry decisions that impact their context in Africa.
Edith Hill
Edith Hill serves as the Treasurer of the Institute for the Living Learning Communities of Africa (ILLCA). She holds a master’s degree from the Presbyterian School of Christian Education and brings extensive international experience in community-led development. Edith has traveled to Haiti, Honduras, and Nicaragua, partnering directly with local residents to build and maintain sustainable water purification systems. Her global work also includes travel to Rwanda, deepening her commitment to cross-cultural partnership, community empowerment, and the mission of Living Learning Communities across Sub-Saharan Africa.
Get in Touch
Reach out to join our mission or ask questions.
