Jonathan Victorian Jr. serves as the Director of MissionLab,
where he leads efforts to connect mission teams with the city of New Orleans
through hands-on ministry and Gospel-centered service. He is currently pursuing
a Master of Divinity in Expository Preaching at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary.
With a passion for equipping others to live on mission, Jonathan brings both leadership and a heart for the local church to his role at MissionLab.

Eli J. Byrd is an Assistant Professor of Christian Ministry at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He holds an M.Div. from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary (2021), and he is currently an Ed.D. candidate at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary.

With a passion for discipleship and education, Eli seeks to see the Gospel take deep root in believers’ lives, empowering them for mission.

Outside the classroom, he enjoys traveling, cruising, playing sports with his children, exploring New Orleans’ culinary scene, and discovering new places with his wife Julie and their four kids

Dr. Luke Johnson serves as Assistant Professor of Global Missions and Director of the ServeNola Gap Year Program at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. A New Orleans native, Dr. Johnson was adopted and raised in Laurel, Mississippi, before returning to the city that shaped his calling.

He played collegiate football at University of Southern Mississippi, where he was a three-year letterman and earned All-American and All-Conference honors with the Golden Eagles. Dr. Johnson came to faith in February 1998 and has served in ministry since 1999 as both an itinerant preacher and pastor in the United States and cross-culturally on multiple continents.

His academic research focuses on missions history, particularly the definition and theology of martyrdom across the history of the church. Dr. Johnson and his wife, Lauren, were married in 2006 and currently live in New Orleans.

Dr. George Ross serves as Assistant Professor of Church Planting and Evangelism and holds the Cecil B. Day Chair of Church Planting at New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary. He sensed God’s call to ministry during high school and has been faithfully involved in local church ministry since 1994.

Dr. Ross was the founding pastor of Lifepoint Church in Senatobia, Mississippi, and a founding member of the ONE8 Church Planting Network, where he also served as Director. He currently serves as the Send Network Regional Director for the South Region with North American Mission Board, as well as a Replant Pastor at Lakeshore Church. His ministry experience spans church planting, revitalization, pastoral leadership, and mentoring leaders for long-term gospel impact.

Dr. Ross has been married to his wife, Joy, for 23 years, and they have six children: Isaac, Hannah Ruth, Abigail, Jeremiah, London, and Reuben.