Joshua Kagi
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American Baptist Home Mission Societies P.O. Box 851 Valley Forge, Pa. 19482-0851 Work Phone: 800.222.3872, x2315 |
As social media specialist, Joshua Kagi enjoys exploring American Baptist Home Mission Societies’ (ABHMS) nearly two centuries of stories and determining new ways to share them in today’s digital age.
During his upbringing at Emerald Baptist Church (EBC), Eugene, Ore., Kagi soaked up discussions about ABHMS’ ministry throughout the United States and Puerto Rico.
“My grandparents, also members of EBC, spent many years as volunteers for various missions. It’s their example that inspired my passion for storytelling and advocacy,” he says. “In this role, I get to be closer to the heartbeat of these missions and get to tell the story of the organization’s great work, so other people and generations can be raised in a similar environment to my own and, hopefully, be inspired.”
No stranger to mission, Kagi helped to organize and live stream the American Baptist prayer vigil at the U.S.-Mexico border in 2014. In addition, as documentarian for “Building Haitian Hope,” he shared the story of Conscious International’s work in Grand Goave, Haiti. Kagi looks forward to continuing to connect American Baptists via technology.
“I hope to utilize new media tools to better connect ABHMS to its constituents, to tell our stories in new and fresh ways and to inspire millennials—who consume and participate in social media almost exclusively —to become advocates and participants in ABHMS mission.”
Kagi is well-suited to social media endeavors, having co-founded and managed Startingbloq, an organization that helps small businesses enhance their Web presence, and having directed Web development at Direct Placement, a marketing agency in Portland, Ore. In addition, he was a production designer at Eugene (Ore.) Magazine. As communications director of Rick Dancer’s campaign for secretary of state, Kagi created and implemented a blog, Facebook fan page, Twitter account and a video mini-series. He was production assistant on the feature-length documentary “The Gentleman of the Senate: Oregon’s Mark Hatfield.”
Kagi enjoys cooking, photography and spending time outdoors. A sports lover, his favorite teams are the Portland Timbers and his alma mater’s Oregon Ducks. He recently wed Sarah Strosahl-Kagi, whom he met during an International Ministries mission trip to Deborah’s House in Tijuana, Mexico.
EDUCATION:
- Political Science and Journalism, University of Oregon, 2007
EXPERIENCE:
- Co-founder and manager, Startingbloq, 2009-2015
- Director, Web development, Direct Placement, 2012-2014
- Production designer, Eugene Magazine, 2009-2011
IMPORTANT DATES:
- Birthday: June 5
HOME MISSION HIGHLIGHT:
- Kagi invites constituents to “like” ABHMS on Facebook and follow on Twitter at abhomemission