Amy Gopp

The Rev. Amy Gopp responds to her calling to the work of Christ by serving as a global activist and peacemaker—one who through dynamic preaching and creative teaching urges God’s people to engage in compassionate service that imbues hope and empowerment for all.

An ordained minister of the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), Gopp currently serves as the Executive Director for Week of Compassion, the relief, refugee, and development mission fund of the Disciples church. On behalf of its network of more than 3,500 congregations worldwide, Week of Compassion distributes annually an average of $3-4 million toward global sustainable development and humanitarian relief.

Gopp spent her formative years in Kent, Ohio. Nurtured by First Christian Church (Disciples of Christ) and inspired by Camp Christian, a spiritual development program of the Disciples’ Ohio region, Amy discovered readily her calling to Christian ministry. Her movement toward church work was boosted after Amy received her bachelor’s of arts in International Relations at the American University School of International Service in Washington, D.C. Commissioned as a missionary in 1995, Gopp moved from the States to the war-torn former Yugoslavia as a volunteer with Mennonite Central Committee. For four years Gopp lived in Croatia and Bosnia serving as a peace activist aiming to relieve refugee concerns; to promote interfaith dialogue; and to provide education toward conflict resolution. Additionally, Gopp managed the award-winning Pontanima, an interfaith choir based in Sarajevo, Bosnia and Herzegovina. For 14 years, the choir has been acclaimed as an innovative peacemaking project, a shining ambassador of reconciliation in Bosnia and a major contributor to the cultural life of the region.

Influenced by her experiences in the Bosnian and Croatian war zones, Gopp pursued and completed in 1998 a master’s of arts in Conflict Resolution at Antioch University. She subsequently served for four years as the Intern Coordinator for the Disciples Peace Fellowship, an independent organization within the Christian Church (Disciples of Christ). DPF promotes peace and justice matters by providing educational resources and opportunities to congregations and youth camps toward increased global awareness. It was during this season that Gopp also served on the Week of Compassion’s advisory committee.

Gopp’s academic pursuits were once again influenced by her experiences as a witness to human suffering when she enrolled at the renowned Union Theological Seminary in the City of New York. As a graduate student, Gopp served as associate minister for outreach ministries at Manhattan’s Park Avenue Christian Church (Disciples of Christ), and she worked as a United Nations liaison for Wider Church Ministries, a common ministry of the United Church of Christ and Disciples of Christ. Her work led Gopp to co-found the Poverty Initiative, a program equipping religious leaders to overcome oppressive economic structures that contribute to poverty in America. The program’s work continues today, supported by the Seminary. Gopp graduated in 2005 with her master’s of divinity from Union and was ordained as a Disciples of Christ minister that same year.

Amy is the author of numerous articles and is a consistent contributor to Disciples publications. She is also co-editor of Split Ticket: Independent Faith in a Time of Partisan Politics.

When she finds a precious free moment, Rev. Gopp loves to read poetry, write, sing, cook and spend time with her nieces and nephew.