Phone: 314.434.4044
Email: faculty@covenantseminary.edu
Dr. Richard Joe
ASSOCIATE PROFESSOR OF WORLD MISSIONS
Paul D. Kooistra Chair of World Missions
Dr. Richard Joe is Associate Professor of World Missions at Covenant Seminary. He is the first occupant of the Paul D. Kooistra Chair of World Missions, named in honor of Dr. Paul D. Kooistra, third President of Covenant Seminary (1985–1994) and former Coordinator of Mission to the World (1994–2014).
Born and raised in Philadelphia, Dr. Joe has had a calling to serve Persians ever since his first trip to the Middle East in 1993. After pastoring a PCA church in California for several years, he and his wife, Hyeyoung, and their son moved to Europe in 2006, where he pastored a Persian church. The Joes then returned to the US for further study and then moved to the Middle East where Dr. Joe taught and trained international church leaders. In 2017 they returned to the US for his PhD studies while continuing his ministry to Persians overseas.
Education
PhD [Intercultural Studies]
Trinity Evangelical Divinity School
Deerfield, Illinois
MDiv
Westminster Theological Seminary
Philadelphia, PA
MPS [Persian]
University of Maryland
College Park, MD
BA [International Studies]
Muhlenberg College
Allentown, PA
Faculty member since 2025
Select Courses
God’s World Mission
Introduction to the Muslim World