Zach, Kayla, and Theo live in Southwest Minnesota where Zach serves as the Director of Operations for Proclaim Aviation Ministries and Kayla Merkling helps to coordinate hospitality for visiting missionaries and those involved in Proclaim’s program.

 

Established in 2002, Proclaim is dedicated to preparing individuals for long-term aviation ministry. Since its start, Proclaim has sent 75 families into long-term aviation service overseas, impacting over 25 different countries. The ministry provides mentored work opportunities for graduates of missionary aviation training programs. Among its 35 missionaries—spread across three states—many are recent graduates seeking to serve in aviation ministry either stateside or overseas, while others serve as mentors to new missionary aviators.

 

As Director of Operations, Zach helps to oversee these 35 families, walking alongside them in their journey. Working from Proclaim’s home office in Worthington, MN, Zach has the opportunity to personally invest in the lives of new pilots and mechanics as they gain the experience, mentoring, and financial support needed for long-term service.

 

Proclaim now operates three aircraft based in Minnesota: a Cessna 421C, a Cessna 310R, and a Cessna 172. These aircraft are utilized for both local ministry flights and humanitarian missions. Alongside Proclaim’s Chief Pilot, Zach brings new pilots on flights that serve real needs while offering invaluable hands-on training. Most recently, these flights have included transporting individuals with unique medical needs to specialty clinics across the nation, and relocating survivors of trafficking to safe houses.

 

Even as Proclaim prepares aviators for future ministry, there is an intentional emphasis on “blooming where you are planted”—encouraging each new missionary to live out the Gospel wherever God has them now. While in training, Proclaim’s pilots and mechanics are not only developing technical skills but also learning how to serve others with Christlike compassion—whether in the hangar, in-flight, or in everyday life. They are showing and sharing the love of Jesus in every encounter, living out the mission both now and in the field to come.