In 1971 the records for child adoptions (especially those involving infants) were kept sealed by the State.  Once adopted, the birth certificate of the adopted infant was replaced with a new certificate bearing the infant’s new name and new parents; the infant then had a new identity and was part of a new family.  That is how one particular infant came to be known by his current name: Dan Leischner.  Adopted by Jesus-loving parents at 5-1/2 months old, Dan would later gain an adopted younger sister, and an adopted younger brother.  For Dan, his adoption has always been a living picture of how as Christians we are adopted into God’s family through Jesus Christ, and we become sons and daughters of the Living God – grafted into a new family with a new identity, and a new future.

Although he grew up in a Christian household and was baptized at age 16, Dan did not consider a role in Christian ministry until 1999 (at age 28) when he went on a short-term mission trip to Russia.  Realizing that God might be calling him into ministry, Dan attended Multnomah Seminary to learn more about the bible.  Dan and Dana met at Multnomah and Dan started working as a Church Business Administrator at Meadow Springs Community Church (where Dana had already been employed for a few years).

After 5 years working at Meadow Springs Community Church, Dan launched his own business to serve many churches and nonprofit organizations by providing accounting and financial consulting services as a CPA.  After 10 years in public practice, Dan had an opportunity to join the staff of one of his clients, Africa New Life Ministries International (ANLM), a Christian ministry in East Africa.  Since 2015 Dan has been the Chief Financial Officer for ANLM and is able to use his training, education, and experience to further the ministry’s mission to “transform lives and communities through preaching the Gospel of Jesus Christ, and acting compassionately in His name.”

A native Oregonian, Dan married his wife Dana in 2001, and they moved to Canby in 2002.  They welcomed their first child Josef in 2006, then Tomas in 2008, and Isaak in 2011.  The Leischner family became part of Canby Christian Church in 2011 and they have served in various ministry roles, including a previous season when Dan was part of the Elder team.