Ivan Schumann is the founder and director of LET MY PEOPLE KNOW ministries. Ivan, who is bilingual in English and Spanish, is the former executive director of the Indianapolis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce, during which he also hosted a widely received television show on issues impacting the Hispanic community. He also formerly served as development director at the Gulf Coast Latin Chamber of Commerce (Sarasota, FL).
Ivan holds a B.S. in Leadership and Ministries from Crossroads Bible College (Indianapolis) and both an A.A.S. in Transportation Management and an A.A.S. in Marketing Management from Queensborough College (Bayside, NY). His diverse business background includes management and administration in health care, Medicare operations and sales, scheduling, marketing and promotions.
Ivan has been a member of Mishkan David Messianic Congregation in Sunrise, FL, since January 2017. The congregation was founded on September 13, 1991. On the VIDEOS page is Ivan’s interview with Assistant Rabbi Thomas Orms, Jr., who had an encounter with Yeshua in 2015 and recounts his salvation experience, which literally saved his life. Mishkan David Messianic Congregation’s leader, Rabbi Gabriel Simkin, later prayed for him in Yeshua’s Name, after which he also was healed of insomnia. The synagogue’s leadership team currently comprises Rabbi Gabriel Simkin and his wife, Rebbetzin Esther Simkin, and Assistant Rabbi Thomas Orms, Jr., and his wife, assistant Rebbetzin Vanessa Orms.
Ivan is privileged to blow the shofar during services at Mishkan David Messianic Congregation. On the VIDEOS page, learn how to blow this beautiful, meaningful ancient musical horn yourself as you watch Ivan’s shofar-blowing tutorial!
Ivan is the host of the LET MY PEOPLE KNOW podcasts, which also are available to view on the VIDEOS page. He founded LET MY PEOPLE KNOW in 2023 after years of knowing that God was leading him to help the Jewish people embrace their Messiah, Jesus – in Hebrew, Yeshua HaMashiach (Anointed Salvation).
Ivan’s personal philosophy is to minister God’s Word through the lenses of a dedicated, devoted and determined minister whose aim is to bring changes to people in need of help. He believes that his love and extensive knowledge of the Bible will benefit both Jewish and non-Jewish communities. One of his key goals as a minister and teacher is to challenge the status quo of today’s lifestyles of both Jews and non-Jews alike.
Ivan has a long history of helping people in their personal and professional development. He brings to his ministerial background a wealth of executive-level experience, having made decisions on important matters in both community and political arenas. His main goal is to share his faith in Jesus Christ with others. He knows that as people develop a personal relationship with Christ and make Him their Lord, individuals, schools, businesses, cities, states and nations will change for the better. The key is to know Christ and have a God-fearing perspective. The fear of the Lord is the beginning of wisdom (Proverbs 9:10).
Ivan gained extensive experience as a business developer, manager and community leader as executive director of the Indianapolis Hispanic Chamber of Commerce. In that role he developed and promoted the spiritual, intellectual, emotional and physical growth of the Hispanic community through various community projects. For example, as executive director, he played a lead role in the La Plaza project, where four non-profit organizations came together to develop a network of programs in education, youth development, cultural Hispanic awareness, and business and political development. La Plaza played a key role in creating Indiana’s largest scholarship fund for college-bound Hispanic and Latino youth. To date, the Indiana Latino Scholarship Fund has awarded more than $3 million in scholarships to Indiana Hispanic and Latino students.
As co-chair of the Hispanics Latino Forum, Ivan addressed the challenges and opportunities related to living in a multicultural arena. The goal was to build stronger relationships among the African-American, Anglo-American, Asian-American and Hispanic/Latino communities.
Ivan also served on the board of the Central Indiana Governance Committee United Way Worldwide. In this role, he participated in outreaches to the Hispanic community. He identified needs as well as identified and met with potential donors in the hope of addressing the community’s myriad challenges and opportunities.
Ivan’s work with NASHIBA-Indianapolis Chapter National Association of Hispanic MBA led to the development of Stepping Stone, a program that linked Hispanic high-schoolers with college-bound students. This effort launched a liaison between Hispanic community leaders and Hispanic students at Craig Middle School in Indianapolis. Through introduction to Hispanic / Latino professionals, the young students at Craig Middle School were able to learn about the adults’ personal experiences in college as well as hear all about their professions. The hope was these sessions would encourage the youngsters to see that good opportunities were available to them and that going to college was well within their grasp.
Ivan also has served as chair and co-founder of the Sarasota Ministerial Association in Sarasota, FL. Its mission is to build pathways for communication and friendship among faith-based organizations and the Sarasota community.
Over the years, Ivan has received numerous awards for his public service, including the following:
- National Organization of Women: Business Owners Award / Partnership Executive
- La Plaza Project: Development Award
- Indiana Hispanic Scholarship Foundation: College-Bound Hispanic Students
- Toastmasters International Award: Leadership and Communications
- National Guard Military Department of Indiana: Hispanic Heritage Month / Program Leadership Award
