About SMAT
“They shall mount up with wings as eagles.” - Isaiah 40:31
School of Missionary Aviation Technology
468 E. Sprague Rd D-175 - Ionia, MI 48846
Phone: (616) 527 4160
Email: info@smat-aviation.org
Our Vision: To serve the Lord through aviation training.
Our vision is to serve the Lord in missions by providing certified training in flight, aviation maintenance and related technical fields. We are committed to providing a high level of training through academic excellence, quality personnel, and facilities conducive to the real world missionary environment. As servants of Christ, we will accomplish this by providing a learning environment that is Christ centered, caring, compassionate and responsive.
Our Mission: Equip students to serve God in mission aviation.
Our mission is to equip men and women with the skills necessary to serve God in mission aviation. We will do this by providing Christ centered, performance based training in maintenance, flight, and related technical disciplines; and through hands-on experience in both laboratory and field environments.
Our History: 1969 until the Present
- 1969 to 1993 - GRSBM - SMAT‘s origins can be traced to the missionary aviation program at Grand Rapids School of the Bible & Music as part of the school’s Missions Program.
- 1993 to 1997 - MATS - Cornerstone University acquired GRSBM and formed MATS (Missionary Aviation Training Service)
- 1997 to Now - SMAT - SMAT became an independent school (School of Missionary Aviation Technology)
Our Leadership: Highly-Experienced and Mission-Driven
Each person on our Board of Directors and faculty has a strong desire to serve the Lord combined with the knowledge and experience to steer our school in the right directions.
Board of Directors
- Marvin Tyler, Chairman
- Ron Reitsma, Vice-Chairman
- Michael McDonald, Treasurer
- David Pray, Secretary
- Roger Lucas, Resources
- John Montegue, Industry Advisor
- Mark Linsley, Technical Advisor
- Bill Jones, President/CEO
Faculty
- Bill Jones, President/CEO
- Duane Linsley, Maintenance Instructor
- Dean Peterson, Maintenance Instructor
- Terry Yoder, Part-Time Maintenance Instructor
- Jared Kresge, Aviation Maintenance
- Davey Fore, Chief Flight Instructor
- Paul Segard, Flight Instructor
- Jim Sutter, Office Manager
Our Alliances: Mission Agencies & Other Schools.
We have alliances with missions agencies and other schools that send their students to SMAT for the specialized training we can provide.
Here are some of the mission agencies we are affiliated with:
- MAF - Missionary Aviation Fellowship
- JAARS - JAARS
- AIM-AIR - Africa Inland Mission
- NTM - New Tribes Mission
- SAM - South American Mission
- ABWE - Association of Baptists for World Evangelism
- Baptist Mid-Missions - Baptist Mid-Missions
- IAMA - International Association of Missionary Aviation
Here are some of the schools we are affiliated with:
- PVBI - Penn View Bible Institute
- NBI - Nicolet Bible Institute

