DRC Mission Team 2017

Del Rey Church has been specially invited to work among tribes in Asia with an indigenous partner to a missionary we support. In 2014 we formed the beginnings of a 3 year partnership with him. We are confident in the potential for fruit to come from this partnership. Our activities and services will be carried out within the context of existing initiatives by local believers to plant churches. The people groups we are targeting are unreached by the gospel, but our partners are believers from those very tribes. Our partnership is mutually beneficial with long-term objectives. For these reasons, through prayer and from our experience last year, we have hope we are responding to the call to missions appropriately with stewardship and sensitivity.

With the desire that churches would eventually be planted among every village in his tribe, our partner is looking for ways to strengthen the few existing churches. Historically the people are Muslim and Hindu, and have resisted the cultural Christians in the area. Our presence would be strategic to reach these people.

So what exactly is the plan, and how are we going to accomplish it? DRC has been requested to help train lay church leaders in Biblical studies on various subjects and in socio-economic development. Our partner has identified two locations where we will teach one week modules for three years. The goal is to help our partner raise up capable leaders to lead biblically, preach truthfully and multiply effectively. For without leaders like this, a church planting movement will be lost.

2015 marked the beginning of our partnership. We taught on the purpose of the church and in general what makes a healthy church. In 2016 we taught on Marriage and Family Discipleship. In 2017 we will be focusing on business as an outreach and bi-vocational ministry.

We therefore approach this entire endeavor with fear and humility. There are many challenges we will face, but our confidence is not shaken. Our confidence in missions comes from God's promises that our missionary efforts are empowered and assured by His power, authority, presence, and sovereignty (Job 42:2; Isa 48:9-11; Matt 16:18; 24:14,35; 28:19; Rev 5:9). People from every nation will one day bow the knee to Jesus (Rev 5:9). Therefore, our mission will be finished one day. Because of this, we believe that church planting among un-reached people is the greatest need of missions (Rom 15:19-23). Frontier missions that reach people groups that do not yet have access to the gospel are our priority. We believe that the primary battle of missions is spiritual, and therefore prayer is the foundational discipline of our missionary efforts (Matt 6:9-10; Luke 14:33; John 15:16; 2 Thess 3:1; James 4:2-4). Because our mission is a spiritual battle, our lifestyles should reflect a willingness to sacrifice and suffer for the cause of Christ (Mark 10:28-30;Phil 2:29-30, 3:7-11; Col 1:24). Christians must either be missionaries, senders of missionaries, or disobedient. Let us strive to obey.