Oak Hills Church - Long Term Missions
Contact Information:
Michael Oakes: moakes343@gmail.com
Then he said to his disciples, "The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
Matt 9:37-38
Oak Hills partners with a number of missionaries throughout the world including:
BRAZIL
Natal, Brazil
Bryan & Jannet Carruth
Bryan & Jannet pastor a growing church - Refúgio da Graça (Grace Haven) - in the vibrant coastal city of Natal, the capital of Rio Grande do Norte state in northeast Brazil. This strategically located church seeks to foster deeper spiritual commitment of its people while reaching out to the city, the state and beyond. God is now fulfilling a long-term dream to use the Grace Haven campus to develop a regional missions training facility, called Springboard Ministries**.
Recife, Brazil
Dennis and Germana Downing
The Downing’s have served as Oak Hills missionaries in Brazil since 1990. They minister among several congregations in the greater Recife area, one of Brazil's largest and poorest urban environments. They have trained leaders in several associated congregations and been involved in outreach to the poor and homeless. Dennis also contributes as author and manager of two Portuguese language websites offering daily devotionals and in-depth Christian leadership training at www.hermeneutica.com and www.iluminalma.com.
Sao Laurenco, Brazil
Bio and Dayse Nascimento
The Nascimento’s are Brazilian natives who minister with other leaders in the São Lourenço church, alongside the Downings. Bio leads small groups and personal evangelistic studies, while also raising up and training new leaders. Dayse leads children's ministry activities and is actively heading up a social project that helps poor children to obtain better education. Bio is a passionate student of the Old Testament.
AFRICA
West Africa
Marsha Martin
Marsha moved to a West African country from San Antonio in 2004 to teach literacy to the Yalunka people. Using the literacy strategy established by Pioneer Bible Translators, she is teaching indigenous individuals to become literacy teachers. She was recently trained and appointed as a crisis intervention/support minister to the many missionaries serving in the region. Since 2005, she has also helped train literacy teachers serving in southern Sudan.
Burkina Faso, West Africa
Geoffrey & Suzanne Richter
In the fall of 2008, the Ricther family joined a team of three other families to continue working in the villages around Dano, Burkina Faso among the unreached Dagara people. Since 2002, the team has been presenting the gospel message, planting churches and training leaders among the Dagara. This has led to a vibrant church planting movement among the Dagara, with many of the new Christians sharing the gospel in neighboring villages. The Richters continue Oak Hills involvement in this work following the return of Archie and Mandy Chankin to the U.S. in July of 2008. They have an interest in exploring opportunities for integrating agricultural development and clean water projects with the ministry.
CENTRAL AMERICA AND THE CARIBBEAN
San Salvador, El Salvador
Rafael & Sonia Rosales
The Rosales family returned to their home country in 1996 to plant churches there, including the congregation in Santa Tecla now pastored by Rafael. The Lord led them to establish a foundation in the village of El Sunza. Fundación Sueños-Dreams Foundation helps provide for the spiritual, physical and educational needs of over 100 of the village's most impoverished children, through sponsorships largely supported by Oak Hills members.
El Sunza, El Salvador
Ken & Vicky Conway
The Conways moved to El Salvador in 2008 and live in the village of El Sunza, helping administer Fundación Sueños (Dreams Foundation) as well as advising and supporting ministries of Communidad de Cristo Church in El Sunza. The foundation offers the hope of the Gospel to children and their families, and is designed to break the cycle of poverty by insuring that sponsored children are afforded access to public school, basic medical and nutritional care, and vocational training opportunities. Additionally, the Conways have been led to coordinate the "Partners for Homes" initiative in the village, providing basic, secure homes to some of the most impoverished families, in a partnership format similar to Habitat for Humanity.
Rio Coco River, Nicaragua
The Messiah Project**
Oak Hills partners with the Messiah Project - a Christian Non-Profit Organization in Nicaragua - in an ongoing ministry to the unreached Moskito Indians of the Rio Coco River, which runs east and west and defines the borders between Honduras and Nicaragua. The ministry provides sorely needed medications (including for parasites, an enormous problem), food aid and medical and dental care, coupled with evangelistic outreach. Oak Hills supports the Messiah Project in looking for a holistic approach to addressing the deep spiritual, economic and societal challenges faced by the people of the Rio Coco River.
Cap Haitien, Haiti
Moise and Altagrace Toussaint**
In January, 2009, Oak Hills deepened its partnership with Moise and Altagrace Toussaint in Cap Haitien, Haiti. This indigenous missionary family have been serving some of the neediest of their people for years through a feeding center, school, orphanage and church-planting. This relationship was built over many years through short-term mission teams traveling and working alongside the Toussaints and others.
Monclova, Mexico
Jose Luis and Valentina Estrada**
Over the last five years, the Amistad Group of Oak Hills – led by families with a heart for Mexico - developed a deep relationship with a church in Monclova, Mexico, in the northern Mexican state of Coahuila. In January, 2009, Oak Hills expanded its partnership with this church and with its pastor, Jose Luis Estrada and his family. Pastor Estrada has a vision and plan to grow the church and to use it as a foundation to reach out further into his city and the region The result will be a nearby site for cross-cultural outreach and training, generating great opportunities for deep, cross-border cooperation and growth.
GLOBAL - BIBLE TRANSLATION
Pioneer Bible Translators in Dallas, TX
Greg & Rebecca Pruett
The Pruetts lived for twelve and a half years among the Yalunka people in a small West African nation where they completed translation of the Old and New Testaments. In 2006, Greg and Rebecca moved their family to Dallas where Greg now serves as President of Pioneer Bible Translators. Greg and Rebecca are leading PBT to greatly expand strategic efforts to bring the gospel to the Bibleless peoples of the world.
