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Global Missions Priority:
The priority of global missions at Waypoint Church is to share the Gospel and help people follow and devote their lives to Jesus
in places where the Good News of Jesus Christ has never (or almost never) been shared. Many of these people around the globe live in what is known as the 10/40 Window (between 10 and 40 degrees north latitude) which forms a band encompassing Saharan and Northern Africa, and much of Asia (West Asia, Central Asia, South Asia, East Asia and much of Southeast Asia).
Our Global Missions Team is cognizant that opportunities for ministry to refugees, use of media/technology, and multiplication/disciple-making movement approaches are showing promise to transform lives across the globe.
This ongoing and exciting work is very active, primarily through each of our mission partners around the world but also in people within our Waypoint Church community. Learn more about our current mission partners below.
Please reach out to the Global Missions Team (globalmissions@waypoint.church) with any questions about our strategies, mission partners, team activities or interest in joining the team or if you would like to be added to new updates from specific mission partners.
Current Mission Partner Bios Interactive Map
Americas
Mary Hopkins, SIL International, Mexico
Partner since: 1987
Region: Mexico
Ministry Focus: Bible Translation, education
Agency: SIL International (https://www.sil.org/)
Mary is a Literacy Specialist working with Wycliffe Bible Translators and SIL International. After 35 years of living and working in Mexico, she is now based in Arizona where she continues working: checking and editing books in indigenous languages for publication, helping with formatting and converting publications from Publisher to LibreOffice, consulting with translation teams in Mexico on literacy issues, and doing some online literacy training courses. She also works a few hours a week in the Literacy office of the SIL Mexico branch in Arizona assisting the Human Resources Department.
John Bueno, Hispanic U.S., Colombia
Partner since: 1997
Region: U.S. Hispanic diaspora
Ministry Focus: Church planting, Radio
Agency: Latins United Christian Ministries
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
Decades ago, John encountered Jesus through the ministry of some faithful people of this congregation, and ever since then John has been committed to teaching, preaching, and living the gospel of Jesus Christ especially among Spanish speakers. He’s worked in Central and South America, Africa, and here in the United States with a variety of ministries including clean water projects and church planting. Wherever an opportunity arises, John finds a way to use his skills to build community and share the love of Jesus. John’s work is based in Nebraska and California.
Africa
Luke and Jenny Herrin*, Africa
Partner since: 1991
Region: Africa
Ministry Focus: Leadership, Administration
Agency: Africa Inland Mission (www.aimint.org)
Summary of ministry:
Luke is the International Director of AIM. He oversees both the mobilizing offices around the world as well as the offices in Africa. He provides vision and direction. He travels a lot visiting missionaries and offices and speaking to promote missions. Jenny posts daily prayer requests to PrayAfrica (www.prayafrica.org) for the unreached people groups they work among, as well as making Luke's travel arrangements, and other administrative jobs. Previously Luke and Jenny served in the field in African countries, including Comoro Islands and Djibouti, sharing the gospel as medical missionaries.
*Names changed for safety and security reasons.
John and Maureen Becker, Africa
Partner since: 2019
Region: Africa, Europe (African diaspora), Asia
Ministry Focus: Unreached, Mentoring emerging leaders, Catalyzing mission collaboration
Agency: AIM (www.aimint.org), 3P (www.3pministries.com), Activate Global (www.activateglobal.net), BSF (www.bsfinternational.org)
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
John currently serves as Strategy Coordinator and Europe Region Leader (African diaspora) for Africa Inland Mission (AIM), Chairman, Strategic Partnerships for Activate Global, and CEO, Team Leader for 3P Ministries. Maureen currently serves as Secretary for AIM’s International Director Search Committee, Borderless member of AIM, and Substitute Teaching Leader for Bible Study Fellowship. After three years of pastoral ministry, John and Maureen joined Africa Inland Mission (AIM) in 1994 - serving South Asian diaspora and Somali refugee communities in Kenya. In 2002, they moved to Bristol, England, where they took on a Director role in AIM. After 8 years there, they returned to California. During this time the Lord expanded their calling beyond Africa to help develop leaders and mission collaboration, prioritizing least reached populations of the world.
Dorcas*, Africa
Partner since: 2018
Region: Africa
Ministry Focus: Leadership
Agency: African Inland Mission (www.aimint.org)
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
Dorcas, together with her family, lives and serves God in Ethiopia. She works with AIM as a mission mobilizer and trainer desiring to see Ethiopians joining God in His Global Mission. We have been supporting her since November 2018. Dorcas has recently been appointed to take a leadership role in the International Office to serve as African Ministries Director. In this role, she will be overseeing AIM’s direct field ministry and supervising the regional leaders in Africa and the African Diaspora. She is excited to see the gospel spreading among the lost, last, least-reached of Africans on the continent and abroad, lives transformed, disciples made, leaders developed, Christ-centered churches planted, communities transformed and God glorified!
*Name changed for safety and security reasons.
Asia
Northern India Partner*
Partner since: 2012
Region: Northern India (Bihar, Uttar Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Jharkhand, West Bengal)
Ministry Focus: Unreached, villages
Agency: Friends of India Network (https://www.foinetwork.net/)
Summary of ministry:
Our Indian partners* have a vision of No Village Left – to plant a healthy house church in every village of Northern India by 2033. Focusing on unreached and unengaged people groups, these partners equip pastors and trainers to travel to villages to share the Good News and plant churches. In 2020, they created a Disciple Maker School to train and equip workers to serve as church planters, pastors, Bible school staff and strong leaders for the Kingdom. The majority of the workers needed to accomplish NVL will be trained at this school. Our partners are also committed to educating and sharing the message of Christ’s love with the Dalit (poorest of the poor) women and children by establishing a Christian school, literacy centers, transformation groups and homes for abandoned children. Our partners’ ministry began in 2010. Since that time, the number of workers has grown from 28 to 1,100, and together they’ve shared the Good News with more than 16 million people, planted over 45,000 house churches, and baptized approximately 244,000 believers.
*Names omitted for safety and security reasons.
Mike Smith, Malaysia
Partner since: 1997
Region: Malaysia
Ministry Focus: Unreached, refugee children, the elderly, migrants and homeless men
Agency: YWAM (https://ywam.org/)
Summary of ministry:
Mike has a heart for unreached people around the world to know Jesus. He began serving on staff with YWAM in Malaysia in February 2022, after working with the organization in China for 26 years. He ministers to refugee children, elderly Chinese, and sometimes to migrant workers and homeless men in his area. YWAM established a Life School to teach refugee children since they aren’t allowed to attend Malaysian public schools, and Mike teaches English to some of them. He also oversees their morning chapel time and character building, sharing stories from the Bible, and fills in as administrator when needed. Mike assists with the Waller Court ministry (a low-cost apartment complex mainly inhabited by elderly Cantonese-speaking Chinese, who are either new Christians or not yet believers). He aids with bi-weekly church services and Discovery Bible Study (DBS), as well as monthly food distribution and visitation. In addition, Mike seeks to develop friendships with migrant workers (mostly from Pakistan and Bangladesh) to build relationships so he can share about Jesus and disciple them.
D&N*, Central Asia Highlands
Partner since: 2017
Region: Central Asia Highlands
Ministry Focus: Unreached
Agency: TMS Global (www.tms-global.org)
Summary of ministry:
D&N serve in a country that is 99% unreached and unengaged. Their vision for their country is to see local people become followers of Christ, be discipled and disciple others, and create a movement toward Christ throughout the nation. They are doing this through Discovery Bible Studies, partnership with local Church leaders, and social media initiatives.
*Names omitted for safety and security reasons.
South Asia Ministry Partner*
Partner since: 2013
Region: South Asia
Ministry Focus: Unreached, Missions Training & Collaboration
Agency: Self
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
This mission partner works with a network of Christian ministries that collaborate to effectively create gospel access among least-reached people in South Asia. Recognizing the complex missional context of this region, the work is holistic and self-sustaining. This partner organization trains and equips leaders in Disciple-Making Movements and Business as Mission Practices. They are also on the cutting edge of Bible translation work for oral language learners. Through leadership training, network development, and Bible access for oral language learners, this partner organization is equipping followers of Jesus to share the Good News of Jesus and create access to South Asia’s least-reached people groups to hear the gospel.
*Name omitted for safety and security reasons.
Katie Schumacher, Tokyo, Japan
Partner since: 2022
Region: Japan
Ministry Focus: Unreached students
Agency: Stumo (https://www.stumo.org/, https://www.jventure.jp/)
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
In Japan, StuMo partners with JVenture to build laborers for Christ among the next generation in Tokyo. Katie is the Operations Manager for a Stumo team in Tokyo. As Operations Manager, she coordinates and runs all of their short term mobilization trips for college laborers to learn more about missions and catch vision for going overseas long term. She is studying Japanese, and has written her testimony and is sharing it with others. She helps run summer teams geared to college students who are already making disciples. She is enthusiastic about making new friends and sharing the love of Jesus with other young people wherever she and her teams go. Here are some statistics about Tokyo that move Katie and her team to obey our call from Jesus in Matt. 28:18-20: Largest Metropolitan Area in the WORLD, 37 million people, 97.9% Unreached, 0.57% Evangelical, -0.4% growth rate, Largest Tech Power in the WORLD and one of the Largest Economies, 613 Company HQs, 51 Fortune 500, and one of the highest rates of depression and suicide among young people. Her focus revolves around four groups of people: Disciples, New Believers, Non-Believers, and the Unreached.
Europe & Middle East
Dustin and Sherri Ellington, Lebanon
Partners since: 2014
Region: Middle East (Lebanon)
Ministry Focus: Education, Students
Agency: The Antioch Partners (theantiochpartners.org)
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
Our mission partners Dustin and Sherri Ellington, a former intern and a member of our congregation, were married in our church sanctuary, and they have ministered in Africa for most of their careers. Recently they have been called to Beirut, Lebanon, where Dusty is a professor of New Testament at the Arab Baptist Theological Seminary. They are excited to encourage spiritual formation on people from the Middle East and North Africa for Christian life and ministry. They get to use their Arabic language skills that they learned while ministering in Egypt from 2005-2009 to understand students who speak a wide variety of Arabic dialects and come from all across North Africa and the Middle East.
David and Julee Schoch, Tirana Albania
Partner since: 1996
Region: Albania
Ministry Focus: Roma Gypsy people
Agency: Christar (https://www.christar.org)
Brief Bio/Summary of ministry:
As a young couple, David and Julee were called to move to Albania, a country that was closed to the gospel for many years, and the country in which they raised their family. Not long after they arrived, their calling was refined to minister to the Roma Gypsy people in Albania. The work is challenging, so they derived many creative ways to become welcome in the community so they could effectively communicate the gospel. They have become leaders and board members in a few organizations including the GDQ International Christian School which seeks to provide a Christ-centered, academically enriching, international education for the missionary and international business community. Another organization, the Albanian Encouragement Project, focuses on the collaboration among the mission community with the Albanian church to work effectively to reach the unreached. They also help lead a new organization, the Albanian Roma Network, where they are developing a coalition of workers who share resources and work together to bring the light of the gospel to the Roma people.