Ministry Update – November 2020

Ministry Update – November 2020

We have been members of First Baptist Church Coronado for 6 years. God called us to serve as missionaries to missionaries, specifically to provide pastoral care to missionaries in the field. As I became more senior as a Navy chaplain, my ministry transitioned to pastoral care for junior chaplains. This burden for fellow chaplains became a heart for missionaries in the field without access to similar support. In the initial phases of establishing this ministry, we could find no missions agency that was willing to take us on due to our unique model, namely, utilizing our sailboat to go to missionaries in Mexico and Central America. FBCC shared our passion for missionary care and, observing our walk and confirming our call, agreed to act as our sending agency. We felt that it was very first-century, sharing with the model of the Church at Antioch sending Paul and Barnabus into the mission field. In 2016, I retired from the Navy after 21 years and now our family of seven lives full-time aboard our 38’ catamaran in a little less than 400 square feet.

Our boat is named “ANKYRIOS,” a combination of the Greek words “ankura” (anchor) and “kyrios” (Lord). Hebrews 6:19 says “We have this [hope] as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul. . .” Knowing that our only hope is in the person and work of Jesus Christ, we seek to help missionaries remain securely set, anchored, in Christ. Hebrews 2:1 reminds us that we are to “pay much closer attention to what we have heard, lest we drift away from it.” The challenge for any committed Christian is to keep Christ foremost, not allowing “ministry” to diminish our relationship with the Lord.

Over the past five years, we have served over 200 missionaries in more than 20 countries directly through counseling, mentoring, discipleship, prayer, debriefing, conferences, building projects, ministry coverage, preaching, teaching and rest & recuperation (convincing missionaries to take a break and go sailing, paddleboarding, surfing, snorkeling, etc. for a day). We have facilitated church plants, youth ministry, prison ministry, orphanages, homeless ministry, retreat centers, summer camps, addiction recovery ministries, direct evangelism and Operation Christmas Child to name a few.

We are currently in Puerto Peñasco, Sonora, Mexico where we hauled out for hurricane season and are in the midst of our annual maintenance / overhaul. We are planning to launch within the next month. We have a number of missionaries in Mexico with whom we have cultivated relationships over the last few years. We are scheduled to lead a conference in La Paz, Mexico for TEAM (The Evangelical Alliance Mission) with approximately 100 missionaries expected to attend. We will be researching and visiting a potential future ministry site near Guadalajara.

Financially, we are at approximately 30% of our monthly budget of $5000. Our personal expenses such as mortgage, insurance, food, clothing, education, medical, etc. are paid for with our military retirement pay. The financial support we receive goes to providing the services listed above at no cost to the missionaries. It is astounding how much others charge for these services. Our heart is to be able to continue to do so. However, we are facing a 25% drop in support that will directly impact our ability to serve this year.