Perhaps the first thing that comes to mind regarding Dominican Republic are the white beaches and warm sun. While there is plenty of that, the island has also had a strategic important historically in the Latin America/Caribbean region. It was first discovered by Europeans back in 1492 (called Hispaniola), eventually becoming known as the Dominican Republic. It was here that the Europeans built the first Cathedral, University, and Hospital in the new world.
From its strategic ports, the Spanish and Portuguese discovered the rest of the Americas, including parts of Florida and Mexico. The early Catholic missionaries also started their “evangelization” of the Americas from Santo Domingo (obviously, not always with positive outcomes). Currently, the nation retains its status as a hub of travel in the Caribbean as well as Latin America.
Why this 500 year walk down memory lane? Well it seems in God’s providence, this island in the Caribbean has also become a strategic launching point for our ministry as well.Our key partners and ministry coaches, Carlos (Dominican) and Raydel (Cuban) have a vision to expand the ICM leadership training to various surrounding countries.
They have already made several trips to Guatemala and later this year Phil plans to join them in Colombia to follow up on invitations to train leaders there. Why is this important? Well throughout the region many young leaders are following through on God’s call in their lives, but have very little grounding in God’s word. This also includes a real lack of understanding of biblical leadership and how this differs from the culture around them. At the very least, this has led to weak churches and a mere cultural Christianity, to even more serious heresies that have led many away from faith in Jesus.
As the Lord provides workers and resources, our goal is to help them equip leaders that serve others rather than self-serving power and position. While this is an initiative of our Latin American team, we will be helping with their travel and accommodation costs. Your financial partnership will help us in this new initiative.