9383 Edison St. (Marlboro Township) - Alliance, Ohio 44601 - (330) 935-2161
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9383 Edison St. (Marlboro Township) - Alliance, Ohio 44601 - (330) 935-2161 |
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York Dominican Mission Dominican Republic
Rick and Suzanne York have been missionaries since 1972. They served in Puerto Rico until 1990 when they began work in the Dominican Republic. The Dominican Republic, like so many Latin American countries, is a land of extremes. Despite its beauty and natural resources, it is still one of the poorest counties in the western hemisphere. Over 57% of the houses have no running water and 43% of the children under 15 years of age live in absolute poverty. The country has, however, made great strides in the past few years to improve conditions and economic progress is being seen all over the island. The Christian Church in the Dominican Republic The mission work in the Dominican Republic has been blessed with a few dedicated missionaries that have opened this field to the gospel of Christ. Gordon and Vivian Thompson moved here from Puerto Rico in 1974 and have continued to labor for the Lord. Bill and Ginny Loft came to the Dominican Republic in 1976. Bill was the personification of the "pioneering" missionary. He and Ginny enjoyed the challenge of starting new works in areas that had never seen a "Christian Church" nor had ever heard of the Restoration Movement. Bill and Ginny were joined in the work in 1978 by their son, Billy, and his wife, Bette. Billys dynamic spirit and love for the people soon became evident in a growing church work. In the Cibao area, the area that Santiago is in the center of, churches were started. Since 1980, 28 congregations have been started in this area. All have Dominican preachers that have been trained or are being trained at El Centro Cristiano in Santiago. The leadership of El Centro Cristiano has been assumed by Rick and Suzanne York. The work of El Centro Cristiano, led by the Yorks, is divided into eight different areas. They are as follows: 1. Leadership Training for the Dominican churches 2. Church planting 3. Church and facility construction 4. Educational programs for the community 5. Medical evangelism 6. Peparation of Latin missionaries 7. Youth evangelism 8. Development of Sunday School curriculum The future of the church in the Dominican Republic depends on trained leadership from within the churches on the island. The "Bible College" approach is not the answer to the needs of the churches because our options of where to send our students are limited; plus, most young Dominican men cannot get visas to leave the country because of the serious problem of illegal immigration to the U. S. Also, the churches are generally too poor to support a full-time preacher and his family. What has been developed is a monthly, intensive training session where the leaders of the churches come together at the Arroyo Hondo Church and School in Santiago to have class on Friday evenings from 6-10 p.m. and then Saturday mornings from 8-12. Church planting in Latin America must begin to focus on the large metropolitan areas. By the year 2000, according to some experts, 75-80% of Latin Americans will live in cities like Mexico City, San Juan, Buenos Aires and Santo Domingo. The goal we have set is to have 200 congregations in the Dominican Republic by the year 2000, Lord willing. Their immediate goal is to start 16 new churches in the Santiago area in the next two years and then concentrate on Santo Domingo. Send a note of encouragement to: Rick & Suzanne York E-mail: ryork13@hotmail.com Forwarding
agents: Ken & Jan Rutledge |
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The reason Marlboro Christian Church exists is to glorify God by: |
