DeLonn and Valerie Rance

LaDawn, Jorel and Shayla

Mobilizing the Church to the Mandate

and Equipping the Called

Window on ministry

Many of you are aware that I am a doctoral student at Fuller Theological Seminary in the School of World Mission. The purpose of these studies is to add tools to my ministerial toolbox in order to more effectively train missionaries from Latin America. To my utter amazement Fuller is allowing me to focus specifically on training Latin American missionaries from a Pentecostal perspective. The approved title of the dissertation is: THE EMPOWERED CALL: THE ACTIVITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT IN SALVADORAN ASSEMBLIES OF GOD MISSIONARIES. The purpose of the study is to develop the components of a theory for the equipping of missionaries, which emerges from a Pentecostal understanding of the call and empowerment of missionaries by the Holy Spirit. I am about half way through a rather rigorous program. (Please, pray that I will be supernaturally empowered to finish by February 2004!!! Being a full time missionary is not conductive to doctoral studies!) Three of six chapters of the dissertation have been written (approximately 350 pages worth and about the same number of sources!); the original research is almost completed and tabulated (350 completed questionnaires of 41 questions, 32 completed questionnaires of 172 questions, and 21 in-depth interviews.) One of the components of the theory is that God often communicates his truth through narrative, through stories. What follows is just one abbreviated narrative from the dissertation representative of how God is calling and empowering Salvadorans in missions.

Juan was shaped throughout his early childhood and adolescence by religious life in the Roman Catholic Church. His dedication and desire to serve others led the clerics who were his instructors at a well know Roman Catholic high school to encourage him to become a priest. As he began his university studies, he was bombarded with instruction on dialectical materialism and Marxism. Juan came to doubt the existence of God and was filled with prejudice towards evangelicals. He thought that the gospel was for the ignorant and that missionaries and all evangelical churches were a part of the CIA's system to keep the peoples of Latin America in oppression, compliant in the face of injustice.

His first encounter with an evangelical was with an old basketball colleague. This friend had formally been known as a person who could speak only in the worst of obscenities. Yet, as he and Juan played together, Juan noticed that his friend had changed, not one bad word came from his mouth. ";What's happened to you?"; Juan inquired. His friend explained that he was meeting with a group of young people who read the Bible, sang and prayed together. They had a great time and Juan was welcome to join them. The invitation came at moment of deep emptiness in Juan's life. He found no purpose in life; he received good grades at the university; he was a good son to his parents; he was a good catholic attending mass every weekend; he partied and had a good time with his friends, but the emptiness led him to say yes. He was deeply impressed by the love and acceptance that he saw and experienced with the group, but turned down an invitation to accept Christ. He kept coming back because they had a basketball court at the church, and it gave him a place to play.

After showing up to play basketball for about three months, Juan arrived one after noon to play only to be told by one of the ladies of the church who did not know him, that the game had been suspended because everyone was going out to evangelize. Juan had no idea what that meant, but they handed him a tract containing the four spiritual laws, took him to a downtown ally where several drunks were lying on the street and told him, "Go and share the tract with them."; Juan had never seen the tract before, but he walked up to the men and said, "Do you mind if I read this to you? It talks about God."; They said yes so he began to read them the tract."The Bible says, God has a plan for your life.", Juan read the Bible texts that were printed in the tract, including John 3:16. He read the tract page by page. The derelicts listening nodded their heads in agreement. They asked, "Do you think God could forgive us?" Juan responded, "It says here..." and he read Romans 5:8 "while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us."  At the end of the tact there was an invitation and a model prayer. Juan asked, "Would you like to pray this prayer?" They said yes. Juan and five or six of the men knelt in the street and together they prayed the sinners' prayer.

When Juan rose from his knees, he knew something had happened in his heart. It felt like a huge weight had been lifted from his shoulders. When he opened his eyes, it was still the same filthy ally but everything was more vivid and clear, a new world. Juan was so filled with joy; he invited them to return with him to the church. There he told the pastor at the alter, these two men are with me, but I've made a decision for Christ too. Please pray for me. Juan did not know any more about the gospel then the two men with him, but his life had totally changed.

As his life with Christ grew, he began to read the Word, pray and ask lots of questions. He began to evangelize his university friends and some came to believe. One day in the intimacy of prayer, he asked, "Lord, what do you want me to do with my life?" The Lord led him to the text in Luke 5 where after the miraculous catch of fish the disciples, "left everything and followed him." Juan knew it was a word for him. He left his studies at the university and enrolled in a Bible institute. In each class the call of God in his life grew. As missionaries came through and messages on missions were preached, his heart burned as if the message was specifically for him.

At a youth camp that was dedicated to missions, the speaker issued a call to those who were willing to answer the call to missions. Juan and one other person went to the alter. There they prayed together "Lord, here we are, here I am, willing to go to the mission field when you want, where you want and how you want," Juan did not fully understand what it meant to be called to be a missionary, but he knew he was called and was willing to do whatever obedience required. A few years later after graduation from the Bible institute and serving as a minister in various capacities; Juan and his wife were invited by their senior pastor and national leadership to go as missionaries to Ecuador. When Juan shared this invasion with his wife, the call was confirmed. She responded, "The Lord called me to the mission field when I was a child." Juan accepted the invitation more in obedience to leadership than to a specific missionary call. For Juan the deep conviction of missionary call came on the field.

As Juan saw the overwhelming need in the city in Ecuador where he worked, he was burdened to intercede. Originally, they had planned only to stay for a year. One night after serving in Ecuador for several months, Juan was returning from ministry in a neighboring village at about two in the morning. It was raining and very cold as he was several thousand feet above sea level. It appeared that the only way home was going to be in the back of a pick up truck with the animals. Juan was upset. He thought of how comfortable he had it back in El Salvador with his family and friends. He said to himself, "I should be back in El Salvador at Mister Donut, eating a donut and sipping on a cup of hot chocolate or eating pupusas or something!" In that moment the Spirit spoke to his heart." Why are you angry like this?" " I don't know why I'm here. I don't know. I want to be back there. I miss my parents. I miss my friends" Juan says the Spirit began to dialogue with him, " What worries you about your parents?"  " I don't get to see them. I want to be with them." The Spirit gave Juan this assurance, "Even if you were there, you could not take care of them the way I take care of them." He reminded Juan, "Your parents know me. Your friends know me, but all these people around you here don't know me and that is why you are here." There in the rain and mud, Juan cried broken before the Lord, making a new commitment. He prayed, "Lord, forgive me. I understand. I've received, my family has received, and in El Salvador we have received; it's our time to give. Help me to love Ecuador. Help me to love the people here" Juan states, " I believe he calls...The only thing that sustained me on the mission field was knowing that God had called me."

It is through your continued prayers and support that we are enabled to serve. Please continue to help us. The purpose of CAMAD, the missionary training center, we are currently trying to build is to assist and equip missionaries like Juan.

Click on picture to return to home page: