Missionaries

CRIPE – CEF South Dakota

Joel has been State Director of Child Evangelism Fellowship in South Dakota since 2000. Prior to this assignment, he was the Local Director of CEF in Stanislaus County for three years, and an active member at La Loma Grace.

His current ministry is to give oversight to the entire CEF ministry in South Dakota . Joel and his wife, Nadya, work together in ministry. This involves developing Good News Clubs and 5-Day Clubs, and supporting the local leaders. They also interact with children through Film Fests and with a booth at the State Fair. They train leaders, high school age and older, to teach boys and girls to trust Jesus Christ as their Lord and Savior. Seeing children come to Christ changes the course of the children’s lives. This is the heartbeat of the Cripe’s ministry. Joel and Nadya live in Huron, South Dakota and have two school age daughters.

BURNAM - Mexico

Rick and Joan Burnam are our missionaries serving in Queretaro , Mexico through Central American Missions (CAM). Queretaro is a state in central Mexico and is located approximately 200 km northwest of Mexico City at an elevation of about 6,000 feet.

Joan’s parents, Richard and Janice Johnson were active members at La Loma Grace, so Joan is part of our church family. Rick grew up in a missionary family in South America .

The Burnam’s main responsibility is leadership training. Among their many responsibilities, they conduct weekly cell groups and write lesson material. Rick teaches theology, and both he and Joan are involved in individual discipleship with believers at New Life Bible Church .

Beyond their specific missionary responsibilities, Rick and Joan have four children (pre-teen through teenage) whom they home school, and who are involved in various athletic activities.

KINJO - Japan

Yukimasa (Yuki) and Fujiyo ( Fuji ) Kinjo are missionaries to their own people, in association with Grace Brethren International Missions. In 1986, as a single young man, Yuki came to Christ in his homeland by studying English using the Bible as his textbook. Having been trained and mentored by a former missionary, and following an extended visit to the U.S. in 1994, Yuki became a GBC national pastor in Japan .

In 1998 Yuki met and married Fuji , who was also involved in Christian ministry. They now have three young children. Together, in Tokyo , they were involved in an outreach and church planting ministry already begun there. This year, the Kinjo family relocated to Okinawa , where they continue to work in church planting. Their focus is on building relationships with those they come in contact with who do not yet know Christ, and on discipling believers to grow in their faith and serve Him.

JULIEN – GBIM Coordinator of Leadership Training

Tom & Doris Julien are semi-retired missionaries who serve with Grace Brethren International Missions. They pioneered and developed the current work in France , having served there from 1958-1986. Following their return to the United States , Tom served as the Director of Grace Brethren International Missions for four years, and then returned to ministry in France from 2000-2003.

Tom developed S.A.L.T. (Strategic Alliance Leadership Training) to develop and train Christians to be effective leaders in churches in their own cultures. The scope of his current ministry is world wide as he serves with GBIM as Coordinator of Training for international and national church leaders using the SALT method. While Tom has traveled extensively with his ministry, he and Doris are at home near GBIM headquarters in Winona Lake, Indiana. They have three grown children.

SHIRK – Urban Encounter, Chicago , IL

John & Amy Shirk answered the call to “go into all the world” with the gospel, and ended up in Chicago , IL . They and their four children call the borough of Wicker Park their home.

The Shirks teamed up with Grace Brethren North American Missions in 2002 in response to the challenge to plant the seed of the gospel in “world class cities,” the often ignored soil of major urban cities in the U.S. Typically, missionaries are thought of as church planters. John and Amy are seed planters, planting the good news of Jesus into the hearts of men and women in the post-modern urban setting through developing genuine friendships. Together, with the growing Wicker Park Spiritual Family, they are impacting their neighborhood in an effort to see people reconciled to God.

MUNOZ – Hispanic Church Planting - USA

The USA has the second largest Hispanic population in the world. And no more than 2% of them are attending church or know about Jesus Christ as their personal Savior,” says Jesus Munoz. Jesus has a deep love for people that has led him to ministry to this people group. He has pastored Hispanic churches, he is the Director of Hispanic Church Planting for Grace Brethren North American Missions, and he is Coordinator of “Hermanos,” a group formed to unite and encourage Grace Brethren Hispanic pastors.

Jesus is a native of San Salvador and after coming to the USA , earned a Master’s Degree at Grace Theological Seminary. His wife, Rosa, was born in Cuba . They have four children. Jesus and Rosa are based in Florida from where they have been instrumental in establishing churches in various parts of the United States.

HULETT – Philippines

Clay & Kim Hulett have been in ministry with Grace Brethren International Missions in the Philippine Islands since 1988. Due to health conditions, they have been re-assigned to the US as liaison between Grace Brethren International Missions and West Coast Churches.

The Huletts are originally from Southern California . They have three children in their late teens and early twenties.

ONG – San Francisco , USA

Kevin & Siew-Choo Ong are establishing a ministry in San Francisco , CA. through Grace Brethren North American Missions. Their focus is primarily with international students on university campuses in San Francisco . They moved to this world class city in 2004, and GBNAM has since purchased a four-story Victorian home that serves as their base of ministry. The “International House” is a safe, non-threatening place for international students to stay, to adjust to American culture and explore the claims of Christ while pursuing their education. It is the Ong’s goal to share the Gospel and make disciples of Jesus Christ, who will then return with the Gospel to their own countries, and impact them for Christ.

The Ong’s are originally from Singapore and have worked comfortably with different ethnic groups. They pursued their own educations in international settings, and are well-suited for their current ministry. They are the parents of three children.

Central Asia

Information on this ministry may be obtained from the church.

© 2006 La Loma Grace Brethren Church

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