The Ricedorff’s are missionaries in Poland. Their primary ministry is preaching the gospel, equipping believers in Polish churches, and theological training. They have started an educational training center they call Logos to help equip people with education similar to that of a seminary.

Durango Pregnancy Center is here to support and care for parents in La Plata County seeking assistance with pregnancy and parenting. We believe that the best way to support the choice for life is to be for the life of the unborn and the life of the parents. We come along side parents facing challenging situations with material assistance, emotional support, and education. Our clients have bravely and sacrificially chosen life, and we want to help them make the best life possible for their baby and themselves. Our free services include prenatal education, parenting education, emergency and material assistance, and an educational grant fund for single moms.

Our work is a daily blessing which is made even more so by the generous support of individuals and churches like First Baptist. Your support in prayer would be greatly appreciated.

Jack and Melissa Shoemaker work with Wycliffe in Texas training missionaries.

Clay and Lauren Kannard are missionaries in Rome Italy. Clay is a co pastor of a church in Rome where their main focus in evangelism, supporting church playing of evangelical churches in Rome, and theological training. Pray for the work they do in terms of mercy missions to refugees, evangelism to Roman Catholic Italians, and the church plants in Rome.

Russ and Linda started Master Plan Ministries in 1985 at Fort Lewis College. The Mission is: “To prepare others to reach and influence the world for Christ” This has been done through the strategy of “WIN – BUILD – SEND.” During the last 40 years hundreds of students have come to Christ and have been discipled one-on-one, through small group Bible studies, and retreats and conferences.

Today, Russ and Linda are part of the administrative team that oversees the campus ministry and staff as well as Cascade Lodge and Three Trails Ranch, both Great Commission Mountain venues.

Shelly and Brandon have been on staff with Master Plan Ministries for over 10 years. During this time, they have had the incredible privilege of watching students grow and go on to impact the world for Christ. They currently serve at Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction, Colorado. Over the past two years, they have been blessed to witness weekly evangelism, multiple Bible studies each semester, over 50 individuals engaged in one-on-one discipleship, and 10 servant-leaders learning to die to themselves in order to reach the next generation.

Greetings to all of you at First Baptist in Durango from missionary Sharon Payne in São Paulo, Brazil. Last Saturday, July 20, I attended a service planned by the youth of New Song Baptist Church. It’s the first youth service the church has had in a long time. Their theme was “Metamorphosis”. The emphasis was on allowing God to transform us! Only then can we seek to transform the world around us by bringing others to Christ. As I participated in the service, I couldn’t help but think how God allowed me to have a small part in the transformation of some of the lives at New Song. I was privileged to lead Ingrid, playing the piano, to the Lord when she was just 11 years old. Nycolas, playing the guitar, has been my disciple in Sunday School and Saturday children’s classes since he was 4 years old. Vanessa (not pictured), leading the service, I trained as a teacher for the junior and senior highers. It’s amazing to see how each has grown in so many different ways. May they continue to serve the Lord and not be tempted by all the world’s attractions! Pray for New Song as they work to reach others with the Gospel and disciple them to growth and service.

Reach Durango is a college/young adult ministry at Fort Lewis College. Our mission is to Reach Out (Great Commission), Grow Deep (Know Jesus more), and Build Community. We accomplish these things primarily through our Wednesday night service at Fort Lewis College where we sing worship songs and preach a Gospel centered message. We connect with around 55-70 students a week in this way. We also have a high emphasis on the local church, viewing ourselves as a funnel from the younger generation into First Baptist Durango. 

Another priority we have is Leadership Development. This year, we have a staff team of 7 individuals who are all volunteer/support raised. 5 of these staff are Interns/Residents who are on the team primarily to learn/grow/be developed. Please consider contributing financially to their ministry development and experience as we prepare the next generation of church leaders.

reachdurango.com/giving

It’s hard to believe I have lived in Romania for two years already. I continue to make trips into Ukraine and am currently meeting with 8 people online to help them with the struggles they face with life and the ongoing war. We will do another retreat for missionaries in Ukraine the first week of October. I am also meeting with people all over Europe who are struggling in different ways as well as meeting with colleagues regularly to get more proactive help available for people. My biggest encouragement this year has been 12 people being trained to do debriefing retreats and they are actually doing them for others. This is exciting as it frees me up to do more trauma work.

After 36 years of serving the Navajo Nation with “Missions Door,” Ben & Matilda Yazzie have retired. They are continuing their passion with sharing the Gospel & training the next generation of leaders with his nonprofit called “iEquip, Inc.” This has allowed other Native leaders to study the Word, gain theological training, & receive ministry mentoring in a way that coincides with their cultural backgrounds. This makes the teachings relevant to their ministry settings & Native communities. They ask that you pray for them to continue taking the Gospel message to other Native tribes where doors open.

NEW CREATION MINISTRIES: Kigali, Rwanda

New Creation Ministries (NCM) was founded in 1992 by seven Rwandan leaders and an American missionary (Gary Scheer). After the genocide in 1994, the need for Christian leadership training became acute.

Since its founding, NCM has provided training to Rwandans who are doing ministry in their churches, workplaces and homes. Our aim isn’t just to provide our students with knowledge or skills. We want them to be transformed by what they’re learning – to become true disciples of Jesus.

Approximately 70% of Rwandans live in rural areas, without access to theological training in their own language. The Ministy Leader Training exists to meet that need. Over the course of two years, church leaders take courses in Biblical theology and gain skills that they can immediately apply in their ministry contexts. We also provide personalized mentoring and discipleship by visiting students in their homes and observing them in their ministries.

As Rwanda develops, there is a growing desire and need for quality higher education taught from a Christian perspective. We are working to launch the Christian Leadership Institute of Rwanda (CLIR) as an accredited university with bachelor and masters level programs. We have an amazing opportunity to impact Rwandan society by discipling its future theologians, educators, business leaders and community developers.

Rwanda continues to be a largely agrarian society, with many people growing all their own food. As the population of Rwanda increases, land is becoming scarce, food costs are rising, and food shortages are common. Many Rwandans eat only one meal a day. The Agricultural Demonstration program seeks to introduce Rwandans to new ways of growing food and stewarding their land. By connecting Biblical values with improved farming techniques, we seek to address the spiritual and practical needs of our students, their families, and their communities.

For more information, go to ncmrwanda.org.

Ramon and Ana Rodriguez serve in Nogales, Mexico, at the Nogales Baptist Seminary (SEBANO). Ramon is the director of the seminary and serves as Coordinator of Missionaries in Mexico through Missions Door. SEBANO completed another school year this spring, training pastors and teachers to spread the gospel in churches throughout Mexico. The seminary also holds retreats for missionaries and teachers, an Annual Missionary Banquet for women from their churches, a prison ministry called Sol de Justicia, and summer youth camps. Please pray that through each of these ministries, as well as the training for seminary students, people would hear the good news, remain faithful to the Lord, and continue to serve him.

Wes and Julie Shoemaker work with people of the Tarahumara culture of Northern Mexico. Because of the low literacy level in their very remote canyon system, speakers of this ancient language are dependent on the audio recording of God’s Word which has been distributed to them on mini-SD cards that play through their portable radios. Christian songs and scripture messages and testimonies are included on those memory cards, to help explain God’s plan and how to respond to Him. God is illuminating them and they are slowly responding to Him, despite the grave dangers of life around them. Please pray that God would raise up mighty witnesses to this people from within their own language and culture, so that His truth would endure and prevail over the lies of the enemy.

Marv works with a ministry called Missions Door out of Utah. His mission focus is sharing the truth with Latter Day Saints by serving in “Utah Christian Publications” & church plants.

Daniel and Janna Ross serve with First Love International in Ukraine.  Since the start of Russia’s full scale invasion in 2022, they had been living in Czechia, but moved back to their apartment in Kyiv this February.   They are very happy to be back home!

Since returning 3 months ago, the Rosses have been working hard to get settled and established once again. So much has changed, and it’s felt like starting over rather than picking up where they left off. Daniel is partnering with a group of Ukrainians who are helping to reach out and rebuild in a small village that was occupied by Russian forces.  They are also trying to get a non-profit used English bookstore up and running, among other things. There are many challenges to living in Ukraine right now, and they ask that you keep praying, especially for the end of the war.

Tim and Marci Miller joined Cross Bar X in May 2006. CBX has been providing youth programming and activities for socially and economically disadvantaged youth since 1977. Cross Bar-X could use help with their annual work week May 13-17th and are also looking for volunteers to help with the Iron Horse on May 25th. For more info visit www.crossbarx.org or email theranch@crossbarx.org.

Greetings! The Lord has moved on the ASU campus as we have seen 5 students (Charlise, Bryce, Edwin, Nathan and Zack S.) give their lives to Jesus in the past month and a half!

PRAYER REQUESTS: Please pray that Charlise, Bryce, Edwin, Nathan and Zack would grow strong in their faith in the coming days (1 Peter 2:2)

Thank you for helping enable us to reach ASU students that don’t know Christ and strengthening those that do!

Yoel and Leticia are with World Serve Ministries. Their ministry focus is supporting churches & pastors through food and Bible distribution, offering micro-financial loans, managing warehouses for humanitarian aid, & training children’s leaders.

Pray for:

The pastors and leaders of Cuba in this time of great humanitarian crisis.

The training of 265 pastors and 16 Bible centers that train missionaries.

The massive evangelistic work being done where 10% are responding to the gospel in faith.

More bible and new leaders in Nionos.

Yoel and Leticia’s Daughter and their granddaughter who is in intensive care.

In 2011, KJ and Jennisue established Compass 31 with a mission that holds strong today: to make Jesus known by combating human trafficking through prevention, restoration, and disciple-making. They have witnessed God’s transformational grace accomplishing more than they ever dared ask or imagine. The effect has been immense, with more than 53,000 lives impacted in the past year alone through their prevention and restoration programs.

KJ and Jennisue have taken the lead in orchestrating comprehensive, Christ-centered restoration initiatives on a global scale. These endeavors offer solace and an opportunity for those who have experienced human trafficking to find redemption, heal their wounds, and lead lives brimming with freedom and significance. Their reach recently expanded to Uganda, Rwanda, and the Democratic Republic of Congo.