This year has been exciting, with a huge class of freshmen and a campus administration that has been supportive. Shelly and I get to work with a great team, with another staff member coming on board in this next year. We are finding that teaching, practicing, and modeling the basics with students is still just as important as ever. We have a small but faithful student leadership team, who are willing to step out and share with others, give talks and co-lead studies. One leader, Jacob is co-leading an apologetics study. This has been great for his growth in learning the content and how to lead a study. Besides Jacob’s study, we have 3 other Bible studies, our main group meeting (TNL) and our leadership action group that meet weekly. We are so grateful for seeing students growing. Our prayer and hope is in Christ, as we model preparing others to reach and influence the world for Christ. Thank you so much for your prayers and support!

For His glory,
Brandon and Shelly

As the chaplain at the La Plata County Jail, it is my pleasure to provide this ministry update. The volunteer ministries continue to support Bible studies, library services, counseling and when possible after care help. The jail is currently housing approximately 150 inmates. Each week we distribute Bibles, devotionals and lead Bible studies. Based on requests we meet one-on-one to counsel inmates. Incarceration provides a time when change is often sought. Our goal is to reach them with the gospel message. This past Tuesday an inmate was released. He faithfully attended our evening Bible studies, and sought counseling. Each meeting you could see the change Christ was making in his life. A couple days before his release he completed the GED program for high school graduation. Cases like this are the reason we work with inmates at our County Jail. We thank for your continued support.

NEW CREATION MINISTRIES (NCM) RWANDA

NCM was launched 33 years ago by missionaries from World Venture to provide solid Bibical training for pastors and ministry leaders. The goal is not just Biblical training, but to tranform men and women into true disciples of Jesus Christ.

The Ministry Leader Training (MLT) program covers 18 areas of ministry over a two year period with an emphasis in Biblical theology. Also, there is an individual mentoring and discipleship component for each student. In December 43 students graduated from the ’23-’24 cohort. Pray for the new group of students who began their training in January, as well as, those going into their second year. If you would like to support a MLT student, contact NCM by email at partners@ncmrwanda.org. NCM also takes training courses to pastors and leaders in some of the most remote parts of the country.

To learn more go to the NCM website at www.ncmrwanda.org.

We moved from Durango to Kyiv, Ukraine in 2011. We partner with Ukrainian Christians to provide Christ-centered homes for young people in Ukraine’s social services system. While we still work with families who are doing this type of work, much has changed for us since Russia’s full-scale invasion of Ukraine three years ago. Daniel is involved in rebuilding projects, and we are constantly raising funds for different needs that arise due to this unjust war. Janna is starting a small business selling used English books, with the goal of using the profits for various projects here.

Helb’s primary mission is to serve the Slavic immigrants in Portugal. Many people are leaving Ukraine and Belarus ( because of the political situation) and looking for a stable place to settle. Hleb leads a weekly Bible study with these folks along with helping them get resettled in a foreign land. Hleb and Sasha grew up in Belarus and were involved in ministry there before they felt the need to leave the country because of the deteriorating freedom under the current dictator. In addition, Hleb is fluent in several languages (including English) and uses that gift to translate for services at the International Evangelical Church in Algarve and a number of other ministry settings.

• Pray for the start of a weekly worship service for the Slavic community.
• Pray for their financial support.
• Pray for the Yermakou family (they have eight children).

Jack enjoys teaching his students and having long conversations with them after classes. We also have a Friday night group of students that come to our house for supper. Sometimes we cook together, or they cook for us. Other times I cook. We try to do life with each other. We are going to two students wedding soon. It’s good to be involved in their lives. Then when they go overseas, we get their prayer letters and stay in communication with them. That is our way of staying connected with the mission world and have the ability to help them through their transitions and/or problems they encounter.

Thank you for your prayers for me, especially this last fall while I went through surgery and treatment for cancer. My last radiation treatment is today!

I continue to lead our small team of ten, doing so much for children in crisis worldwide. On February 4, 2025, our team will host a live Zoom workshop titled Building Resilience in Children and Youth. Please let me know if you are interested in joining this 1.5-hour class. In early March, we will be training volunteers who work with the refugee population in Columbus, Ohio. In mid-March, I plan to travel to Europe. I will lead a workshop on using our free trauma recovery booklet, There is Hope for Me, at a European Refugee Conference in Spain. Then, I will travel to the Netherlands to teach our trauma course to missionaries at a Bible College. I am grateful to God for allowing me to partner with him in such important work. I am thankful for your faithful prayers and financial support, which enables this ministry!

Hello, FBC of Durango!

We send you our love and thanks this Christmas, grateful for your participation with us in the work of the gospel. Over the last few months, we have been stepping out into “new territory” – visiting places we’ve never gone before, with a desire to see every tribe and every tongue reached. God is impressing upon us His heart for the languages of Malaysia, and we are praying daily and asking for His steps toward oral Bible translation projects in the nearby mainland. All the “normal,” local ministry activities continue – the discipleship, the hospitality, the neighborhood outreach, and to those we’ve added Malay language study as we look to connect more deeply in this nation. Please pray for us as we sense God leading us into new areas – both figuratively and literally!

Blessings from Ross, Mindy, Daniel and Nathan

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.

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.

We feel incredibly blessed to be part of the First Baptist Durango missionary partnership! Our journey began in 2010 following the major earthquake in Haiti when Don Ricedorff brought a love offering from the congregation to Haiti. When you fast forward 14 years, our partnership continues to positively impact lives!  Our ministry spans two churches, a youth camp, and a Christian radio station.  Your prayers and support mean the world to us, especially during these challenging times of crisis, both personally and within our country. Currently, we are in Austin, Texas for Gersan’s bladder cancer treatment, which was diagnosed in August of this year. This season has allowed us to deepen our faith as we witness the outpouring of love and assistance from Haiti and here in the States. Please keep us in your prayers as we strive for growth and hope amidst the darkness of crises in Haiti.

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!

Our national partner in Bengkulu (we are their primary financial supporters — through your partnership!) continues to see good fruit in that very unreached part of Sumatra. He has been actively leading several groups who study God’s Word together for the purpose of sharing stories with their unreached neighbors for several years, and some people in those groups are actively sharing, and some are seeing good responses. He also teaches these ideas at the local Bible school, and some of his students have responded by going to even more unreached areas (sometimes at significant personal risk), and they are seeing fruit as well. We often don’t get specifics about these because they have to be very careful about what they share, but the fact that we hear anything is amazing (since in the past, no one was even trying to share in these areas).

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.

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.

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.

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.