Missions

In accordance with Matthew 28:18-20, to make disciples of all the nations, our international missions program is managed by our Missions Committee which functions in cooperation with Mission to the World (MTW), the mission-sending agency of the Presbyterian Church in America (http://www.mtw.org). The committee is charged with the following key efforts:

• Selecting missionaries for WPC to support financially and in prayer.

• Informing the congregation about the missionaries we support through missionary letters and prayer requests updates.      Also, by hosting missionaries on home missions assignments in our church.

• Encouraging the congregation to become actively involved in missions through prayer and participation in short-       term mission trips.

• Encouraging our supported missionaries through letters and email.

Westminster currently supports 12 missionary families in Australia, England, Mexico, the Middle East, Peru, Philippines, Slovakia, South Africa, and Thailand.
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View more information about the missionaries we support by scrolling down or following the links below.

Miriam Grady
Gerry & Ruth Gutierrez
Dave & Jan Kiewiet
Jeff & Esther Talley
Paul & Sarah Taylor
Ben & Susie Thomas
David & Jan Veldhorst
Bruce & Barbara Wannemacher
Brad & Patty Wos
Dan & Becky Young

Dan and Becky Young

Border Ministries
USA/Mexico (ministries of Mission to the World and Mission to North America)
danyoung@beamm.org
Birthdays of children: Benjamin, Will, Rachel, Lisa

After graduating from Covenant Seminary, Dan Young and his family began serving with Mission to the World in Cusco, Peru. They joined BEAMM (Border Evangelism and Mercy Ministries) in Ciudad Juarez in 1990. Initially, the Youngs assisted with short-term and community outreach. In l997, they began planting the Gracia y Paz Church in their home. In 2004, Dan served as the pastor of Oasis Church in El Paso. From February 2006, through October 2008, Dan focused on training pastors and lay-leaders for service in churches all along the border, but more specifically, with men in the Central and Eastern regions. In this role, he was instrumental in establishing a LAMP (Leadership and Ministry Preparation) site in Las Cruces, NM, taught classes at the San Pablo Seminary in Juarez, and trained future church leaders at Iglesia La Vid in Laredo and worked alongside Erwin Lopez in Reynosa. In addition, Dan coordinated short-term work teams that came to El Paso/Juarez.

In October, 2008, Dan accepted the position of BEAMM Eastern Regional Director. The Youngs moved to McAllen, TX, in December, 2009. As Regional Director, Dan oversees all of BEAMM’s work in the Rio Grande Valley, from Laredo/Nuevo Laredo to Brownsville/Matamoros. Dan works on relationship building with churches and leaders in Mexico and the US, and he preaches in churches and trains leaders for church planting. Becky works on many projects including teaching and leading Bible studies.

The Rio Grande Valley, or Eastern Region of the border, is known for its agriculture, but is quickly developing into a commerce center. More trucks, almost 3,000 each day, cross between Nuevo Laredo
and Laredo than in any other international crossing on the border. With a combined population of just around two million, this region of the border continues to grow rapidly.

Gerry & Ruth Gutierrez

  As many of you know, Ruthie went home to be with our Lord on February 26th, 2012.  Please keep this family and their ministry in your prayers during this time of sorrow and transition.

Peru
gerrygutierrez@hotmail.com
c/o Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141

Gerry, born in Huanta, Peru, graduated from the National University de San Cristobal de Huamanga of Ayacucho with a bachelor’s degree in philosophy and psychology and a teaching certificate in social science. Ruth was born in Columbia, South Carolina, but grew up in Peru, the daughter of missionaries. She graduated from Columbia Bible College with a bachelor’s degree in Biblical education. Gerry and Ruth worked from 1974 to 1978 among university students in Peru before going to St. Louis, Missouri, where Gerry received an ETTA teacher’s diploma and his M.Div. from Covenant Theological Seminary. Gerry was ordained in March 1984.

The Gutierrezes worked in Las Condes, Chile from 1984 to 1987 as church planters. From 1987 to 1996, they worked in Washington, DC among the diplomatic community as the Washington Representative and Director in International Relations for MTW.

In 1996, the Gutierrezes returned to Peru, where Gerry now is working with the Project Nehemiah Corporation in a “word and deed ministry” helping Quechua children orphaned as a result of terrorist activities. He is also involved in the prayer breakfast movement and the mentoring of young people. Gerry is also involved with a radio ministry that broadcasts throughout the Andes. Gerry and Ruth have six grown children.

Jeff and Esther Talley

Slovak Republic
c/o Mission to the World
16 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141

God’s lavish grace was revealed to Jeff and Esther at an early age. Saved in his preteen years near Philadelphia, Jeff studied at Covenant College and Westminster Seminary. Esther heard and believed the gospel through her missionary parents serving in Kenya. She also attended Covenant College and graduated with a BSN from Colombia University. God began to reveal to them His call to world evangelization during their student days.

The Talleys went to Kenya in 1980, moved to Tanzania in 1991, and returned to Kenya in 2000. In each place, they were involved in evangelism, church planting, and church nurture. Their last five years in Africa were spent training African church leaders to lead by grace and in evangelism.

Jeff and Esther believed God had called them to serve with the MTW church-planting team in Trnava, Slovakia. After a year back in the U.S., in August of 2009 they returned to a new city in Slovakia, Poprad. Jeff had successful surgery just two days prior to their leaving. The Talleys recently relocated to Kosice, a city of about 300,000 but with less than 10 evangelical churches and no more than 1,000 people in all of those churches combined. The Talleys and their teammates are developing their plans as they converse and learn from mature Slovak believers and build relationships.

The collapse of communism in central and eastern Europe opened doors for spreading the gospel in that area. They ask for our prayers that the Lord will pour out His Spirit to bring many Slovaks and other Europeans to repentance and faith in Christ.

David and Jan Kiewiet

Australia
kiewiet@uq.net.au
c/o Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Road,
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141

Dave and Jan Kiewiet have been serving in Brisbane, Australia since early 1986. For the first ten years, they were church planting. Since 1997, Dave has been the principal and a lecturer of the Westminster Theological College of Queensland. He also serves as MTW Regional Director for Australia and New Zealand. Dave and Jan are back doing church planting and Dave prepares weekly sermons for a new church plant. He also mentors young men who are potential pastors. Jan has taught the Scriptures weekly to children in the public schools and also teaches in the Sunday school. Their home is open for men’s prayer meetings each week, weekly women’s Bible studies, and a never-ending amount of men’s meetings.

Their children, Rachel, Nathan, Amy, and Rebecca, were always an important part of the work. Though they are grown, they continue to serve the Lord in Australia and the U.S. The four grandchildren are a special blessing to Dave and Jan.

The Kiewiets’ life verse is their testimony: “For this God is our God forever and ever. He will be our guide even to the end.” Psalm 48:14

Ben and Susie Thomas

Athletes in Action 
Benjamin.Thomas@athletesinaction.org
at home in Fairborn, Ohio
Children: Simon age 5 years, Talya age 2 years, Charlie age 1 year

Ben and Susie Thomas joined the Athletes in Action staff after Ben graduated from Gordon Conwell Theological Seminary in 2002. Athletes in Action defines its mission as extending the global mission of building spiritual movements everywhere through the platform of sport. During their time with AIA, they have worked with AIA basketball, helped to lead special projects, and served on a 14-month assignment in Bangalore, India. In 2009, Ben accepted an offer to become the Director of AIA’s Global Leadership Team. AIA sends out teams of college students, coaches, and other volunteers around the world to conduct training and sports camps and to share their faith. Ben is also involved in training for the Senior Leadership Initiative for Campus Crusade’s Global Leadership department. A good part of Ben’s time is spent in traveling internationally.

Some recent ministry projects for Ben include the following: Ben and other AIA staff developed a DVD which was distributed in connection with the World Soccer Cup games titled The Prize which highlights the testimonies of several world-class soccer players from around the world. This film was translated into 42 languages and distributed in 45 countries; This last summer, the AIA headquarters in Ohio was the site of a retreat for the Ohio State football team; This fall, Ben was asked to speak at one of the pre-game chapel services for the New York Giants; In addition, a recent trip took Ben to the AIA basketball tour in Eastern Africa. This tour was comprised of athletes, coaches, and “regular people” who traveled to Kenya, Uganda, and Rwanda to help the local Campus Crusade movements in those areas. Also included was a retreat done for Rwandan widows of the l994 genocide that had planned for 200 women but 375 showed up; Ben will soon be traveling to Eastern and Western Europe and to Guatemala for leadership meetings.

Susie works together with Ben in AIA activities including hosting athletes from around the world in their home and has been involved with Global Leader’s Wives worldwide. Also, she has been teaching English as a Second Language in their church. She juggles these activities with Ben’s travel schedule and cares for their three children. Their oldest child, Simon, is reported to be doing well in pre-K and has started playing soccer. Talya attends preschool classes and is busy talking more and more and loving her brothers. And the newest addition to the family, Charlie, who was adopted from Rwanda, has adjusted well to his new family and has become a full-fledged American and member of the Thomas family.

The Thomases call this a time of transition as Ben continues to train for and assume more and more responsibility for his leadership role with AIA. Susie is the daughter of a former headmaster at our Christian school, Don Beebe, and his wife Kathy Beebe, sister of our former pastor Chuck Holliday.                                                                                 
As many of you may know, Susie has been diagnosed with stage 3 brain cancer. For information regarding her health and ways in which you can assist the family, please visit their ministry website at benandsusiethomas
 

Bruce and Barbara Wannemacher

South Africa
wannemacher@mtwafrica.org
c/o Mission to the World,
1600 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141

Bruce and Barbara grew up in northern Illinois and met in elementary school. They both became Christians through a campus ministry at college and married before their senior year. After graduation, Bruce attended graduate school, earning a master’s degree. He then served as a U.S. Army officer in the Medical Service Corps.

Desiring to serve in cross-cultural missions after military service, Bruce and Barbara pursued Bible training at Covenant Theological Seminary. They both graduated in 1998 – Bruce with an M.Div degree and Barbara with an M.A. in general theological studies. During their seminary years, God confirmed their desire to serve cross-culturally through short-term mission opportunities in England, Jordan, and Africa.

Bruce is on staff at the Bible Institute of South Africa in Cape Town, teaching and discipling African students and pastors from throughout sub-Saharan Africa. Barbara is actively involved with discipling Bible college women and works off-campus teaching Bible at a local primary school.
Bruce and Barbara have two grown children.

Miriam Grady

Slovak Republic
mirgrady@hotmail.com
c/o Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141

Miriam grew up in Florida in a Christian home. God called her to missions when she was 16 through the testimony of missionaries visiting her church. For many years that call was placed to the side. When Miriam was a junior at Covenant College, she spent a semester studying in the Czech Republic. After graduation and several years of teaching middle school, she again felt God’s call to missions. She went to Trnava, Slovakia under MTW’s two-year program to help the team set up and run a teaching English ministry, a student ministry center, and a church plant. After a few years, Miriam returned to Slovakia for another two-year term.

Miriam is now serving as a long-term missionary with MTW in Trnava, Slovakia. She currently manages the student ministry center, teaches community English classes, leads Bible studies for women and high school girls, teaches high-school boys in a mix between direct instruction and home-schooling, oversees summer English and Christian camps, and organizes and helps with a weekly outreach to moms with small children. In addition, Miriam continues to study Slovak, which she describes as “slowly and surely improving”.

Miriam is the niece of our church’s own Miriam Hess.

Paul and Sarah Taylor

c/o Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 3—43-8141

At age eleven, Paul’s mother introduced him to Christ, and he became convicted of his need of the Savior. While in Mexico City on a short-term mission trip, he felt a call into ministry. As a missionary kid, Sarah spent five years in India and came to salvation as an Indian woman explained the gospel.

Before his call to missions, Paul served for two years as Director of Church Planting for the RPCES, then from 1984 to 1991 as Coordinator of Church Planting for the PCA. After twenty years of church planting in the U.S. and Canada, Paul and Sarah felt drawn to church-planting ministry in the Philippines.

From 1992 to 1998 Paul was instrumental in developing MTW’s church-planting ministry in Manila, where over thirty new churches have been planted. Paul now serves as the Regional Director for Southeast Asia. Sarah has been serving as the teaching leader for Bible Study Fellowship in Manila and as team treasurer. In the future, she will assist more in the Asian regional work.

The Taylors have four children.

Dave and Jan Veldhorst

Thailand
dveldhorst@gmail.com
c/o Mission to the World
1600 North Brown Road
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141
Children: James, Katy, Jonathan, Rebekah, Nicolas

Dave and Jan Veldhorst and children have been working in Thailand since 2000. Dave’s primary role is leading the team and organizing all support ministries toward the goal of church planting. Jan enjoys working in the home, as well as discipling both Thai women and fellow team members.

The Veldhorsts and the MTW team host pastor’s conferences with Karen tribal leaders. These conferences are for most Karen tribal groups and are the only way these pastors receive any training in teaching or preaching Scripture. The Veldhorsts also host conferences for teens. Please pray that God’s Word and the gospel message will keep bearing fruit in and through the lives of those who attended.

New City Fellowship Church, and its support ministries of mercy, English, and campus ministry, began as a church plant in Bangkok. More and more leadership of this church is being transferred from the foreign missionaries to Thai teammates as Thai staff grows in their knowledge of Scripture and their ability to lead.

Pray also for the Veldhorst children. James is a college student and Katy will soon begin college. Pray for all of them as they continue to learn the Thai language. Dave reports that years ago little movement was seen in Thailand spiritually, but that now everywhere one looks there are opportunities. He thanks us for our financial and prayer support in the past and asks for boldness and clarity of the profession of the gospel message.

Brad & Patty Wos

South Africa
bwos@mtwafrica.org
Mission to the World
1600 N. Brown Rd.
Lawrenceville, GA 30043-8141
Children: Andrew, Katie, Samuel, Emily, Timothy

Brad believed the gospel as a freshman at Minnesota State University through the ministry of the Navigators. After a summer mission trip in France, Brad prayed the Lord would send him into missions again in His time. By faith, he moved to St. Louis where he met Patty in a missions Bible study and worked as a systems manager. They married in 1990 and joined Twin Oaks PCA.

Patty trusted Christ at the age of 13. She attended Eastern and Southern Illinois Universities where she was active with InterVarsity. Through an Urbana conference and a summer mission’s trip, God confirmed His call to missions. She served as a registered nurse for nine years and now home schools two of their five children.

Brad serves in many areas including: theological education, coaching youth soccer, training university students as coaches, church planting, prison outreach through sports ministry, and with The Ultimate Goal, which is an evangelistic outreach working at events like the World Cup Soccer games.

Another gospel outreach that Brad works with is Ubabalo e Africa. It means “Grace to Africa” and works with the many fatherless children in South Africa. This group trains coaches to teach soccer skills and gospel related character skills. Please pray for the investment these coaches make in lives for the gospel.

Patty works in many roles including one with university women, many of whom have grown up in one-parent homes and know the meaning of poverty.

The Wos children actively serve alongside their parents in these ministries.