Area Director

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Our Northern Triad Area Director Role

March 8, 2025 in Ministry, Missions, Thanks by Dave | No comments

We are so grateful for your partnership as we serve the Northern Triad—Mexico, Cuba, and the Dominican Republic. As we conclude our participation in the Latin America Caribbean (LAC) Area Director (AD) Meetings, we want to share more about our role and how your support empowers us to come alongside our 69-member global worker team, equipping them to thrive in their calling as they share the hope of the living Jesus with a population largely unengaged by an accurate representation of the gospel.

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One of our greatest joys is caring for global workers and their families. Through member care, we encourage them, foster healthy relationships, and provide crisis support when challenges arise. We want to see each one thriving, both in their ministry and in their personal lives.

We also have the privilege of providing strategic direction, helping global workers navigate their calling, strengthening collaboration with the national church, and ensuring clear and effective communication. Strong partnerships are key to advancing the gospel, and we are committed to fostering them.
In addition to guiding the work, we carry the responsibility of administrative oversight, monitoring ongoing operations and making key decisions to ensure the overall ministry remains effective and sustainable. There’s always something to navigate, but we’re thankful for God’s wisdom and grace in leading through each challenge.

Another area close to our hearts is leadership development. From the very start of a global worker’s assignment, we look for ways to help them grow. Through training, mentoring, and ongoing support, we invest in their potential, equipping them for greater impact.

Every step we take is possible because of your prayers, generosity, and heart for missions. Thank you for standing with us as we support those establishing the Church among all peoples in the Northern Triad!

Photo Captions:

  1. The LAC AD Team met last week to make strategic decisions and improve our member care services.

  2. Part of our leadership development role includes competency training. Last month, we led new global workers through online Bible training.

  3. While serving as ADs, we’re also connecting with supporters nationwide—here with Life Stream Church at their missions convention.

Note: this post is just a portion of what we share in our quarterly newsletter. If you’d like more information from the Godzwas or would like to print this update, take a look at the full PDF version of our quarterly newsletter or, better still, sign up to receive our newsletters direct to your inbox!

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Facilitating International Connections

August 10, 2024 in Mexico, Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

Our role as Area Directors can be understood as “middle management,” a responsibility to which few aspire. And, to tell the truth, we wade through our fair share of emails and meetings. But please don’t think of our position as one of endless tedium. That’s certainly not the case, especially as we review our activities over the last several weeks. In fact, our vital “in-between” position is facilitating international connections.

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The first connection, the Mexican National Youth Conference, was months in the making. Last November, we reached out to Friedhelm Holthuis, the Superintendent of the Assemblies of God (A/G) of Germany on behalf of the leadership of the Mexican A/G, inviting him to be one of the principal speakers. When the event was celebrated this past week in Mérida, Yucatán, we had the privilege of hosting Friedhelm and his wife, Elke, as well as their Argentinian interpreters, Ivan and Emi Masalyka. These combined to bless more than 12,000 youth from all across Mexico with three evenings of challenging messages and anointed ministry. It was our pleasure to be in the middle of this tremendous event.

The second connection was a homecoming for us as our time in Mérida allowed us the opportunity to speak at our former home church, Centro Cristiano (CC) Gólgota. There, we mediated greetings from our family and fellow missionaries and encouragement from the Word of God.

The final, but certainly not the least of our connections involves our work of advocacy during our itineration year in the US. As we visit churches like Erie First Assembly, Orchard Beach Assembly, Smithville Family Worship Center, and Marshfield Assembly, we’re able to not only share the need, but also strategically direct prayers, support, and personnel to help fulfill the Great Commission in Mexico.

Thanks for your support as we facilitate international connections through this vital middle management position!

Photo Captions:

  1. Our Mexican National Youth Conference Team: speakers, Friedhelm and Elke Holthuis (middle) translators, Ivan and Emi Masalyka, and us!
  2. Being in Merida, we had the opportunity to minister in our former home church, CC Gólgota.
  3. We’re backed by local churches, as evidenced by this selfie with Marshfield Assembly.

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Retracing Our Steps

April 4, 2023 in CostaRica, Culture, Language, Ministry by Dave | Permalink

It was a bit surreal for us to walk the streets of Los Yoses, San José, Costa Rica, equipped with backpacks and umbrellas, on our way to CINCEL, where, almost 18 years prior, we began our study of the language and culture of Latin America. As we crossed the familiar streets, I caught myself looking for the hand of one of our children, a habit of mine in those days, as our MKs, then 6 and under, would accompany us as we walked most everywhere we went. But this time was different. This time we weren’t the students. This time we were the facilitators.

Sharing during chapel was only one of the several meaningful interactions that we had during our time at CINCEL.

Even so, we couldn’t help but be a bit nostalgic amidst the sights, sounds, and smells of the place that had been our family home for nearly a year in 2005 and 2006. The halls had been freshly painted and the furniture was rearranged, but the place felt the same: we could feel the same anticipation of a missionary career taking shape, the same excitement of new experiences and discoveries, and the same uncertainty in the face of the challenge of cultural adaptation.

Language school is a challenging time. For these ministry professionals, it can feel like a big step backward. They’ve been called, commissioned, and then affirmed by dozens of churches and individuals who have agreed to their support, only to find, after a flight of a few hours, they’re unable to express themselves in the language of the people to whom they hope to minister. The pressure to perform is high, frustrations abound, and tears are not uncommon as these new missionaries struggle to acquire the ability to function as foreigners in this foreign context.

We had been officially invited to CINCEL, the LAC Language and Cultural Training Center, to fulfill our responsibilities as board members and teach a session in missiology to the 18 missionary units studying there, but we were also there to offer our encouragement. During our week of interaction, we prayed with them and for them during their devotionals. We met with them over meals and coffee and heard their stories. We answered their questions and mitigated some of their concerns. But, more than anything, I think we served as a testimony of what God can do when we diligently submit ourselves to the process of transformation.

As we spoke to the students during Spanish chapel, we shared about Moses’ encounter with God at the burning bush and encouraged them to believe that the same God who gave human beings their mouths (Exodus 4:11) was able to shape them into his witnesses in the countries where they hope to serve. How could we be so confident? He had already done that work in us, despite myriad difficulties along the way. We’re glad for your support which allowed us this opportunity to retrace our steps so that others could benefit from our experience.

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At the Big Table

November 9, 2019 in Devotional, Ministry, Missions by Dave | Permalink

With Thanksgiving approaching, I’m sure you remember what it was like to sit at the “little table.” It was the one in the corner, or, worse yet, in a completely different room of the house. There, you’d groan, doomed to spend another meal dealing with the shenanigans of your little cousins, all the while wondering what kinds of mature conversations were happening at the “Big Table.”

But then, all of a sudden, you’d graduated. Maybe you went away to college and returned, or you’d gotten married and, without warning or preparation, you’d been given a seat at the big table. Are those your palms sweating, or is it just the condensation from the bowl of mashed potatoes? Is that a lump in your throat, or have you just forgotten to chew your food? Maybe, you think, you’d be more comfortable back at the little table. It’s funny, though, in the same way we’d always wanted to be at the Big Table, when the time came, we found that those who were there to receive us were truly glad to have us.

That holiday analogy was a bit of what our experience was like as we took part in first our Area Directors’ meeting in Colorado Springs, CO. In a room where over 400 years of combined missions service was present, we certainly felt the junior members. All the same, we were received during those sessions as part of the team, encouraged to take part and affirmed as we did. What a joy it was to hear and be able to weigh in on the strategic conversations taking place to ensure the increasing number as well as the security and effectiveness of our missionary colleagues throughout Latin America.

So, if you’re finding yourself on the threshold of increasing responsibility and wondering if you’re ready to take your service to the next level, be encouraged. Chances are, others have been looking forward to your contribution. Needing a bit more convincing? Check out this article.

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