Honduras
A Strategy of Mission

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Co-Pastor Josiah Bancroft is excited about the short term missions work – not only for the mercy mission to a local orphanage for girls, but also as the seeding of a wider and more strategic vision for expanding ministry nurtured in grace.

“We do short term missions and the work we do is wonderful and necessary,” says Josiah, “but our vision is that we can begin to expand that ministry through partnership with the Hondurans.”

The vision, Josiah says, is to establish the outworking of grace along several different fronts:

Continuing to provide financial and short term mission mercy for the orphanage

Grace has sent numerous teams for short-term missions to helpl with the girls in the orphanage.  “We really don’t have an agenda for these trips,” says Debi Rayl, whose family has been actively involved from the start.  “We are just there to love on the girls.”  Grace also helps provide financial support for the girls.  Operating costs run about $3,500 a month to meet basic needs. There are no overhead expenses or staff state-side, so 95 percent of gifts go directly to the Orphanage. Accurate reporting accounts for every penny spent with receipts.

Nurturing and expanding the partnership with Yobani Alas, a local Honduran Pastor

Yobani is a man of many hats and talents.  In addition to pastoring a church of more than 300 in central Honduras, Yobani is networked in multi-faceted ministry:

• He is legally responsible for the orphanage and the medical clinic;
• He partners with Compassion International, a Christian School, and Red Cross for relief and education;
• He oversees a network of 20 to 25 smaller churches in the region to provide leadership and direction.

“Yobani is a very competent, high energy man with good focus and vision.  He’s honest and much sought after.   He pastors a charismatic central American church, which represents well what God is doing in that area.   He shares a love of grace.  We would very much like to help support and expand Yobani’s ministries.”

 
Working with businesses to improve financial conditions

Instead of simply providing short-term financial relief, which often can do little more than bandage critical wounds, Josiah would like to help partner with local businessmen to provide sustainable improvement to the central Honduran economy.

“Improving the economy is important,” Josiah says, “because Yobani is not just pastoring one church, but overseeing a network of 25 different mountain churches, which represents a small Gospel movement.  Almost all of these pastors are bi-vocational, which is just the reality.  A lot of times, though, they are forced to leave for the city to make a living.  Long-term sustainable improvement to the local economy would mean they wouldn’t have to leave their families and churches simply to exist.

“There are very few economic options besides coffee beans, day laborers or subsistence farming for people in central Honduras.”

For example, one idea recently surfaced, which might give the people some financial independence.   “One of guys in the church has a microeconomic project that he has worked up to a science.  The church wants to partner with Mick.  His idea is very specific.  He trains young girls between the ages of 8 to 10, and gives them one chicken.  The chicken makes an egg, which produces another chicken.  When that girl has 10 chickens, she gives one of her chickens to another girl between the age of 8 and 10.  Pretty soon a number of families have chickens for consumption and sale.  Mick has this relationship with Tyson farms so that when so many families have chickens, they will become a distributor.  That’s just one idea that could provide some economic options.”

Present a Gospel approach for training in church planting and pastoring

In addition to developing and overseeing the short-term missions work with the orphanage, Grace Missions Pastor Jim Pearce has been spearheading ministry to establish an outpost for the gospel of grace.

“Part of what Jim and I have been doing and want to do more,” says Josiah, “is to help local pastors grasp a Gospel approach to sanctification and training for church planting and pastors.”  Recently, Jim Pearce, Grace Missions Director,returned from teaching 45 pastors and leaders in a Gospel study in Titus. Future trips will focus on teaching Galations in Spanish.

Josiah is excited about the possibilities to establish an “outpost of grace” in central Honduras – one that could serve as a model for other partnerships throughout the world.  His desire is to expand the Gospel by serving as a catalyst for what God is already doing through local churches.

“Unfortunately, a lot of American mission work tends to use local people and pastors – simply as a site to do short term missions work.  But that’s not a true partnership because they can’t say no because they need our resources and we simply forward our local aims here.  That’s been so much what they experience from all Americans.  Americans are often blind to it, thinking the Hondurans ought to be more grateful for our participation and presence.  Reworking that relationship is a major project both on this side of the church so we have a bigger view than that, and converting the Hondurans so they are able to see that there is at least one American group that is not using them.  That’s big on my agenda for the church.  I would very much like to be part of a process that helps to do that.  That’s an outworking of grace in how we partner with people outside of our own culture.” 

How You Can Help

Pray
Pray for missions team as well as the development of an overall strategy of partnership.

Go
Grace encourages you to participate in one of the upcoming missions trips - not only to help Hondurans, but to equip you to better love others in your own back yard. Cost for the trip is $950. Here is the schedule for upcoming trips:

July 25-August 1
October 31-November 6
December 27 - January 3
January 26-February 2 (2009)

Give
If you would like to make a donation, please email Jim Pearce or call 891-2006, ext. 123.

Consider giving of your self also.  If you like more information on the possibility of serving on a short-term missions trip to Honduras, email Jim Pearce or call 891-2006, ext. 123.

Consider your gifts and experiences

“Be creative in terms of considering how you can help in Honduras,” says Josiah.  “We are trying to expand in several different areas – economic development, training pastors, medical help, short term missions. What gifts and experiences do you bring to the table that you think might help – either here in terms of developing strategies or on the field?  For example, I can imagine a retired couple who speaks Spanish moving down and serving a translator – that would be huge for us in terms of establishing a outpost for grace training.  Or I could see a person with film experience helping us get the story out about what God is doing in the area.  Or a businessman who could help us develop a fair trade association, so workers can have access to fields and different crops.  There really aren’t many limits.

“We have a good ministry right now in Honduras,” Josiah says.  “But we really believe God has given us a vision to do so much more.  Right now it’s a grace dream.  We encourage others to become involved to help make it a grace reality.”

If you are interested in helping, would like more information, or have an idea to toss out, email Jim Pearce or call 891-2006, ext. 123.

Map of Honduras