Dominican Republic
From here to the world
By Tim Schirman
Digging into a plate of rice and beans and fried plantains,
I’m grinning like a kid with a Happy Meal. On the island of Hispaniola people
call this peasant food. But my friends, missionaries Nelson and Rennae de
Freitas, know these are some of my favorite dishes. I grew up on this island
years ago.
The Dominican Republic, where the de Freitases live and
minister, takes up the eastern two-thirds of Hispaniola; Haiti takes up the
other one-third. I spent most of my formative years in Haiti as a missionary
kid, but the Dominican Republic is close enough that I feel right at home.
While we are eating, the de Freitases fill me in on the
progress of their ministry, and we make plans for the photography I hope to
shoot on this trip. As they talk, I silently try to figure out when I will have
time to charge my camera batteries and sleep. But I can’t complain. I knew what
I was getting into when I chose to come. I met the de Freitases on a prior
filming trip more than a decade ago, and I know ministry is their full-time
passion.
Ministry through mentoring
The slow crawl of traffic through Santo Domingo, the
nation’s capital, is an amusing contrast to the flurry of activity inside the
de Freitases’ Speed the Light truck. Beside me, Nelson is talking on a cell
phone with a ministry team leader as they coordinate an evangelistic event to
be held later this afternoon. Behind me, Rennae is talking on a cell phone with
a national pastor, working out logistics of another outreach tomorrow.
Listening, I’m amazed at how many people are involved in this ministry.
Closing his cell phone, Nelson explains, “When Rennae and I
first arrived, we traveled to different locations on the island to conduct
children’s crusades and minister in local churches. Soon we realized the best
use of our time was to invest in others.”
The de Freitases began discipling Dominicans and training
them to work with children and lead them to Christ. Now they work alongside
those they have trained.
“Although we continue to do evangelistic outreaches,” Nelson
says, “we’re also reaching people for Christ through these trained workers.”
As Nelson grabs another call, I think back over the years
and how the de Freitases have implemented their philosophy of mentoring in the
Dominican Republic. As a result they are bearing extraordinary fruit in
ministry.
The mentoring process is a core value of effective missions
work. “Ultimately, this ministry has nothing to do with Nelson and me,” says
Rennae. “It has everything to do with the national church here. We’re raising
up leaders to take this ministry and go. They are part of a generation that
believes in children’s ministry, youth ministry and missions outreach.”
The team in action
As we drive up to a street-side outreach already in
progress, I see about 100 people gathered on the street. They are standing
directly in front of the ministry “warriors,” a team of believers who sing and
preach about the message of salvation.
The music is loud and their ministry definitely has captured
the attention of almost everyone in the neighborhood. Looking at the
surrounding houses, I see entire families watching from balconies. Grandmas and
children peer from windows.
“We want to create an environment in which we can hit people
with the gospel message,” Nelson explains. “We’re trying to knock down all the
barriers or resistance people often put up when someone comes in with a typical
evangelical campaign. We like to build relationships with people in the crowd
while working alongside the pastor of the local church. That way, a
congregation is ready to follow up on those who accept Christ.”
The connection with a church is almost literal at this
event. The local Assemblies of God church is directly across the street, and
the pastor is participating in the outreach.
I ask Rennae why she and Nelson place so much emphasis on
the connection to a local church.
“If the evangelistic event is not tied to a local church,”
she says, “then we’re just scattering seed. We don’t know if those who come to
Christ will grow in their faith and be discipled. For that to happen, it’s
absolutely necessary for every event to be tied to a pastor and a local
church.”
Building the church
Sunday is my favorite day of every trip. As a missions
videographer, my goal is to shoot video or photography in as many church
services as I can. I go to the earliest service I can find and then drive
quickly to the next one. It’s always a tight schedule, and for my plan to work
I must stick to it closely.
Today, I have visited two services when Nelson suggests
stopping at a church that isn’t on my schedule. I’m tempted to say, “Let’s skip
it.” But later, as I watch an incredible move of God take place, I’m glad we
came. I can’t see tongues of fire, but I think I can feel them. As Nelson and
Rennae lay hands on people gathered at the front of the packed church and pray
for them, God’s presence is indisputable.
The ministry I see and film in the Dominican Republic is not
about building large churches or boasting about the numbers in attendance. It
is about building powerful spiritual centers where people are seeking the move
of God that is needed on this island and throughout the world.
What the de Freitases hope to do in the Dominican Republic
is accelerate the growth and maturity of a national church. This process leads
naturally to the next stage of growth — gaining a vision for world
missions.
Caribbean Institute for Missions Advancement
On my last day in Santo Domingo, I walk the grounds where
the new Caribbean Institute for Missions Advancement is being built. As I think
about its purpose as a place to train missionaries, I remember Maria* and her
husband.
In 2004 I traveled to a Central Eurasian country to
photograph and record stories of missionaries working there. To my surprise, I
met Maria and her husband from Latin America — a significant part of the
team.
After talking to them about their work in that sensitive
nation, I asked Maria if she had a message to direct to the church in Latin
America. In rapid-fire Spanish, she talked about the call of God. Her words
were passionate (and convicting).
“The call of God is for EVERYONE to make disciples
everywhere,” she said. “There are no exceptions, rich or poor.”
While the idea of Third World missions was not new to me,
that was the first time I personally had seen it in action in such an effective
and committed way. I felt I was witnessing the beginning of a new era in
missions.
The Caribbean Institute for Missions Advancement is being
built in the hills above Santo Domingo on property acquired through a series of
miracles.
Nelson explains the need for this facility. “For so long
Latin America has been a place where missionaries have gone, but now the church
has come full circle. The challenge to Latin America is to be a sending agency
as well. The DNA of the Assemblies of God, which has been a missions sending
agency since its beginning, is taking hold in many Latin American countries,
including the Dominican Republic. We feel our primary role here is to see
Dominicans sent as missionaries around the world.”
As I walk across the property with Rennae, she explains why
they have taken on this overwhelming project. “We’re absolutely passionate
about seeing a missionary generation raised up in the Dominican Republic. God didn’t
call only Americans to fulfill the Great Commission. He meant for every
Christian to go into all the world and preach the gospel. Dominicans can go to
places where Americans can’t go. Many who have endured suffering and poverty
can cope with more difficult living conditions. It is so exciting to see God
raising up a new generation of young people who want to respond to that call.”
As I board the plane to head home to the States, I remember
the apostle Peter’s instruction that God is “not willing that any should
perish” (2 Peter 3:9). The challenge of reaching a lost world is big enough to
include everyone. Surely the idea of sending missionaries from every nation to
every nation was part of God’s plan all along.
*Not her real name.
TIM SCHIRMAN is video production manager for AG World
Missions Communications.
E-mail your comments to tpe@ag.org.
