Rocky Mountain Church

We believe that Jesus (and the Apostle Paul) were serious when they told us to look beyond our immediate neighborhoods and respond to the Holy Spirit's leading to become involved in the work of the Kingdom of God in the remotest parts of the world.
 
The Rocky Global Missions Team (GMT) priorities are focused on the Muslim and Hindu worlds.  We are supporting Christian outreach in Central Asia and to Afghan refugees in Europe (Holland).  Other Rocky-supported outreach efforts are conducted in France (EFCA ReachGlobal), Slovenia (Josiah Venture), Africa (IAS), Israel (Adonai Roi) and Vietnam (ACTS). 

Rocky GMT members and friends are actively involved in the Kingdom vineyard from Central and SE Asia, Africa, Europe, and Central America.  Organizations with which Rocky is in partnership are actively carrying the Gospel of Jesus Christ into "all the world" and include International Aid Services http://www.ias-intl.org/ providing micro loans to Christians to help them become self sufficient and to establish viable churches.  Through Horizons International (Boulder) http://www.horizonsinternational.org/ we are actively reaching Muslims for Christ on secular campuses in the USA and participating in preaching, teaching, and church planting in Muslim countries particularly in the Middle East and North Africa.  Supported EFCA ReachGlobal missionaries are active in Europe and Central Asia where many are being reached with the hope found only in Jesus Christ.

In India, we are actively working with the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) http://www.dalitnetwork.org/ and Operation Mobilization India by sponsoring a Dalit Education Center.  The school is one of 105 new schools (over 25,000 students) supported by DFN and is now in its seventh year (estab. 2006).  Rocky's Lead Pastor and GMT Chairman travelled to India with a DFN medical-relief team in March, 2005, following the devastating December 24, 2004, tsunami that killed over 1/4 million people.  The new school is located in the area devastated by the tsunami.

 

The school was started with 55 LKG and UKG (lower and upper kindergarten) students from Dalit (untouchable and low caste) families.  Today there are 310 students (enrolled in LKG thru 6th grades), 11 teachers, a principal, school manager, Community Health Worker and a Community Development Officer.  Rocky is co-sponsoring the school with other interested churches, organizations and individuals in the Estes Valley.  Each year a new class is being added until it ultimately will offer a full K-10 English medium education.  Classes 11 and 12 will be offered for those students planning to apply for entry into the university system.

   

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Construction of the permanent school building is well along on land that was purchased by generous Estes Valley donors.  Phase 1 completed in 2010 included 7 rooms.  Phase 2 has added a further 5 rooms.  The toilet block funding was completed in 2012 with construction expected to be completed in 2013.  

 

The daily logistical challenge of transporting the children from the nearby villages to the school was solved by procuring a new bus in 2010 when the school was relocated from rented facilities in the village out to the new permanent location.  The bus makes 3 round trips each morning and evening to safely bring the children (and teachers) to the school and take them home at the end of each day.  The Indian version of car pooling via the three-wheeled motorized rickshaws supplements the bus routes.

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The first Estes Park visitors to the school arrived in November, 2009.  That experience solidified the connection between the school and Estes Park.  This first team represented 4 Estes Valley churches:  Christian Church of Estes Park (CCEP), Mountain View Bible Fellowship (MVBF), St. Bartholomew's Episcopal, and Rocky Mtn. Church.  A second team traveled to the school in Februray, 2013, again representing Rocky and CCEP.  It is expected that regular visits by Estes Park teams will be conducted on a periodic basis.  Our commitment is to the vision of community transformation and the emancipation of the Dalit.  This is the vision of the All-India Christian Council, OM India, and the DFN.

The vision for the village where the school is located includes not just the school and education of the children, but also for Economic Development and a Healthcare Initiative.  The Economic Development effort includes a very successful Self-Help Group (SHG) initiative which currently includes 60 SHG's with over 1500 members.  The SHG's maintain their financial records and have succeeded in opening bank accounts which give the groups more credibility and improve their chances of acquiring loans to start new business ventures such as poultry farming, tailoring, and retail stores.

The village healthcare initiative is led by a new Community Health Worker (CHW).  She is well received wherever she goes in the village as well as neighboring villages.  The village people are grateful for her support since medical care and healthcare are otherwise inaccessible in the area.  The CHW maintains a supply of basic medications for her visits in the local community.  At the school she maintains medical records and growth charts for each student.  She teaches basic health and hygiene to the children in class and helps them to keep themselves and their surrounding neat and tidy.  Her work has led to a decrease in the occurrence of sickness among the children, which keeps them in school and leads to an overall better learning environment.  She also works among women and children in the village to help them prevent illness.  She spends extra time with pregnant women and infants to help protect this most basic form of early life and child development.