Rocky Mountain Church | Missions
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) and Vietnam (Knowing Him Ministries).
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Children in Darfur (Sudan) Refugee Camp near El Geneina, Darfur, Sudan 2005
(Photo courtesy of International Aid Services)
The GMT chairman visited S. Sudan and Darfur (Sudan) in 2003 and 2005 respectively with International Aid Services http://www.ias-intl.org/ with which Rocky is associated in providing micro loans to Christians to help them become self sufficient and to share the Gospel of Jesus Christ. 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.
In India, we work with the Dalit Freedom Network (DFN) http://www.dalitnetwork.org/ by sponsoring a new Dalit Education Center. The school is one of 100 new schools (over 25,000 students) supported by DFN. Rocky's Lead Pastor and GMT Chairman were in 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.
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Rocky-Sponsored School - 2010 Kindergarten Class
(Photo courtesy of DFN)
The school started up in 2006 with 55 LKG and UKG (lower and upper kindergarten) students from Dalit (untouchable and low caste) families. Today there are 177 students (enrolled in LKG, UKG, 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th grades), 6 teachers, a principal, 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.
Permanent School Building Construction Underway - November, 2009
Construction of a permanent building is well along on land that was purchased by generous Estes Valley donors. Phase 1 construction including 7 rooms is nearing completion. Phase 2 will begin as soon as possible and will require additional funding. In October, 2010, a new bus was purchased by the same generous Estes Valley donors to enable the children to get from their homes in the village to the new school location which is 5 km (approx. 3 miles) away on a busy highway.
New School Bus Dedication - October, 2010
(Photo courtesy of DFN)
The first Estes Park visitors to the school spent the week of November 9-14, 2009, at the school in southern India. The team of 8 represented 4 Estes Valley churches: Christian Church of Estes Park, Mountain View Bible Fellowship, St. Bartholomew's Episcopal, and Rocky Mtn. Church.
Estes Park Team at School in south India - November 2009
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 38 SHG's with over 650 members. In 2010 the SHG's have saved a total of 93,000 Indian Rupees (over $2,000) in their group collective funds! 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 supporet 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.
The Rocky GMT is involved in blessing Israel by partnering with two indigenous outreach organizations through visits, prayer and financial support. These organizations are key to bringing hope and stability to Israelis living under constant threat from hostile government and terrorist organizations that surround the Holy Land. At Rocky, we believe that the roots of our Christian heritage are in the First Century (Jewish) Church, and only with the mission to the Gentiles, approved by the Jewish Church in the Council of Jerusalem described in Acts 15, did the Gospel of Jesus Christ enter our Gentile world.
One of our own Global Missions Team members is leading the establishment of a Bible training institute in Vietnam among leaders of both the registered and underground churches.
Closer to home, Rocky's GMT is involved in mission work in Arizona among the Hopi Indians and in Mexico.
Our Global Missions Team is comprised of interested folks at Rocky who come from a variety of backgrounds and interests but share a common passion to change the world for Christ. You are certainly welcome to visit us at our next meeting. To find out when that will be, you may send an email here. For a timely reply, be sure to include your return email address. Email Missions Team
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