Romania
In 1996, through Scott Kirby of European Partnership Ministries, a group of 18 member from First Baptist Church made a trip to Betania Baptist Church in Arad, where John Balaciu was pastor. This began a sweet relationship with the people of Romania and sparked multiple mission trips. Trips are still taken today to minister to the many churches we have connected with.
Shortly after that first trip, Steve and Debra Richardson, members of First Baptist, surrendered their lives to full-time missions and moved to Romania. They have since retired after 17 years on the mission field but are still active in ministry.
Belize
In the Summer of 2012, we took our first mission trip to Belize and visited the small village of King’s Village. As we pulled up to the “big green house” we had no idea how God was going use the harsh conditions and hard work to change the lives of so many on that trip as well as the life and focus of our church. For three years we worked, ate, and slept with the sweet people of that village as we built the Iglesia Familia de Deos (Family of God Church); and fell in love with the country and people of Belize.
During one of those trips, God revealed to a member of our church that Belize was his mission field and, in the Fall of 2016, Michael and Shannon Burkhardt sold their possessions and moved to Belize to become full-time missionaries. Today, God is using them to reach that country for Christ. We regularly send groups for construction and evangelistic mission trips. If you’d like to learn more about Belize and the Burkhardts you may view their Facebook page by clicking here (GoBelize). You may also view their most recent newsletter by clicking here (Newsletter).