Perhaps
you've wondered....
“Aren't
you just going into a printing business?”
EBI
is much more than a “printing business.” EBI exists to provide
quality, doctrinally sound resources to help both missionaries and
national workers in their Great Commission ministries. The majority
of our partnerships are with national believers. Our goal is to
provide the training and materials necessary to help national workers
be as effective as possible in planting churches in their own
culture. EBI conducts on the field teacher training classes, seminary
modules and pastor's conferences all over Latin America. A very
exciting aspect of the ministry is an online Spanish Masters in
Biblical Studies program. This program allows trained pastors to
gain valuable training and knowledge in an accredited course of study
that prepares them to teach at seminaries, Bible institutes and
colleges in their own countries. EBI provides materials needed for
every facet of ministry from discipleship to professorship. While we
will certainly be involved in translating, printing and
administration this ministry is certainly much more than simply
printing.
“Is
this just something to fill time until you find another ministry?”
When
Debbie fell ill in 2014 we found ourselves with many decisions to
make. As it became clear that returning to Peru was not an option we
were approached by a number of different ministries. We were offered
positions in Hispanic churches, pastoral positions, and numerous
Spanish mission opportunities all across the United States. We
prayerfully considered every option. It was our desire from the
beginning to remain as faith missionaries. In February 2015 we
visited the offices of EBI. After several days working with the
staff and discussing philosophy and goals we began to see how God was
opening up doors of opportunity for our family. After much time in
prayer we felt a real peace and excitement about EBI. When we
accepted this missionary position at EBI we made a life time
commitment. As long as God wants us serving with the ministries of
EBI we plan to stay faithfully working there. EBI was a perfect fit
because of our experience in Latin American culture, church-planting,
Spanish language and teamwork with Baptist Mid-Missions.
“Are
you really missionaries since you are living in the United States?”
Stepping
on an airplane or crossing the sea on a boat certainly doesn't make
one a missionary. We can all be missionaries right where God places
us. While it may seem more exciting to fill a map with pictures of
missionaries across the globe, missions that is based stateside is
necessary and effective. It was our life long dream to serve the
Lord on the foreign mission field. Yet, we had to surrender our
desires to God's will and stay here in our own homeland. One of our
co-workers shared with us that one of the hardest things we would
face was stepping off the pedestal of being a foreign missionary hero
and becoming a stateside missionary servant. God has helped us
through this transition and we truly believe our ministry will be
more effective now than ever.
“Why
is this ministry necessary if there are missionaries in all these
countries?”
EBI
is currently involved with ministries in 29 countries around the
world. Each of these countries has both missionaries and national
workers yet the work is not finished. We believe that the key to
successful Great Commission work is to train national workers and
allow them to carry on the work started to by missionaries. 70 years
ago dozens of missionaries headed to Latin America to begin working
in the harvest field of souls. There ministries have been successful
and today as many as 70 million believers in thousands of churches
have been started in Central and South America. Today, missions has
entered a new phase. It is time to strengthen the infrastructure for
the national church. EBI is on the front lines providing the
necessary training and materials to further the national churches.
“Why
aren't you involved in church-planting?”
While
we may have currently stepped out of a direct church-planting
ministry role at this time, we are still actively working to
strengthen church-planting efforts of countless workers in Latin
America. We have personally been approached by laymen and national
pastors looking for help with their own theological training. The
Hispanic church is growing and asking for help! We want to fill that
void. In the future we do hope to once again be involved with
church-planting with the EBI team in the Sebring, Florida area.
