Joni Bock - Wife
Jean coaches worldwide church leaders in Asia, Africa and the U.S.A. on how to conceptualize, plant, cultivate and multiply churches and ministries that are indigenous in nature. She makes sure to do this in ways that are culturally relevant, self-functioning, self-determining, self-supporting, self-propagating and self-giving, and that promote a healthy self-image and a healthy community-image.
Richard and Kim work with Youth Alive, which strives to equip Christian students to reach their peers with the Gospel. This is provided in schools through training, resources and outreach opportunities.
Lithuania has a population of approximately 2.8 million people. It was the first country to gain freedom in 1991 from the Soviet Union, so, understanding the nuances that come with a culture that was under oppression for generations is important. Lithuania is predominately Catholic with between 75-80% professing Catholicism, 6% Secular, .8% other (Muslim, Jewish, Buddhist). Only .08% of Lithuanians are Evangelical Christian. Though Lithuania is a predominately catholic country, they like most European countries are experiencing a trend toward secularism, among the younger generations especially. Generational scars run deep, and a spirit of oppression rests on the people of Lithuania making it challenging for them to open up or build relationships. It is said that it takes approximately two years to establish a meaningful connection with one Lithuanian. With the war in Ukraine, there is a renewed fear of what Russia did just one generation ago, and a greater inward focus of self preservation and isolation. Even though they are under the protection of NATO, many Lithuanian people are weary to believe it will protect them from what Russia has been capable of doing in the past. Lithuania carries some pretty staggering statistics, they have the highest suicide rate in the European Union, (double of the United States). Depression is prevalent, yet mental health is avoided in conversation along with struggles in general. Lithuania is number 3 in the world for alcoholism, and 1 in 3 women will or have experienced domestic violence in their lifetime. The outward appearance of most Lithuanians is one of looking put together, accomplished, and successful, yet inwardly, many struggle with depression, suicidal thoughts, addiction and fear of failure.
Tod and Andrea Chapin are pioneering a ministry in the capital city of Edinburgh in Scotland. They minsiter to university students and young families seeing lives transformed by the power of Jesus and giving the spiritually hungry an encounter with the living God.
Matthew and Elora work in Summit County, Colorado, which is located near Denver. It is a community ignorant to Christianity, with a focus on 'new age' and eastern religions.
Genoa is approximately 1/2 million people with less than 2% recognizing Jesus as Savior of their lives. Italy is home to an estimated 105 documented people groups, 23 of which are considered unreached people groups. Genoa is a port city and an International hub. AGWM has never had a missionary in this city and we are excited to be the first.
We are planting a church in West Java. West Java is home to the Sundanese people group, the largest Muslim UPG in the world. We are focused on reaching the Sundanese specifically, but Indonesian muslims generally. We will do this by planting a church in 2019. Indonesia is the 4th largest country in the world, it is made up of 17,000 islands, its the largest Muslim country in the world, there are 227 UPG's in Indonesia.
Luke and Tanya McKinley’s mission field is the country of Estonia. Their primary focus is church planting in Tallinn, Estonia. They work with a team of missionaries in a multiplication network.
Steve and Trina are missionaries with Assembly of God World Missions in Nairobi, Kenya, Africa. They are serving as Team Leader Overseers of Live Dead East Africa. They have responsibility for teams in 6 countries. Their primary focus is church planting among unreached people groups and training. In addition, Trina ministers to young ladies.
Amazon River Basin has 306 tribal groups, the majority of which are unengaged/unreached. 900,000 people populate those tribes
The territory of The Gambia was annexed from the French and became a British colony in the 1700's. It served as the main hub for the trans-Atlantic slave trade. It became an independent nation in 1965, becoming the smallest country on the continent of Africa. English is the official language. Poverty is at 48% nationwide. The Gambia is a 96% Islamic country. There are less that 0.01% evangelical believers living there now with no prevoius record of an Assemblies of God presence.