Missionary Care Team: District Representatives
Helping Country Churches and Missionaries Thrive
Village Missions has eight District Representative (DR) couples: 2 in Canada and 6 in the U.S. Their role is to encourage and provide guidance to the Village Missionaries and VM partner churches in their district. District Representatives visit the missionaries and churches in the spring and fall and keep in touch with them throughout the year. As one Village Missionary said, “One of the blessings of serving with VM is the wise counsel and support the DRs provide. Without that, I would likely have left pastoral ministry.”
Coaching Missionaries
Each DR has at least 15 years of pastoral experience, so they can coach and provide guidance to the missionaries in their district.
“DR visits are important for the local church,” Village Missionary Alan Klein said. “Our District Representative helped us reflect on where we’re at and where we’re headed. He also strengthened the connection between the church and VM.”
The DRs observe firsthand the realities and trends in rural North America, so they provide valuable input to VM leadership and the National Board about what the missionaries and churches need.
Develop Church Leadership
On each visit to a field, District Representatives meet with the church board or the church family. They sometimes make an extended visit and do leadership training for the church.
DR Gordon Rowland said, "We certainly believe in the importance of DRs. We’ve experienced it personally and benefited from previous DRs’ wisdom. This role is vital to our missionaries."
Spiritual Mentors
Who does a pastor turn to when he needs advice and counsel? Who can a pastor’s wife confide in about difficult situations or challenges in the church? They need someone trustworthy, wise and experienced. For Village Missionaries, that person is their District Representative (DR) couple.
“District Representatives are important because they can be called upon when challenges arise in the church. They also provide a kind of stability. They visit each of the Village Missionaries twice a year (once in the spring and once in the fall), where you can discuss in person how things are going and what kinds of challenges and successes you are facing. They provide wisdom and guidance that help you to navigate through difficult times.” Brenden & Helena Peters, Boyle, AB
Staff Conference
The District Representatives work with VM leadership to organize annual staff conferences held in five locations around the US. These conferences are designed to refresh and encourage the missionaries. Each conference brings missionaries together to hear each other's stories, offer perspective, and pray together. Staff conferences also provide ongoing ministry training.
Recruiting Missionary Pastors
District Representatives represent Village Missions at Bible colleges and missions conferences. They do in-home interviews with applicants to Village Missions. They also participate in each Candidate School, helping to train potential missionaries.
The DRs provide vital support to Village Missionaries. DR Gordon Rowland describes it like this:
After many years of pastoring churches, I’m now a pastor to pastors. My job is to support and encourage the missionaries and their families and support the churches.
We enjoy spending time with the missionaries and seeing them grow and mature in their ministries. Val does an amazing job of keeping in touch with the missionary wives through text messages and other means.
We listen to the missionaries. I’ve learned that sometimes insight and direction become evident to them as they talk the situation out with us. We pray with them.