Missionaries
Bret and Valerie McAlpin
Leeds, England
The McAlpins lived in Plovdiv, Bulgaria for seven years where they served on a church-planting/revitalization team. During their time in Bulgaria, they were able to see a Bulgarian-led church plant started in Plovdiv and developed a heart for international students. Following this new desire led them to look for opportunities of expanding church planting and student ministry together. Their search eventually brought them to Christ Church Central, Leeds.
Paul and Lizzie Sanduleac
Republic of Moldova
Paul was born and raised in Moldova. His background is in software engineering . He lifet a career in IT in orer to become a pastor. Heis pursuing ordination in the International Presbyterian Church. Elizabeth is from San Diego. She was interest in missions from a young age. Befor they were married, she dance with Ballet Magnificat. She has been studying Romanian for two year and looks forward to serving overseas.
Soon after arriving in Moldova, they will begin working witha core group in Chisinau to plant one of the first Reformed/Presbyterian churches in the country.
Wes and Jami Baker
Church Planter - Peru Missions
Since 1999 Peru Mission has been planting churches with three fundamental characteristics: we proclaim the Biblical faith with passion and conviction; we worship God with reverence and joy according to ancient covenantal patterns; and we live in vibrant community carrying out the Lord’s mission as He did, in both Word and deed.
Harris Bond
Mission to North America - Monroe, LA
Harris Bond, a native of Yazoo City, MS, has been involved in pastoral ministry for 15 years. He is a graduate of Auburn University and Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte, NC (M.Div.). While serving as the Assistant Pastor at First Presbyterian Church in Belzoni, MS he met Laura Beth Shields, a graduate of Delta State University who was then living & working in the Jackson area. They married in 2008 and just 3 months later moved to Sylacauga, Alabama where Harris served as the Pastor of Knollwood Presbyterian Church. After 10+ years of proclaiming Christ and serving among a community they love--and three kids later!—they have seen the Lord equipping them and calling them back to the Delta through the Presbytery of Mississippi Valley to the work of Church Planting. They have a passion for the Gospel, the local church and the university setting through their home churches and their love for RUF.
Gavin Breeden
Reformed University Fellowship — University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA
Gavin grew up in Martin, TN and attended college at UT-Martin where he studied Philosophy. While at UT-Martin he was involved with RUF where he met Shalaine, a cross country/track star from Henderson, KY. They married in June 2006 and moved to Charlotte, NC for Gavin to attend seminary. He graduated with a Masters of Divinity from Reformed Theological Seminary in Charlotte in 2011 and the Breeden's moved to Mississippi where Gavin was Assistant Pastor here at Northpointe for four years.
Gavin and Shalaine have three children—Addie Pearl (born March 2011), Miles (born May 2013), Stella (born November 2015), and two lazy dachshunds. The Breeden's love having people in their home, playing board games, reading, and watching movies.
Center for Pregnancy Choices of Meridian
The Center for Pregnancy Choices of Meridian is a non-profit peer counseling and pregnancy center committed to providing women and men with accurate information in order to make informed decisions about pregnancy, sexual health and relationships.
Children of Abraham
The Children Of Abraham (COA) ministry was founded in 1977 to communicate the saving message of Christ to a largely un-evangelized Arabic community in and beyond North America. Children Of Abraham’s purpose is stated in the charter as, “to glorify God and advance His kingdom through the communication of the Gospel of Jesus Christ both nationally and internationally, to engage in and carry on, missionary work, to publish Christian literature, to produce Christian programs in order to spread the saving message of the Gospel.”
Bentley Crawford
Reformed University Fellowship — Belhaven University
Bentley has been married to his wife, Sarah Love, for over 10 years. They have four children: Lila Grace, Annie, Luke, and Camp. Bentley is originally from Meridian, MS and Sarah Love from Jackson, MS. After graduating from the University of Mississippi in 2006 and 2007, Bentley and Sarah Love worked with CRU for three years. Bentley then served as a pastoral intern at Palm Vista Community Church in Miami, FL before returning to Jackson to attend Reformed Theological Seminary, where he graduated in 2017 with his MDiv. Through these experiences, the Lord has built in Bentley a passion for the gospel of Jesus Christ, a desire to minister God's powerful word, a love for people, and a heart for the local Church. As a result, he couldn't be happier to be serving with RUF and he sincerely believes that RUF at Belhaven is an incredibly important work.
Dale and Susan Ellison
Trujillo, Peru
Dale and Susan Ellison are from Jackson, Mississippi. They have 5 children, three of whom are with them in Peru. Dale is an elder at Iglesia Cristo Restaurador in Trujillo and serves as director Christian Education (Geneva School) for Peru Mission. Dale has been serving in Peru since 2007.
Dennis Marks
Lauderdale County Good News Jail and Prison Ministry
Dennis Marks is the chaplain for Good News Jail and Prison Ministry of Lauderdle County Mississippi. This ministry provides chaplains to America's jails and prisons around the world. Locally the ministry trains volunteers, provides church services, offiers counceling services, distributes literature, administers Bible lesson programs, and much more.
Scott and Christine
Since 1999 Scott and Christine have served in the one of the world's largest cities in a country that is 99% Muslim. They work alongside local leaders who desire to plant churches, with worship and theological education being particular areas of focus. They have also helped to develop an inter-dependent partnership of churches and individuals focused on ministering in the Middle East.
Mark and Stephanie Horn
Mission to North America - Hope Springs Church Plant - Ocean Springs, MS
Mark Horn has been in ministry for twenty-five years. He started out in student ministry, and then has served as senior pastor for the past twenty years to two churches in Tennessee and Alabama. He and his wife, Stephanie, have four children in college.
Mark’s greatest joy in ministry is to make the grace of Jesus clear to the people to whom he ministers. He listens well, he builds relationships, and he opens God’s word. And after long years and winding roads, he is more convinced than ever that God is good, that His word is True Truth, and that Jesus Christ loves to save broken, lost people.
Mark and Stephanie are excited at the new call as missionary church planters in Ocean Springs. They have been coming to the town for years and have a deep love for the people who live on the coast. Their prayer, as they come to Ocean Springs, is to see God build a gospel community whose DNA is not afraid of messes and woundedness, where the lost and their questions are safe, and where the good news of Jesus is brought to bear at the point of people’s greatest need.
Haruaki (O-Chan) and Asami Odate
Church Planter - Chiba City, Japan
Haruaki Odate, better known to us as O-Chan, is one of our missionaries and a church planter serving in Chiba City, Japan. O-Chan began preaching in the Oyumino Christ Church, however, in order to be more intentional about planting a church, he is no longer preaching there on a full-time basis. He still preaches in Grace Center Church Sendai every two months, and occasionally, he will help at Oyumino Christ Church when they need someone to fill the pulpit. Zoom and the other meeting tools have been the work of the ministry in Japan. There is more information online concerning the ministry of the Odates. Please go to Redeemer Church, https:/redeemerjackson.com/people/haruaki-odate/Praying for Missionaries to learn about the church planting work as well as how you can support their work and pray for their family and read the recent newsletter.
Robert and Lisa Stewart
MTW - Japan
Robert and Lisa Stewart love to see people changed by the good news of the gospel, and are blessed to have a job that lets them pursue that love full-time.
They began their missionary journey in Japan by serving MTW’s school for missionary children. Then, in 2009, they were called to serve with MTW’s Tokyo Bay team as assistant church planters.
In this role, they have witnessed God work mightily, establishing Shin-Urayasu Grace Church in 2012 and providing ever-growing inroads into the local Japanese community.
The Stewarts are so excited about the many opportunities to share God’s truth with the people of Shin-Urayasu, and are seeking to develop dynamic, discipling relationships within their local church.
Please join with them in praying that God would be made known to the Japanese people who so desperately need Him, and that He would continue to shape Shin-Urayasu Grace Church into a vibrant beacon for Christ.
Hermes and Alleen Tomas
3 H Ministries - Hearts and Hands for Hispanics - Jackson, MS
Hermes and Alleen Tomás are from Trujillo, Peru and Jackson, MS (respectively). Hermes and Alleen moved to Jackson, MS in 2020 where they began 3H Ministry. Hearts & Hands for Hispanics seeks to integrate the Hispanic community into local, vibrant, bible-teaching churches. We long to see the church full of all races and cultures worshipping our one true Lord and King.
Rob and Karen Taylor
Wycliffe Bible Translators
Rob and Karen Taylor have been members of Wycliffe Bible Translators since 1987. In 1990 they began their ministry as a translation team to East Asia.
In November 2006 after nine years of ministry with the Mississippi Choctaw Indians, they moved to Alberta, Canada to begin training and assisting Stoney Indian Christians to translate the Bible into the Stoney language.
They are planning to complete Genesis and most of the New Testament by the end of 2012.