Looking for 100 Supporters to Make Additional, Sustained Impact

 

     You have heard it before from ministries - "With your gift, you can make a difference." Yet, you have probably wondered, at times, does your gift really count? Does it really matter? 

     Team Dominican Republic wants you to know how grateful we are for your faithful support in prayer and finances which have helped us get to this critical point. Now, we are at literally the tipping point where ministry can significantly break out exponentially and move closer to sustainability with regular monthly giving to the specific, core ministries of the DR Vision. We are praying specifically for at least 100 monthly supporters for the different core ministries (not missionaries).

    

     We need your help! Every bit counts at such a time as this. All the missionaries appreciate their support (please don't cut that!), but even an additional monthly $10, $15, or $25 designated to a core ministry will immediately help these proven ministries take the next big step in development.You can read about them below. We are asking everyone - missionaries, churches, supporters like you, and nice-looking strangers to begin supporting a core ministry (not the church) this month for a regular amount. This can be done easily through PayPal on the ministry's website, DRVision.org. Gifts are tax-deductible as part of Daystar Baptist Missions.

   

      Read below about the ministries that interest you to see why we are at critical mass (momentum tipping point) in all of our ministries. Will you join us in making the difference? 

     IBEM, the church plant, is well on its way to becoming a significant church. Though still in its infancy, the church supports four missions projects, has taken a short-term missions trip to Peru, and currently has plans to buy property and build a new auditorium. The church, through its missions committee, is beginning to prepare for future church plants in the coming years. No money is sought for the monthly support of the church. The church is growing financially, including paying a partial salary to Dominican staff.  The church's first building project is about to begin.  

    

     The baseball ministry, under the direction of Marco Uribe, is in its fourth year. Reaching nearly 100 players every week, the baseball ministry has reached its ceiling of growth. The ministry can only rent a softball field a few times a week and desperately needs to see its field complex built. When the complex is complete the ministry will be able to dramatically expand in the quality of physical and spiritual instruction. The baseball ministry needs about $2,000 a month in support in order to have a full-time, dedicated staff for the baseball ministry. Currently, the baseball ministry is collecting about $300 a month in player registrations. Monthly supporters are needed to take the program to the next level. Also, the baseball ministry has just launched a "Dollars for Diamonds" campaign to raise $50,000 for the building of the first professional-size field on the property. The goal is to have the first field built by the end of this year, provided funds are in place.

     The School of Ministry and Mission (Bible Institute) started last September. The current four year schedule is modeled after a prestigious Christian university's Bible minor program and is intended to provide a challenging learning experience to Dominican students on par with their American counterparts. Miguel Mercedes, seminary graduate, B.A. student and future master's student, and Gary Hale, M.Min, M.A.B.S., M.Div. ('09), are currently guiding the school. The school has already added a small computer lab which helps facilitates papers, research, and online class discussions throughout the week. While tuition is nearly $100 a student (in line with the country's higher-education) for the semester, there is a need to build the monthly support. This support will allow the Bible Institute to hire full-time professors (Miguel Mercedes included) who have the necessary educational and Christian experience in order to take the Bible Institute to the next level in academic excellence. If professors can be hired for the fall semester, the Bible Institute will be able to recruit from all over the country - which will help significantly increase the enrollment, quality of classroom experience and tuition base. From there, the Bible Institute will be primed for future expansion onto the property.

 

     The Palms Christian Academy, under the direction of Allison Hale, Wendy Justice and Noemi Mercedes, will start this September. Initially starting with grades K-4, the bilingual Christian school will set the standard for Christian education. Modeled after regional accrediting requirements in the United States, the school is poised to make a significant impact in the educational and spiritual development of students in San Pedro. This will also open doors to families to be introduced to the local church. Teachers, both Dominican and American, are in the process of being hired. Monthly support is needed now to help the school successfully launch and become financially stable. Tuition will be charged and as the school grows, this will move the school more toward sustainability. The building to start the school could be rented in the next couple of days. Again, having monthly supporters will ease the stress of this rental and the pressures of having to have 100 students for September.

 

     The Lifehouse Children's ministry, under the direction of Randy and Bethany Smith, is ready to open another home when funding is in place.  The current home, with house parents Pastor Felix and Mari Mota, is seeing the graduation of its oldest boys, with plans in the works to bring a fresh group of young boys in by the end of the year. At the current support level, this is on target to happen. If another $2,500 per month is raised, however, a girl's home could also soon become a reality. Costs will be saved once the needed housing can be built on the ministry property, instead of renting houses.

 

To show our appreciation for those that join us during this unprecedented push to take the DR Vision to the next level AND who sign up for regular, monthly support of a core ministry (which they don't currently support) through PayPal (setup on DRVision.org) we'll send them a DRVision.org T-shirt. We'll also add their name to a special plaque (Hall of Faith), here in the DR, honoring monthly donors who helped us make the tipping point at this critical juncture in the life of the vision.

 Click on the link below to directly go to the PayPal link setup on the ministry website, DRVision.org:

 Monthly Support Signup