One of the top values of VCF is community and relationship. We wanted our involvement in missions to be a natural outflow of what we are doing within our fellowship so we desire that relationship and community to extend to whatever missionary and organization we support financially. A Biblical perspective also confirms this view that community extends far beyond those who enter the 4 walls of our church building. Jesus clearly intended for His followers to build His community, His Kingdom throughout the entire world. Fortunately, the Lord has provided many ways to see this vision fulfilled. Here are some of our projects in the area of missions:

Kenya Partnership for Digoland

While Vineyard Christian Fellowship supports missions efforts in may parts of the world, our overseas missions focus is the Digo tribe. The Digo tribe is an unreached people group located in southern Kenya and northern Tanzania. Most Digo people are subsistence farmers. Islam is their official religion and over 99% of Digo people practice Islam mixed with their traditional tribal religion.

Because of their proximity to the coast, the Digo people were the first tribe to be contacted by Arab slave traders. They formed an alliance to capture people from the inland tribes as slaves. To this day, the Digo tribe is hated by the other tribes of Kenya. When the international slave trade was stopped, the Digo people were taken as slaves by their former allies, the Arabs who had settled on the east coast of Africa. The only way for a Digo person to be freed from slavery was to convert to Islam. For this reason, Islam is embraced as the salvation of the tribe.

Vineyard Christian Fellowship officially “adopted” the Digo people through Wycliffe Bible Translators in 2002. A small team of people traveled from our church to meet with the few Digo Christians at that time. With our continued support, the New Testament was published in Chidigo (the mother tongue of the Digo tribe) in 2007 for the first time ever.

Since the publication of the New Testament, Vineyard Christian Fellowship has been exploring ways in which to partner with Digo Christians to continue to work there. We have sponsored community development projects including literacy work, education and feeding of extremely poor children, livestock projects, and life-skills training courses for adults seeking vocational training. We are also sponsoring one of the translators (Joseph Mwalonia) through seminary. He plans on becoming one of the first Digo pastors in history.

Cambodia

Laura Altemus has been living in Battambang since October 2006 as staff with Youth with a Mission/University of the Nations working with children at risk in the slums and local orphanages.

In April 2010 Jeevit’s House opened to help children affected by AIDS. Our dream is to see improved healthcare and quality of life for children with AIDS, to see families strengthened and enabled to remain together longer, to see orphans established in new families, and to see children provided for, trained and equipped for an amazing future.

We have a child sponsorship program for children affected by AIDS, providing them with rice, clothing, school supplies and transportation to doctor’s appointments. Even more than what we offer them physically though, we’re committed to being a part of their lives. We visit them in their homes and welcome them in ours and are here to serve them as Jesus asked us to.

Jeevit’s House serves as a transitional home for children who are sick until they are well enough to return to their own families, as well as providing housing for orphans while we are finding the best foster care home for them.

We have several weekly children’s programs in different slums and churches in the area. Also, every Thursday is rice day, when our families come hang out and get their weekly supply of rice.

Monthly, we have our families and neighbors over for an afternoon of training, discipleship and fellowship. As we continue to grow we’d like to see this happen more often.

In the future we also envision clinics and additional programs happening here.

For more information or to see the kids in our sponsorship program check out our website: Jeevitshouse.org.

Togo

In January 2007, a group from the barn traveled to Ayakope, Togo repairing wells and building relationships with the people there by sharing the love and life of Jesus. This group was led by Anna Altemus and Bill Cocke. New equipment is being devised to allow wells to be drilled for remote villages with no nearby water supply.

Long-Term Foreign Missionaries

Laura Altemus on staff with Youth With a Mission in Battambang, Cambodia

Andrew Greenplate, on staff with Youth With a Mission
Click here to visit Andrew’s blog!

Stefan and Christy Lindstrom, Sweden