Mark and Janie have served as missionaries in Chiang Mai, northern Thailand, since 1994, where they have been involved in university campus ministry, leadership development, and church planting. Through their “Churches for Churches” program, the Durenes are helping with new church plants in 5 cities, including Teung, where River Valley Church partnered to launch the church. Currently, they are helping to train several other potential church planters, and also serve as mentors to many other pastors throughout the northern Thailand area. In addition, they are the directors of the Global University Thai’s second Bachelor’s program, where they are training current and future Thai ministers. Mark serves as the AGMF Thailand Country Moderator, as well as on several national boards, including Evangelical Fellowship of Thailand (Northern region); Every Home for Christ, Thailand; Thailand AG Northern Region Board of Presbyters; and others. Janie writes Sunday school curriculum for several churches and directs the children’s program at a church in Chiang Mai.
Mark went on a 2-week trip to Spain in 1979, where they did street evangelism in Barcelona and Madrid and helped set up a large evangelistic crusade in Madrid.
As a teenager, Mark was impacted by the film, “Jungle Pilot,” a biography of Nate Saint and 4 other missionaries martyred in Ecuador. This led to a passion for missions that in turn led to a Bachelor’s Degree in Missions Education from North Central University, in addition to mission trips to Spain, Alaska, Mexico, and Thailand.
Janie Durene - Wife
We will be joining the Children At Risk team, which exists to care for, minister to, and share the Gospel with children who have been orphaned, abandoned, neglected, abused, homeless, come from broken homes, or simply live an unsafe community that puts them at risk to emotional, mental, or physical harm. We will also work to train, equip, and send out other believers to work with children at risk in both Cape Town and other locations.
Disability is something that will effect everyone at some stage of their life. Parents of children with any kind of difference often face differing levels of stigma and very often have difficulty in making use of places and facilities that regular families use based on the needs or behavioral expressions of their loved one. In the UK 11% of children are reported to have disabilities and although it is an economically developed nation, the emotional, psychological and financial implications of raising a child with a disability can be profound. Wales, in particular has some of the highest rates of child disability in the UK. Our heart is to love, empower and equip parents through providing and supporting short breaks for families in difficult circumstances.
Cape Town, with a population is 4.5 million people, is known across the continent as the Mother City and is one of the most influential cities on the continent of Africa. With the average age being 29 years old, there is great potential to reaching many university students, young professionals, and families. Nestled behind Table Mountain is the University of Cape Town which is the premier university in all of Africa. Our goal is to launch a thriving Chi Alpha ministry in this influential university of almost 30,000 students. Cape Town is also the Parliamentary capital of South Africa and boasts other major industries like manufacturing, tourism, oil and gas, agriculture, marketing and media in addition to Information Technology an
We have been appointed as church planting missionaries to join an established team in Nara, Japan. Japan is a country of 125M inhabitants, where only .5% of the population is Christian, and the number of believers and missionaries has been only shrinking for the last 30 years. Also, over 70% of Japanese church leaders are over the age of 70, which means that they are desperately hurting for the next generation to rise up and carry the torch of the gospel to their neighbors and fellow citizens. In our first year and a half in Japan, we have engaged most heavily in language learning and partnership with our local church, Nara New Life, who have been mentoring us in our future venture to start a church in the surrounding area. Our main focuses have been ministry through the vivacious young family community in our town: children's ministry, gymnastics class, local play room, parks, and soon Kaia will be joining our neighborhood pre-school. In addition we have been investing in relationships with a number of other individuals long-term, leading worship, and visiting Japanese churches around the country sharing our testimonies and building a network of national believers. Our current short term goals now: Continue language learning for another 2 years, 2024 begin surveying neighborhoods in summer for church plant (move spring 2025 to target area), establish parent relationships at Kaia's preschool.
Almost 18 million people, .2% evangelical, over 90% Muslim, 26 unreached people groups, 6 UPGs with over 1 million people each
According to the CDC, there are over ONE BILLION people in the world who live with some form of disability*1, including... - 61 million adults, one out of six children, in the United States. *2 - Within the disability population, more than 200 million experience considerable difficulties in activities in daily life. *2 - If pulled together, individuals with disability would represent the third largest nation in the world, with the highest rate of abuse, divorce, suicide, homelessness, and joblessness (WHO 2011 report). *3 *1 - 1 Billion people worldwide https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/disability-and-health *2 - 61 Million Americans - Disability Impacts All Info Graphic https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/disabilityandhealth/infographic-disability-impacts-all.html *2 - Increase in Developmental Disabilities Among Children in the U.S. (1 out of 6 children) https://www.cdc.gov/ncbddd/developmentaldisabilities/features/increase-in-developmentaldisabilities.html *3 This stat can be found in the WHO Disability Report on the WHO website here: https://www.who.int/health-top
Raegan's ministry in Romania has a three-fold mission: First to care for adandoned infants. Second to assist foster care programs for adandon children. Third to provide maternal care in a facility offering mothers alternatives to adandonment. Raegan is the network facilitator for Europe's compassion care network as well as the lead pastor at the International Church in Bucharest, Romania.
Over 3000 Chinese international students come to our city each year to study at the University of Minnesota. These students are leaders and influencers and 80% of them will eventually return to China and take their international experience back to the places they live and work. It is estimated that 70% of international students across the U.S. never step foot inside of an American home even though they would love to have the chance. We feel that this is a huge missed opportunity. Our goal is to journey together with Chinese international students in the few years they are here to see lives transformed and subsequently, a nation influenced by the power of God.
We serve the nearly 1500 MKs living in almost 200 countries, territories and provinces around the globe. One of the leading causes for missionary families to leave the field is because of concerns or needs of their kids. Our goal is to serve MKs and their parents so they can continue in long-term ministry even in difficult and hostile environments. MKs face the same challenges that their non-MK counterparts face. The difficulty for many is the added pressure of constant cultural change and adjustment.
Planted 5 international churches in The NL. Coaching European church planters as well as assisting new missionaries to complete their callings.
Paige serves at the Jungle Hospital in Rio Viejo Honduras as a nurse bringing health hope and healing to the surrounding mountain villagers.