Ministry Shares More Important Than Ever in Dominican Republic

Steve Brauning feels grateful for the gift of ministry shares whenever he considers such accomplishments as the organization of a new classis in the Christian Reformed Church of the Dominican Republic.

The classis, the 12th classis of the denomination, was formed in the mountainous community of La Mercedes on a Sunday in mid November.

More than 300 people attended the event, at which a number of CRC in the Dominican Republic pastors were commissioned. Four pastors also were ordained and installed in four congregations, several local preachers (church planters) were recognized and a regional steering committee for the new Pedernales classis was established.

Fifteen students from the local Reformed Bible Institute graduated that day – an especially pleasing development for Pastor Antonio Vazquez "who has taught the Bible Institute classes and worked with this group of churches for the past several years," says Pastor Jose Manuel Gutierrez, president of the board of the CRC in the Dominican Republic.

It was also a good day for Brauning, who visited churches in this area in the summer of 2008, and has provided support and mentorship for Pastor Vazquez through the CRC's growth ministry team.

"The Pedernales area is very close to the Haitian border, and most of the churches are made up of undocumented Haitian immigrant agricultural workers on plantations.  Most speak no Spanish and they can't travel out of that area.  So Pastor Antonio’s work was key," in helping to make the November event and all that it entailed happen, says Brauning.

Without the support of ministry shares, Brauning and his his wife, Sandra, couldn't do all that they do and events such as the one that occurred in the mountains near Haiti might not have happened. In recent years, CRWM has cut back its presence in the Dominican Republic as the indigenous church has grown stronger.

"I can say that we have a large ministry budget in the DR, which supports church and Christian school ministries that are having a tremendous impact.  And now that we have only one career CRWM missionary on the field, the burden for fundraising for that budget falls largely on that one missionary. That’s why we count so heavily on ministry shares," says Brauning, who serves as CRWM’s partner field administrator in that area.

Fairly unique to the CRC, since few denominations collect donations in this manner, ministry shares is an arrangement by which large, small and medium-sized CRC congregations across the United States and Canada contribute a per-member assessment to help fund denominational ministries. Ministry shares provide a steady stream of funding without the overhead costs associated with multi-million-dollar fundraising campaigns.

For a little more background, says Brauning, CRWM is a missionary-sending agency, not a money-sending agency. 

"However, along with the missionaries comes ministry funding.  Back when the DR had 12 or more missionaries, funding accompanying those missionaries increased as church and Christian school ministries grew exponentially.  As ministry was transferred more and more to national leadership, the missionaries departed and so did some of the funding from CRWM.  But there is still a great need for funding for these ministries," he says.

There currently nearly 180 CRC in the Dominican Republic churches. CRWM helped with the birth of this denomination and has actively supported and worked alongside it since the mid-1970s.

The partnership began when Christian Haitian immigrants in the Dominican Republic contacted World Missions staff. Cultural, racial, and socioeconomic differences between Haitians and Dominicans had left the immigrant believers isolated. They asked for help and, in 1981, the new denomination officially began.

The Christian Reformed World Relief Committee has also been active in the Dominican Republic.

Shortly after the church was organized, missionaries partnered with local pastors and teachers in the establishment of COCREF, Colegios Cristianos Reformados (Christian Reformed Schools).  Missionaries began by organizing and teaching classes in church buildings. Local teachers were identified and trained, and by 1990, over 20 schools had begun. Today, COCREF educates over 5000 students, according to CRWM’s website.

The Braunings have been on the mission field in the Dominican Republic since 1991. While Steve works with the CRC of the Dominican Republic, his wife teaches 4th grade at the International School of Santo Domingo, where their children Mark and Hannah are students.

"We envision a family of Spirit-led ministries in the DR that are used by God to transform lives, communities, and society," says Brauning, detailing their vision for their ministry. "Our mission is to serve our ministry partners in the DR by equipping them to proclaim the Good News of Christ’s multi-faceted Kingdom."