Missions
Our TGW Team Leaders
Each team leader has been designated as our primary point of contact for specific missions.
Tammy Bruya
Erick and Yoamy Sanchez (Honduras)
John and Letha Kerl (Europe)
Erick and Yoamy Sanchez (Honduras)
John and Letha Kerl (Europe)
Laura Christiansen
World Vision WASH Program (Worldwide)
World Vision WASH Program (Worldwide)
2025 Global 6K for Water - Complete!
DATE/TIME: 2026 TBD
LOCATION: The GraceWorks Church
7945 Steilacoom Rd SW
Lacey, WA 98503
NEXT SPRING, CHANGE A LIFE. Join thousands of people across the globe in our mission to bring life-changing clean water and fullness of life to children in communities around the world.
LOCATION: The GraceWorks Church
7945 Steilacoom Rd SW
Lacey, WA 98503
NEXT SPRING, CHANGE A LIFE. Join thousands of people across the globe in our mission to bring life-changing clean water and fullness of life to children in communities around the world.
Walk, run, or roll with us at the World Vision Global 6K for Water. Each registration provides lasting clean water to a child, like the child on your race bib!
This event is open to all - not just our long distance team. Walk it, ride it, push a stroller through it, man a water station... we can all participate!
All race registrations and fundraising go directly to providing clean, sustainable water for communities in need across the world. When you sign up or donate you are changing a child's life and helping to end their daily walk for dirty water.
This event is open to all - not just our long distance team. Walk it, ride it, push a stroller through it, man a water station... we can all participate!
All race registrations and fundraising go directly to providing clean, sustainable water for communities in need across the world. When you sign up or donate you are changing a child's life and helping to end their daily walk for dirty water.
2025 Team World Vision Endurance Team - Complete!
- 2026 planning begins in December 2025
World Vision is the largest non-governmental provider of clean water in the developing world, working in nearly 100 countries. Partnering with these communities; their WASH program focuses on ensuring clean water, sanitation and hygiene for every person in every community that they work in, including the most vulnerable populations in the hardest to reach places. World Vision includes many programs that address other needs in the community but the foundation of their work, and lifting people out of poverty, is clean water. Team World Vision is an arm of World Vision that partners with Churches and people like you through various events to fundraise for the WASH program and change lives around the world.
Women and children walk an average of 6 Kilometers (one way) each day to gather dirty water for their families. Every day more than 800 children under the age of 5 die from diseases related to this dirty water. Funds raised through Team World Vision programs and people like you help bring clean water to these communities; along with many other programs that help reduce the spread of illness, allow children to attend school, women to increase opportunities within their family and communities while lifting their community out of poverty. Funds raised through Team World Vision have a direct impact with every $50 raised bringing clean water to one person for life.
Women and children walk an average of 6 Kilometers (one way) each day to gather dirty water for their families. Every day more than 800 children under the age of 5 die from diseases related to this dirty water. Funds raised through Team World Vision programs and people like you help bring clean water to these communities; along with many other programs that help reduce the spread of illness, allow children to attend school, women to increase opportunities within their family and communities while lifting their community out of poverty. Funds raised through Team World Vision have a direct impact with every $50 raised bringing clean water to one person for life.
Erick and Yoamy Sanchez (Missions Door: Honduras)
Ministry Focus
Erick was appointed by Missions Door in April 2004 working among the Lenca Indians, a largely unreached group in Central Honduras. He serves as the Ministry Coordinator for work among the Lenca, focusing on evangelism, discipleship and church planting. Erick directs and teaches in the leadership training program, which prepares local leaders for church planting in Lenca villages. He also oversees the association of churches. He and Yoamy are burdened to reach mountain villages that have been untouched by the Gospel. Erick says, âWe feel a great satisfaction to be a part of this team taking the Gospel to others. Now our greatest interest is to share the Gospel with the Lenca and speak to them about Jesus. We believe we have found something that is worth the investment of our time, our resources, and our lives.â
Faith Story
Erick gave his life to Christ after his neighbor shared the Gospel with him. Erick was a believer but it wasnât until studying Godâs Word that Erick knew he was called to ministry. Erick says, âI was a believer with no commitment or interest in the lost, the church, or the Lordâs work, and I had little spiritual motivation to change. Then I began to read the Word, and through devotions and active participation in the church, I began to be drawn to the work of the Lord. Through my discovery that the Lord is most interested in the lost, I came to know about missions and the great challenge that exists in reaching unreached people groups of the world.â Erick began to pray. He committed time after work and on weekends to serving but could feel God calling him to serve even more. He felt challenged to pursue biblical education and Missions Door provided a scholarship for Erick to attend seminary in Siguatepeque, Honduras.
The Lenca People
When Erick was in seminary, he immediately saw that the Lenca were an unreached people group. The Lenca are indigenous Hondurans who live in the mountains. When Spain conquered the nation, the natives left their land and were displaced to the western side of the country. God put the Lenca on his heart, but he wasnât sure how he could become a missionary to them. So, God introduced Erick to a Lenca woman who would become his wife. He then became a Missions Door missionary and went to live with the Lenca.
Erick was appointed by Missions Door in April 2004 working among the Lenca Indians, a largely unreached group in Central Honduras. He serves as the Ministry Coordinator for work among the Lenca, focusing on evangelism, discipleship and church planting. Erick directs and teaches in the leadership training program, which prepares local leaders for church planting in Lenca villages. He also oversees the association of churches. He and Yoamy are burdened to reach mountain villages that have been untouched by the Gospel. Erick says, âWe feel a great satisfaction to be a part of this team taking the Gospel to others. Now our greatest interest is to share the Gospel with the Lenca and speak to them about Jesus. We believe we have found something that is worth the investment of our time, our resources, and our lives.â
Faith Story
Erick gave his life to Christ after his neighbor shared the Gospel with him. Erick was a believer but it wasnât until studying Godâs Word that Erick knew he was called to ministry. Erick says, âI was a believer with no commitment or interest in the lost, the church, or the Lordâs work, and I had little spiritual motivation to change. Then I began to read the Word, and through devotions and active participation in the church, I began to be drawn to the work of the Lord. Through my discovery that the Lord is most interested in the lost, I came to know about missions and the great challenge that exists in reaching unreached people groups of the world.â Erick began to pray. He committed time after work and on weekends to serving but could feel God calling him to serve even more. He felt challenged to pursue biblical education and Missions Door provided a scholarship for Erick to attend seminary in Siguatepeque, Honduras.
The Lenca People
When Erick was in seminary, he immediately saw that the Lenca were an unreached people group. The Lenca are indigenous Hondurans who live in the mountains. When Spain conquered the nation, the natives left their land and were displaced to the western side of the country. God put the Lenca on his heart, but he wasnât sure how he could become a missionary to them. So, God introduced Erick to a Lenca woman who would become his wife. He then became a Missions Door missionary and went to live with the Lenca.
Erick had to learn a lot about the Lenca people. He learned that theyâre group of around 200,000 people who speak Honduran Lenca and Spanish. They have a strong sense of community and communicate as a unit: âWe eat this, we use that, etc.â They appreciate gentleness and dislike loud noises. Theyâre a friendly people group who get excited when they see missionaries and shower them with hugs. They enjoy stories and are open to the gospel.
Erickâs Impact
The Lenca community went from having zero churches to over thirty. Every church has a Lenca pastor, made possible through the Lenca Bible Institute Erick created. The institute has almost fifty students. The villagers are given bibles to read for the first time. Because mostly only the younger generation is literate, those fifteen and older are given audio bibles. Erickâs ministry also provides the villagers with school supplies. One of the best things heâs learned about the Lenca is that theyâre a joyful people who highly regard fellowship. When he plays soccer with children, heâs reminded of the missionary who brought him to Christ.
Erick saw a people that other missionaries didnât. Because he obeyed Godâs calling, the mountains of Honduras no longer have a lost civilization. They are now a thriving Christian community.
Contact Tammy Bruya (253-400-6840) for more information about The Sanchezes.
The Lenca community went from having zero churches to over thirty. Every church has a Lenca pastor, made possible through the Lenca Bible Institute Erick created. The institute has almost fifty students. The villagers are given bibles to read for the first time. Because mostly only the younger generation is literate, those fifteen and older are given audio bibles. Erickâs ministry also provides the villagers with school supplies. One of the best things heâs learned about the Lenca is that theyâre a joyful people who highly regard fellowship. When he plays soccer with children, heâs reminded of the missionary who brought him to Christ.
Erick saw a people that other missionaries didnât. Because he obeyed Godâs calling, the mountains of Honduras no longer have a lost civilization. They are now a thriving Christian community.
Contact Tammy Bruya (253-400-6840) for more information about The Sanchezes.
Africa New Life
Africa New Life Ministries exists to communicate the message of Jesus Christ in word and deed, to Africa and all the nations. This ministry will help all peoples to know about the relationship with God available to them through belief in Jesus as Savior. This will be accomplished by providing access to education, leadership training, and healthcare; through church planting and Christian discipleship; and through holistic care for vulnerable children, and women and men in need.
Since 2001, Africa New Life has shared the gospel using two hands: the hand of compassion and the hand of evangelism. Our goal is to see lives transformed through meeting basic needs, to give hope for the future for those living in poverty in Rwanda, and to share the freedom and hope found in Christ. At the heart of our model for breaking cycles of poverty is educational sponsorship. With a high school education, or a vocational equivalent, children in Rwanda have hope for the future.
Contact Laura Scott (360-791-7834) to find out more about Africa New Life and The GraceWorks' sponsorship connection and how you can support a child in our sister church's community of Bugesera or click the button below.
Jesus Film Project
Jesus Film Projectâs goal is to help people experience Jesus in their own language using media tools and momentum-building strategies. The fact that JESUS has been recognized by The Guinness Book of World Records as the âMost Translated Filmâ in history reveals how seriously we take the objective to share the gospel with people from every nation, tribe, and tongue.
Weâve partnered with more than 1,800 ministries, which enable us to create, translate and distribute more films believers can use in telling the story of Jesus around the world.
These days Jesus Film Project carries more than 200 short and feature length films, most available on our website and app. That collection includes animated short films like My Last Day (in an anime style), Legion and Chosen Witness. Contextualized films like Retelling the Good Story and Do You Ever Wonder? represent the wide breath and forward-looking scope of the Jesus Film Project library.
But weâre more than just about JESUS and our collection of short films. Together with our partners, Jesus Film Project is committed to helping the body of Christ use film, equipment and other ministry strategies to make Jesus known, and for church planting and discipleship in every context and language.
John and Letha Kerl (The Evangelical Covenant Church: Europe)
Country of Service: Europe
Ministry Overview
- We provide supervision and care of our Serve Globally personnel serving Europe. We visit our Serve Globally staff to provide supervision, counsel, encouragement, and resources.
- We act as a liaison for the Evangelical Covenant Church with national church leaders and like- minded organizations who are partners in ministry in Europe. We attend national gatherings and meet with the leaders of these churches and organizations as we seek to collaborate in sharing the gospel in Europe.
- We participate in the leadership team of Serve Globally, meeting three times a year to strategize, plan, and evaluate the Covenantâs strategy for international ministry worldwide.
The five major spheres of ministry for our Europe Serve Globally team are:
- Incarnational ministry in the European post-Christian context
- Church planting and church revitalization
- Ministry in the arts
- Ministry to commercially sexually exploited and trafficked individuals
- Refugees, immigrants, and asylum seekers (RIAS)
Ministry Goals Acheived
We have focused on empowering and supporting our global personnel and strengthening our collaboration with our partner churches and organizations in Europe. We visited Europe several times in the past year and a half. We celebrate the ministry of Rob Rife in establishing our first Serve Globally presence in Great Britain.
We have focused on empowering and supporting our global personnel and strengthening our collaboration with our partner churches and organizations in Europe. We visited Europe several times in the past year and a half. We celebrate the ministry of Rob Rife in establishing our first Serve Globally presence in Great Britain.
Eric and Bonnie Sparrman have raised their support funds, received their visas for Sweden and arrived there on February 26. Ken and Adrienne Satterberg served for five weeks at the EuroRelief refugee camp on
Lesbos Island in Greece. We have sought to participate in the relief efforts for Ukraine both with Covenant World Relief and Development and with the International Federation of Free Evangelical Churches.
We have worked for the past two years to prepare for Johnâs retirement and secure the transition of responsibilities to Chris Peterson as the next regional coordinator for Europe. Letha will walk alongside Chris in the coming year and mentor him for the role and responsibilities of regional coordinator to Europe.
Challenges
The main disappointment for us is to see the decline in church giving to the Covenant Church. It is discouraging to know that there are Covenant churches who do not support any global personnel (missionaries) in their budget. Each Covenant church has its own local sphere of ministry, but together we can achieve so much more by joining together! We need each other! Serve Globally definitely needs your prayers and financial support. We would love to see every Covenant church supporting the Three Strand Strong approach to ministry by giving 6.5 percent of their budget to the Covenant and 3.5 percent to their local conference. A challenge we face is the lack of new people coming into Serve Globally. Please help us to raise 100 percent of their finances. Your support of our Covenant global personnel is of utmost importance. Thank you for your partnership in ministry!
The main disappointment for us is to see the decline in church giving to the Covenant Church. It is discouraging to know that there are Covenant churches who do not support any global personnel (missionaries) in their budget. Each Covenant church has its own local sphere of ministry, but together we can achieve so much more by joining together! We need each other! Serve Globally definitely needs your prayers and financial support. We would love to see every Covenant church supporting the Three Strand Strong approach to ministry by giving 6.5 percent of their budget to the Covenant and 3.5 percent to their local conference. A challenge we face is the lack of new people coming into Serve Globally. Please help us to raise 100 percent of their finances. Your support of our Covenant global personnel is of utmost importance. Thank you for your partnership in ministry!
God at Work
We have witnessed God at work through Rob and Rae Rife who model incarnational ministry in the post-Christian context of Europe. Rob was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. He is an ordained Evangelical Covenant Church pastor, a singer- songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, liturgist, writer, and poet. For more than 13 years Rob was the director of worship arts and spiritual formation at Yakima Covenant Church. Rae was born in Wales and holds a British passport, as well as Canadian and American passports. She is working alongside Rob as a tentmaker in her field of expertise, geographic information systems/ mapping technology. The call to serve in the UK has been on their hearts since
We have witnessed God at work through Rob and Rae Rife who model incarnational ministry in the post-Christian context of Europe. Rob was born and raised in Calgary, Canada. He is an ordained Evangelical Covenant Church pastor, a singer- songwriter and multi-instrumentalist, liturgist, writer, and poet. For more than 13 years Rob was the director of worship arts and spiritual formation at Yakima Covenant Church. Rae was born in Wales and holds a British passport, as well as Canadian and American passports. She is working alongside Rob as a tentmaker in her field of expertise, geographic information systems/ mapping technology. The call to serve in the UK has been on their hearts since
even before they married in 1988. A short ministry tenure in Edinburgh in 1989 shaped their lives and marriage. They tried many times to return to Edinburgh but the timing wasnât right. Now it is.
The following is Robâs description of his vision and incarnational ministry focus. Robâs life mission: âTo draw seekers to God through my life and work which strive to meaningfully communicate Godâs beauty and truth.â Robâs vision statement: âPursuing those places where life, liturgy, theology, and the arts intersect and promote spiritual formationâwho we are becoming.â
These work in tandem as Rob describes below:
- To âex-vangelical,â post-evangelical, disgruntled, and otherwise outsider millennials, among others, thirsty for authentic âancient-futureâ expressions of Christian faith. The Church in Britain and Europe is well aware of this ministry need.
- How I encounter these folks is more through spirituality and orthopraxis than it is theology proper. I meet seekers as one. We are in it together. My experience in retreat and formational ministry guides this process of self and God-discovery.
- As a recovering alcoholic, I am developing a ministry among the recovery community. This ministry is modeled on Eleven, built on Alcoholic Anonymousâs eleventh step: âWe sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God, as we understood [God], praying only for the knowledge of [Godâs] will for us and the power to carry that out.â
- Please pray for Rob and Rae as they minister in Edinburgh.
Ministry Goals
- To help train and encourage Chris and other younger leaders to discern Godâs movement and strategy for this next season in ministry.
- To encourage, facilitate, and resource our global personnel and partners to bring the light and witness of Christ to others and to witness Christâs transforming power in peopleâs life.
- To also help guide the team of regional coordinators as we navigate the many changes in our denomination and international ministries.
Prayer Requests
For wisdom as we discern how best to accomplish the call to serve cross-culturally. For open doors to the gospel. For safety in an uncertain world. For appropriate ways to encourage and support refugees and asylum seekers. For more nationals to answer the call of God to actively reach out to those in need in their communities.
For wisdom as we discern how best to accomplish the call to serve cross-culturally. For open doors to the gospel. For safety in an uncertain world. For appropriate ways to encourage and support refugees and asylum seekers. For more nationals to answer the call of God to actively reach out to those in need in their communities.
Pray for us as a couple as we enter a ânew normalâ as Letha continues ministering with Serve Globally and for John as he transitions to retirement starting November 1. For strength and wisdom as I continue to work without John and forge a new partnership with Chris. For good communication. Pray for a good balance of work and family life. That I can daily be fully present and attentive to God and others.
Support Level â 100%
Thank you for supporting us financially this last year. Your giving directly helps us with expenses related to community
Thank you for supporting us financially this last year. Your giving directly helps us with expenses related to community
engagement, ministry, and salary. As global personnel we are required to raise 100% of our support every year. Through your gifts and partnership, you ensure that we are able to continue serving in places where God has called us. We are grateful for your kingdom partnership.
Partner with Us
Please partner with us in prayer, as your prayers are a tangible and powerful way that you can support us. We ask that you continue to financially support Letha in her ministry to Europe. Please send us your prayer updates from your church so we can keep up with how God is at work in and through your congregation. As former president Gary Walter often says, âWe are in it together!â We welcome email and phone calls.
Thank you
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer for us and for your generosity in giving financially. We look back to when we first began our journey with Serve Globally back in 1981 when we arrived at Karawa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), only six weeks married. When we left two years later, we brought Katy home with us. We went on to serve in Mexico from 1989 to 2007, at which point we became regional coordinators for Europe. As John retires this year, we ask for your continued prayers and financial support for Letha as she continues with Serve Globally. Thank you for your partnership in ministry! We could not have served in such different settings without the backing of our family, friends, and people like you! Merci Mingi!
Please partner with us in prayer, as your prayers are a tangible and powerful way that you can support us. We ask that you continue to financially support Letha in her ministry to Europe. Please send us your prayer updates from your church so we can keep up with how God is at work in and through your congregation. As former president Gary Walter often says, âWe are in it together!â We welcome email and phone calls.
Thank you
Thank you for your faithfulness in prayer for us and for your generosity in giving financially. We look back to when we first began our journey with Serve Globally back in 1981 when we arrived at Karawa, Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo), only six weeks married. When we left two years later, we brought Katy home with us. We went on to serve in Mexico from 1989 to 2007, at which point we became regional coordinators for Europe. As John retires this year, we ask for your continued prayers and financial support for Letha as she continues with Serve Globally. Thank you for your partnership in ministry! We could not have served in such different settings without the backing of our family, friends, and people like you! Merci Mingi!
ÂĄMuchĂsimas Gracias! Merci Beaucoup! THANK YOU!!!
To Send a Financial Gift
Mail checks with a gift note for Letha & John Kerl Support to
Evangelical Covenant Church
PO Box 773420, Chicago, IL 60677-3420
Mail checks with a gift note for Letha & John Kerl Support to
Evangelical Covenant Church
PO Box 773420, Chicago, IL 60677-3420
Contact Tammy Bruya (253-400-6840) for more information about The Kerls.