Dear Friends of Vision;

I trust this brief letter and video will be a blessing to you…and to start, here is a brief review of one of our World Zones…  North America

“In North America we continue to have a two-pronged approach. First, we believe strongly that the church in the locality is where training for Christian service and leadership should occur. With that in mind, we continue to help local churches start Schools of Ministry using our dynamic curriculum.

 Secondly, we offer a hybrid program consisting of online learning in partnership with local church mentoring. We are seeing incremental growth, but solid growth as more and more communities grasp the responsibility and privilege of training their own in their own community, in partnership with Vision.”– Dr Stan DeKoven

Graduates Making a Difference

It was a joy to be with Pastor Ernesto and Vivian Gomez last month. Ernesto is one of our Master’s degree graduates from a while back.  He has replanted a growing church in Galveston. He typifies a Vision graduate…well educated through secular university, but with a call on his life.   He had limited opportunity for bible college. He and his pastor at the time, Dr. Rob Carmen (another Vision graduate) started a Resource Center in their church in New Mexico, and trained hundreds of students while completing his studies with us. There are hundreds and hundreds of Ernesto’s in North America, serving in local churches, hungry to study ad complete a diploma or degree, who need and want a flexible and affordable program that does will prepare them for greater leadership in the local church…Lord…help us find each other for your glory!

Why the Passion?

I was giving a speech in my high school…I was running for student body President and was using a phrase from a popular Christian chorus to make one of my points. The chorus was “I only takes a spark to get a fire going” and I was, of course, the spark (a politician in the making…promises, promises). In the middle of the speech, the room, which was filled with 95% white teenagers, suddenly changed to an outdoor setting, with thousands of men and women from various places, multicultural and multicolored, hands in the air praising the Lord while I was preaching to them. The vision only lasted a minute at best, but it made an indelible impact on my life…my heart was for the nations.

I remember many a night praying for a nation to go to as a missionary, but the Lord always gave me “nations” instead of a nation. I had no idea as a 17 year-old ambitious young man, what the Lord had in store…but preach and teach were to be a part…how, only the Lord knew.

Since I had a heart for the hurting, and a desire to make a living, I pursued psychology and counseling as a profession.   Along with a former partner, we developed a very successful clinical practice.  Though successful and relatively happy, I was not satisfied.  The call on my life was to preach and teach but it rarely happened.   It was not until meeting Dr Ken Chant, Dr Randy Gurley, and other great teachers of the word that the doors finally opened to the nations.   85 nations (personally) and over 140 via Vision later, we continue to fulfill the vision of Vision.

So, what does this have to do with North America and the Vision program? I am glad you asked (even if you didn’t!).

Growing Out, Growing In

It was only a little over a year ago that Vision was able to purchase its first building for a headquarters. The Vision International Center houses our offices and now allows us to conduct local training and video development of our courses like never before. Further, we can hold mini conferences and outreaches to the Ramona community, which is a blessing. Having a physical home strengthens our profile in the community and the nations, and we are more dedicated than ever to see our dynamic curriculum utilized for certificate or degree programs in local churches around North America, and also provide mentor hybrid programs, at a fraction of the cost of most comparable programs, accredited or non-accredited, to hungry students here at home.

As with our other World Zones, we need benefactors who can help provide scholarships for worthy students and support our local outreach through your generous giving.

Our goal is 100 direct distance graduate or degree completion students for 2019, and to add 10 new Resource centers in the United States and Canada. We are on track to do so…and need your prayers to see this great work accomplished for the Kingdom of God.

Thanks to all of you who help on a regular basis, through our Gideon’s 300 program and other general giving to sustain us in our work.

Dr. Stan DeKoven