True Evangelism Always Requires Sacrifice T.E.A.R.S. MINISTRIES In 1995, Roderick (Rod) Davis sold all he owned. He went with his wife, Twila, and two toddler children and moved to the slums of the Dominican Republic. Rod, Twila, Shekinah and Isaac subjected themselves to the same conditions in which the Dominicans live, including poverty and sickness. As they began to haul water each day, deal with infrequent electrical power, and wash clothes by hand, their suburban lifestyle in Portland seemed far away. This was the beginning of TEARS (True Evangelism Always Requires Sacrifice), which is a ministry to some of the poorest people in the Caribbean. “Due to poor living conditions and the lack of clean water, we were constantly plagued by sicknesses, including parasites, lice and scabies,” Rod says. “There were days we weren’t sure where our next meal would come from, but God always provided for us.” The Davis family remembers sitting inside their tin-roofed shanty praying for God to provide. Monthly support wasn’t coming in as hoped. A knock at the door turned out to be a local widow. She told them that she had been praying, and God had impressed upon her to give them the little amount of money she had. It was just enough to buy a bag of rice and some beans. Why would someone give up a comfortable life in the United States to live a life of poverty in a third-world country? “Although we were involved in inner-city ministry in Portland,” Rod says, “we got the sense that God was leading us to make a dramatic change.” The dramatic change for the Davis family has had a ripple effect through the Maria Auxiliadora barrio (ghetto). This barrio was once a community overcome with alcohol and drug abuse, where most children lacked the papers to attend school and where church attendance was rare. TEARS has established two schools that are so vital, they have a waiting list with hundreds of names. TEARS planted its first church, Iglesia El Camino, born out of home groups. Out of this church has grown numerous sister churches in other poor areas. God has used one family to impact scores of families.
The Dominican Republic It was no accident that God brought the Davis family to the Dominican Republic. Dominicans are among the poorest of the poor in the Western Hemisphere. They also experience some of the worst social class differentials in the world. The poorest half of the population receives less than one-fifth the country’s GNP, while the richest 10 percent enjoy nearly 40 percent of the country’s wealth (CIA). Rod and Twila felt a distinct calling. “We’re different from many large mission organizations in that we go to the poorest of the poor,” Rod says. “We’ve been chastised by some Christian organizations that say it is impossible to plant self-sustaining churches among the poor, but we believe that God desires to plant churches and establish social justice in every community. These serve as a visible manifestation of His Kingdom here on earth.” The Dominican unemployment rate averages a dismal 17 percent (CIA) and those with jobs often work 6 or 7 twelve hours days each week at sweat-shop style factories for less than $1 per hour. According to UNESCO, 38 percent of the country lives in slums and 43 percent of Dominicans have no access to improved sanitation. Poverty is a way of life throughout the barrio and creates unhealthy, dangerous living conditions. “We moved in to a house with a hole in the floor for a toilet,” Rod explains. “Many of the kids in the barrio go without clothes and few of them get the nourishment they need consistently.” TEARS has helped improve the lives of families through education, skills training and by introducing people to the transforming power of Jesus Christ.
The Barrio Barrio Maria Auxiliadora is home to approximately 30,000 Dominicans, approximately 12,000 of them children, all living below the poverty line. Tin roof shanties and holes in the floor for latrines are the norm. When the Davis family came to the barrio they had no running water and no idea how to get it. The living conditions were extreme. Rod noticed that children weren’t going to school. Most kids played in the streets all day. Neighbors did whatever they had to in order to survive. “It isn’t unusual to see children running barefoot through the sewage overflow that runs down the side of the street,” Rod explains. Unfortunately, there are few missionaries in the barrios of the Dominican Republic. Many of the country’s laborers for Christ have opted to live in Santo Domingo or Santiago – the two most industrialized cities in the country. Everywhere one turns, there are needs crying out to be met. TEARS staff has much work to do with many projects constantly in motion – each one important to the welfare of these precious people.
The Church In 1995, when the Davis family first arrived in the barrio, there was only one church with about 15 attendees—again in a community of about 30,000. They knew there was potential in the barrio for so much more. Rod and Twila hoped for a thriving, life-giving church to be born in the heart of this ghetto. They began going door to door, sharing the Gospel using simple techniques and speaking broken Spanish. Through these efforts, many came to accept Christ. Some conversions were unexpected. “When we moved into Maria Auxiliadora, we bought our house for ten times the market value,” Rod says. “That bothered me because I always thought I was pretty street savvy. But when we started going door to door sharing the gospel, one of our first converts was that same person that sold me our house. I guess it was a good investment.” Rod and Twila began TEARS in obedience to God—not knowing what to expect. The first church began in their home with a few members. No building, no paid pastoral staff, just the message of redemption through Jesus Christ. The message began to spread and that home church replicated to include more than 30 cell groups and other home churches in the barrio – all lead by indigenous Christians. In fact, these churches have begun to send out missionaries! Where there was previously no evangelical church, today there are churches sending out workers to plant new churches in other barrios. Again, an unexpected participant led the way. “Moreno was a machete-wielding terror in the barrio,” Rod explains. “When he accepted Christ, he made it mandatory for his wife and children to come to Bible study. Now, after a few years of being involved with his home church, he has moved to a mountain village to be a missionary pastor.” Moreno is taking on a new way of life to bring people to Jesus Christ. He’s learning to farm in the mountains of the Dominican Republic, a change from his previous lifestyle of urban survival. Rod couldn’t be more pleased with the change. “Conversion is more than a prayer for salvation,” he says. “It is about total renewal. Moreno is a good example of the way God changes things. He makes things new from the inside out. That’s why we’re here.”
The School Public education in the DR is government-run, non-mandatory and highly inadequate. Children are required to have the ability to buy uniforms, shoes and note books in order to be enrolled—things the poorest simply do not have. Once enrolled, the purchase of school supplies and uniforms can be overbearing on the family budget as most families are working for extremely low wages. In 2000, TEARS Christian School opened and enrolled 69 students. Today, more than 400 students attend classes taught by certified, indigenous, Christian teachers. Additionally, the school is meeting many needs beyond education. Students are given routine medical and dental exams as well as provided with daily meals and vitamins. Uniforms and supplies are provided in order to ease family financial responsibilities. Above all, students are hearing about Jesus Christ and finding a safe place to belong. There are hundreds of children waiting to attend TEARS School. Tuition is free, and all that is asked in return is that family members spend some time as a volunteer at the school. Teachers emphasize Biblical character and weave Christian instruction into daily lessons. Currently, the school focuses on early education and intervention, beginning with pre-K through third grade. When students leave TEARS school, they are given the proper paperwork to attend other schools in the area. In the next year, TEARS Christian School is embarking on an early childhood literacy program and TEARS administrators hope to see increased parental involvement through this program that will increase the barrio’s literacy rate.
The Leadership Training Center Rod’s desire to train more than a handful of people led to the development of the TEARS Leadership Training Center. The center is located on the edge of Maria Auxiliadora on six acres of land. “We want to give pastoral training and leadership skills to those in the barrio and to other area church leaders,” Rod explains. “We want to raise up indigenous leaders where none exist today. In the future, the building will also serve as a vocational training center and housing for interns and visiting mission groups.” Additionally, the center has allowed for brainstorming and dream casting among the leadership of TEARS. Their hope is that one day the center will be a place known for training pastors from across the nation and even throughout the Caribbean and Central America. Hundreds of students have received advanced Bible training and leadership courses. The seminars range in topic from pastoral training to small group leadership and evangelism. Attendees come with a desire to impact the Dominican Republic for Christ and leave with the tools to complete their task. Fernando grew up with religion but he says he never really understood what God was trying to do in his life. Fernando was the head barrio drug dealer until some brothers from the School of Vision came and shared the gospel with him. Particularly Fernando was impressed with the power of God’s amazing grace. “Understanding grace turned my life around and has had a tremendous impact on my work with young people and in the church,” he says. Now Fernando is lead pastor in a local church and has joined the TEARS core group team to make an even greater impact across the Dominican Republic.
Water Purification System In a partnership with the Stewardship Foundation, Varsity Bible Church and Healing Waters, TEARS installed a state-of-the-art water purification system at the TEARS school property. Today, the system provides very affordable drinking water to the entire barrio. For only 20 pesos (1/2 the normal cost), neighbors can fill five gallon bottles with safe drinking water. A small profit from the price goes to the local church and TEARS School is provided with free drinking water. In an area where no city water is treated, this allows the school to ensure all of its students and the community beyond have safe, affordable drinking water. The partnership is a very powerful way to show the love of God through meeting physical needs. In fact, at the dedication, Pastor Chelo presented a message comparing physical needs with spiritual ones. Many in the crowd responded to his message of hope by praying to receive Christ into their lives.
Haitian Outreach Rod and Twila began their journey to the Caribbean with a brief visit to Haiti. Although it was God’s plan for their ministry to be headquartered in the Dominican Republic, the Davis family never lost its desire to see Haitians come to know Jesus as their Savior. “Nowhere on earth have I seen poverty like Haiti “ Rod explained, “people living in trash heaps, covered head to toe in flies, yet too weak to brush them off. This is a place where women must choose which of their children they allow to starve because there simply is not food to feed them all.” Over recent years, Haiti has experienced intense political turmoil and an exodus of hundreds of thousands of Haitians to the Dominican Republic. This influx of people has created small communities of migrant workers throughout the areas where TEARS ministers. The TEARS Team have embraced Rod and Twila’s heart for these new inhabitants by planting small churches in 28 Haitian barrios. The result has been a strong desire for Christian training within the Haitian community. Eight indigenous pastors have been trained and are working in Haitian communities in the Dominican Republic. These pastors provide Bible training and practical support for Haitian families and potential church leaders. It is Rod’s hope that many trained leaders will return to Haiti with the message of the good news of Christ.
Internship Program The power of entering another culture, living with its people and engaging in ministry has changed life after life. From the earliest days of evangelism to today, missionaries have experienced this powerful effect. The TEARS Summer Explosion program is a six-week session designed to minister to mature Americans and Canadians in the upper high school or college age group. This TEARS intern program integrates the participants into the work of TEARS Ministries while being stretched through cultural assimilation, discipleship and evangelism. The goal of the program is to develop leaders and to direct interns toward a closer relationship with God as they live out the two greatest commandments: “Love the Lord your God with all of your heart” and “Love your neighbor as yourself” (Matthew 23:37-39). This rigorous and demanding TEARS program has a powerful effect on each student as they increase their spiritual and social awareness of the mission field. Derek Sproule was one youth that enrolled in the internship program. His heart was changed: “This summer was all about the transforming power of Jesus Christ. I hoped this trip would build my faith, but I never understood or imagined what God had in store. I was forced, in my weakness, to humble myself and rely on him. He came through with wondrous power. Sitting on the plane (coming to LaVega) I kept thinking about how God would work through me. But the most profound changes occurred when God worked in me.”
True Evangelism Always Requires Sacrifice For two decades now, the Davis family through TEARS has dramatically improved the lives of many in the Dominican Republic. Through the true sacrifice of Rod and his family, barrio Maria Auxiliadora (and beyond) is now a real and visible manifestation of Christ’s Church on earth. But there is, of course, more to do. Fortunately the Davis Family is no longer alone as Rod now leads the TEARS Army of Soldiers for Christ. In the work God has set before them, they continue to literally sacrifice their lives for the work of Christ on this Caribbean island. Will you sacrifice some of your life to share the gospel in the Dominican Republic and Haiti? Will you support Rod and Twila Davis and TEARS Ministries as they reach out to the poorest of the poor with the good news? As for the rich in this present age, charge them not to be haughty, nor to set their hopes on the uncertainty of riches, but on God, who richly provides us with everything to enjoy. They are to do good, to be rich in good works, to be generous and ready to share, thus storing up treasure for themselves as a good foundation for the future, so that they may take hold of that which is truly life. (1Ti 6:17-19 ESV)
