Missions

Beachcities Church exists to help people find Christ and grow. Whether it’s an uplifting sermon that’s practical for everyday life, or the music and worship that is contemporary and biblical, its all about reaching those where God has put us.

But did you know that our impact extends way beyond the beach community? Like right into the heart of Panama’s jungles, to the Wounan people?

This was home to our missions pastor Ron and his wife, Cathy Binder for many years. They lived life intentionally with this hidden people group in order to give them God’s Word in their language for the very first time. Their language had never been written before. First, they had to learn the language and its sound system. Then grammar and a practical writing system had to be developed. After that, reading books needed to be developed. Training teachers was important to the final goal: indigenous churches that are able to grow and nourish themselves on the Word.

Attention to medical needs expressed the love of Christ even as translation of the scriptures began to be the primary focus.

What began in 1970 was finally finished in 1991 and Ron and Cathy came back to Beachcities and continued serving with Wycliffe Bible translators in Huntington Beach. The Wounan were left with God’s Word in their hands and churches and pastors so that they could continue without missionary presence. But Ron and Cathy’s work with the Wounan was not finished and in the year 200, the Wounan asked for help in developing materials that would enable them to do outreach and discipleship among their own people.

Beachcites church responded with a 5-year commitment that started in 2003. Chindio was a key part of this endeavor. He was the primary translator and Beachcities set him up in a house in a Wounan neighborhood in Panama City. Beachcities took Chindio on as a staff member and provided him a salary during this project so that he could dedicate himself full-time to the work. Ron and Cathy traveled to work alongside him 2-3 times a year as they were able to find time outside of their stateside schedule with Wycliffe.

These past 5 years have been very productive. Here’s a few examples:

• 185 Bible stories for children, which enabled churches to begin children’s ministries for the first time.
• Wounan was the 864^th language which the Jesus film was produced, and many people were saved as a result.
• A new hymnbook that included 284 hymns has unified the churches around hymns that encourage and teach.
• Our own sound man, Greg Parry, recorded all the hymns and produced as set of CDs that the Wounan are using to this day.

All these new resources are having a major impact on the Wounan and the way they implement new ways to reach others in their culture.

Wounan church leaders want to continue with a rigorous vision for the future.

• Videos and Bible stories that supplement their learning of biblical truth
• A new church plant in an area of Panama City where many Wounan live with others in inner-city squalor.
• Sending missionaries to Colombia where guerilla presence makes it impossible for missionaries to enter.
• Setting up a more adequate location for storage that is safe from floods.

We’ve given our money and our prayers to make some wonderful things happen in Panama because Beachcities exists to help people find Christ and grow.

In July of 2010, our family at Beachcities created the opportunity for a team of 9 college students to go down to Panama and help build relationships. Not only did they build relationships with the people there, they also built opportunities for relationships with Christ. When they first arrived in Panama, our students quickly started building relationships with the people there. They had the opportunity to get to know a lot of the Wounan through deliveries of Bible-based materials. Through building the play sets, our team had the opportunity to foster relationships with Christ in the community. With these play-sets, kids who may have never heard about Christ will have the opportunity to experience His love and a personal relationship with Him. Our family here at Beachcities Community Church grew because of the lasting relationships we built with the people in Panama.