John and Zandra are veteran missionaries with more than 20 years of experience in Venezuela. John was born and raised on the mission field and is part of a great legacy of missionaries in his family. John is married to Zandra, a native Venezuelan. They have two daughters Julia and Sophia. After John graduated from Cincinnati Bible College in 1995 he joined a team of missionaries in Caracas that planted 30 churches in 30 years. The work has now been turned over mostly to the nationals as most of the team has left the field. Yet the Dyes have felt called to stay and mentor/oversee the national pastors/leaders. John is also the lead pastor at the The Bosque Christian Church.
The goal is to spark a disciple making movement of 1200 groups that will fuel the planting of 120 churches by 2020. This vision adopted by the national pastors has faced some difficult obstacles. At front of the recent challenges are the political turmoil and social unrest that has destabilized a country that was once a leader in technology, education and economic wealth in South America. Today Venezuelans are among the poorest people in the world as the monthly minimum wage has dropped from nearly $300 a month to only $1. The 24,000% inflation this last year alone has crippled the economy and devastated the middle and lower class. This has led to a mass exodus of families leaving the country to find answers elsewhere. The church has also lost a significant amount of members and leaders in this migration. Those who have stayed are struggling to survive as the quality of life has deteriorated to its lowest in modern history. The rate of malnutrition and diseases have skyrocketed to epidemic levels as a growing number of the population don’t have access to basic needs like food, medicine and running water. The elderly and the young kids are the most affected.
Another consequence of this dictator style regimen, is the refusal to admit its failures and their insistence on denying access to international humanitarian relief which unfortunately also includes missionaries, as no new visas are being issued for religious workers. This makes our continual presence crucial as the church has become the only beacon of light among Venezuelans that have lost hope in the near future. As a result, we have found the need to broaden our ministry to include social needs and crisis relief as we serve as the middlemen to providing basic food, medicine and emergency relief to the local church. Individuals and organizations have joined up to help Venezuela survive this crisis by donating funds and goods to help out. If you feel like you would like to contribute in this effort, you can support our ministry monthly or through a one time gift. Every dollar counts so don’t hesitate in giving even just starting with a small amount. Will you also join us in prayer for Venezuela and the church there? Subscribe to our newsletter below and stay updated monthly on our progress.