Gallup, NM 87301

Durk and Phyllis Lynch are tentmakers, but not the kind that sew canvas for outdoor shelter. They make their living in the medical field, where Durk works as a family nurse practitioner and Phyllis a school nurse. But their first love is seeing Native American teens come to know Christ and live for him.  The secular jobs, while fulfilling a ministry in their own right, provide the financial resources to make that possible.

For the past 10 years, Durk and Phyllis have served as Mission Service Corps missionaries, meaning they raise their own financial support but benefit from identification with a large network of Southern Baptist mission volunteers.  

"We moved from New Madrid, Mo., to Gallup," said Durk. "For five years, we had come here on short-term mission trips, and God called us to move here long-term."

When they arrived in Gallup, their assignment was to serve as youth pastor for  First Indian Baptist Church.  After two years, they began assisting Fort Wingate Mission in reaching Native American youth attending a boarding school nearby.

"There are about 1,000 students in the Navajo boarding school," said Durk.  "Among the Navajos, only 3 to 5 percent are Christian, and in the boarding school, less than 1 percent of the students are Christians. We have started evangelistic Bible studies in the dormitories. The students ask lots of questions, which is good because they are interested in understanding and exploring Christianity."

Today, Fort Wingate Baptist Mission is now Wingate Baptist Church--the culmination of eight years of hard work by the Lynchs and others.

"God is continuing to use us to reach the youth, and these kids are dedicated, most walking to church from the dormitories a half a mile away," he said.  "We do children’s Bible study on Sunday morning and teenage Bible study on Wednesday night."

But Durk admits the youth group is not as strong as it should be.  "When you never meet parents, have to walk kids to church, and don’t know who will be attending on any given Sunday, you don’t have a youth group," he said.  "If 99 percent of them are not saved, you don’t have a youth group.  So, we’re busy doing evangelism at every turn."

While they are glad that Fort Wingate is now a constituted church, they don’t rest on that accomplishment. "The challenge I see," said Durk, "is that we go out beyond our borders. We can’t be satisfied that we’ve accomplished anything, now we have to get out beyond our borders."

So, the Lynches now are turning their attention to the nearby community of Pretty Rock. "We need to enable Native American Christians to reach out with us," noted Durk. "Wingate Baptist Church is now taking the responsibility for a preaching point at Pretty Rock in the form of a home Bible study. The study is led by fellow Mission Service Corps missionary Dave Sargent and his wife, Lenile. Our job is to work ourselves out of the job and for Native American leaders to carry on the work of the ministry in this place."

"We want to see lives transformed because of the gospel," said Durk. "We want to see people like the young Native American girl who recently became a Christian.  An accident caused an injury to her back and spine, and she was hard to reach, but she’s accepted Christ, and walks to church using crutches.  That kind of dedication is an obvious outgrowth of an inner change."

Pray for Dirk and Phyllis:

• Pray for Wingate Baptist Church - for continued growth spiritually and numerically.
• Pray for the Native Americans to embrace more responsibility and leadership in the church.
• Pray that God will call forth volunteer groups to come serve in short-term missions in the Gallup area. 
• Pray for the work at Pretty Rock Mission.

MISSIONARY SPOTLIGHT ARCHIVE

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