Ray De Lange is headed to an intriguing and uncertain future. After nearly seven years ministering to English speakers in a church — English Fellowship of Guadalajara — that is supported by about 15 U.S. congregations, mostly Christian Reformed, De Lange and his wife Angie plan to focus on bringing the Christian message to Muslims in central Asia.
“We’ve been very content here,” said De Lange, noting that he and his wife had their three young children while in Guadalajara. “When I sensed that God wanted us to take this step, it was scary.”
The De Langes came in 2008 to take up a ministry to foreign medical students at the Universidad Autonoma de Guadalajara, which had been pioneered by Kenton Wood of Rey de Reyes Presbyterian church, located near the building used by English Fellowship. Drawing on the U.S. backers and the support of this local mother church, the De Langes set up an active program of Sunday worship focused on biblical preaching and contemporary music, study groups, programs assisting orphans, the hungry and the homeless, all underpinned by a local chapter of a professional group for Christian medical students and an engaging Web presence, complete with De Lange’s recorded sermons.
Because of their outside support, De Lange has been able able to use donations collected on Sundays to help needy people, including some in their own congregation.
The group has grown to about 60 members, plus 10 children, over half of whom are English-speaking Mexicans who formerly lived in the United States.
“All our new people come from the web site. That’s how things work now,” De Lange said, noting that English Fellowship includes U.S. consulate people and about 15 Indian nationals who work in the high-tech sector here, in companies such as Tata, HCL and Flextronics.
“The Mexicans are a good source of stability for us,” said De Lange, since the medical students, consulate and high-tech people tend to come and go. “Another dear family just left recently and it’s hard on everyone.”
The idea of pursuing a ministry to people in central Asia took shape over time in the minds of both De Lange and his wife Angie.
“Angie helped resettle refugees in the United States and, when she was nominated to attend a Christian conference in South Africa, she got to kno
w a Muslim man. I’d been praying and asking God if there was a ministry he was leading me to. God kept putting Muslims in our paths.”
So, after they leave in May, Ray and Angie De Lange plan to study central Asian language and theology at Faith Evangelical Seminary in Tacoma, Washington.
“We can’t go to central Asia right now,” Ray De Lange noted, “because it’s very dangerous there for Christians, especially ministers. There’s a fast growing Christian population in that area, but under Muslim religious law, you can be prosecuted for apostasy and to change from Islam to another religion is punishable by death. We may go to a neighboring area or work with people from central Asia in the States. There are thousands of them in the Seattle area.
“We’re not sure if our supporters will continue helping us in this new work,” he noted. “We’ve asked, and some of them said yes.”
Meanwhile, De Lange says he is eager for English Fellowship of Guadalajara to thrive. “There’s going to be a new ministry team —
three young men from diverse backgrounds. They’ll be ‘tent makers’ like St. Paul, with their own vocations aside from being ministers.”
De Lange said the new leadership will be installed in May before he and his family head to Tacoma. “I’m excited about the future,” he added.