International Ministries
What is the mission of the Church? Jesus made it very clear to us: “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:29-20).
We have been given an enormous task and sacred privilege to represent our Savior to the nations. This is done through the faithful proclamation of the Good News for all people, discipling of new believers, and the establishment of gospel-centered churches. Grace Road seeks to be faithful to the calling Jesus has given us through involvement with disciple making ministries all around the world. Listed are a few of those partners we joyfully support through prayer, giving, and encouragement.
Jacob & Lisa Pursley
ARMENIA
Jacob and Lisa Pursley are educators and missionaries serving in Armenia. Jacob, formerly a missionary operating in Turkey, is a church planter and elder of the International Bible Church of Armenia. Jacob's ministry is focused on mobilizing, equipping, and sending missionaries to the Muslim world. Jacob is involved in church planting in Armenia, and logistically in many other Muslim countries. Jacob teaches, preaches, and oversees many ministries in the region. When Jacob has spare time, his ministry also involves writing books, and articles relevant to missiology and the Muslim world.
Dr. Lisa Pursley, a native of Rochester, NY, is an elementary school teacher, special education teacher, and Doctor of Special Education. She serves the special needs community in Armenia as a counselor and consultant. Lisa also co-hosts retreats for the physically and mentally disabled in Armenia, called Love Camp. Lisa is a full time English teacher at an Armenian private school. Lisa and Jacob have two adopted children, Dow (b. 2012), and Annalee (b. 2015).
Ethan & Elizabeth Helm
CAMBODIA
Ethan and Elizabeth are medical missionaries passionate about bringing spiritual and physical healing to Cambodia. God saved Ethan as a child, grew his faith through Stage IV cancer as a teenager, and called him to missions through a Kenyan mentor. Ethan now works as a pediatrician at Hebron Hospital and teaches nursing and medical students. His passion is preaching the Gospel through medicine. Elizabeth spends her days teaching at home, studying Khmer, writing, and keeping her CME current by looking up answers to informal medical consults. She is committed to discipleship and health education as means of living out the Gospel.
Ethan and Elizabeth completed their residencies in Rochester, NY, where Ethan trained in Pediatrics and Elizabeth in Family Medicine and Preventive Medicine. They are thankful for the children God has given them in the past decade of life on three continents. Josiah, Esther, Isaiah, and Ezekiel have enjoyed their own international journeys and continue to bring light and laughter to every day.
Chris & Anna Davidson
SCOTLAND
Scotland once had a rich vibrant connection to Christianity. Now, in 2024, Bible-believing Christians sits at 2% of the population, which is a drastic change from 50 years ago where above 80% would be connected to the church. Since this sharp decline, one area in Scotland was hit harder than most, and that was the poor areas. These get called "schemes" in which there has been little to no Gospel witness for generations.
Merkinch Free Church is a church plant in one of those Schemes in the Highlands of Scotland. Chris Davidson, a Church planter with the Free Church of Scotland, is keen to see sinners saved and be involved in the glorious works of making disciples who live for God and love Christ.
Daniel & Sarah Hough
PARAGUAY
As Youth Champions for Rural Paraguay we are Equipping the Church to Reach the Next Generation in the Heart of South America. Since our arrival in 2006 we've grown from a family of three to a family of eight!
We are passionate about God using our family to encourage, equip, and enable others as we train Youth Leaders, reach TCKs, and develop Camping Ministry in Paraguay.
Guido & Evelin Groeneveld
GIRONA, SPAIN
Guido and Evelin have dedicated over a decade to spreading the gospel in Catalonia. They strive to understand and express worship to God in the Catalan language and culture. Alongside other pastors and church planters, they have been involved in planting Ciutat Nova, a Catalan reformed-evangelical church in Barcelona, and writing and translating worship songs and other confessional material into Catalan. Their mission is to showcase the beauty of the gospel to Catalans and provide a natural expression of the Christian faith in their language and culture.
Their work in this region also aims to contribute to the overall health of the Christian churches in Catalonia. Recently (in July 2021), they moved to Girona, a smaller but culturally significant city in Catalonia, where they hope to establish a community of believers and plant a church. Their focus is on building relationships and showing God's love to the people around them. They work with a core group to develop their vision, deepen their understanding of the gospel, create video material, and launch a new website. Guido and Evelin are on a mission to help their Catalan neighbors understand what it means to belong to Christ and to share the good news of salvation with them.
Compassion International
Compassion advocates for children, committed to Jesus Christ in all that they do. They are Christ-centered, church-driven and child-focused. Releasing children from poverty in Jesus’ name, Compassion is the world’s leading authority in holistic child development through sponsorship. They do all their work through partnerships with thousands of local churches in 27 countries around the world.
The most effective way to release children from poverty is through a one-to-one relationship between a sponsor and a child. The protection of children is central to God’s heart for them.
Looking to learn more or get involved by sponsoring a child? Contact Bruce Plummer, official Compassion volunteer, at bruce@graceroadchurch.org
David & Carmen Gunderson
ATHENS, GREECE
David and Carmen are on mission in Athens, Greece with Beyond Borders, part of the missions organization TeachBeyond. The Gunderson's teach English and Bible to those who are displaced.
Their prayer is to serve God's world, love Jesus Christ, and see individuals and communities transformed by His Spirit through education, grounded on God’s Word.
Visit the link below to learn more about TeachBeyond.
Alejandro and Noelle Badilla Ferris
COSTA RICA
Alejandro and Noelle, who is a Rochester Native, are serving the Lord in San Jose, Costa Rica. Alejandro is local to Costa Rica and spent his teen years being discipled by the International Baptist Church in San Jose.
After both serving for a few years in the community of La Carpio discipling local teens, and for Noelle, working in a low-income medical clinic, they are now serving full-time (2024) in the International Baptist Church where Alejandro grew up. Alejandro and Noelle will be serving the church through discipleship and working with children, teens, and young adults.
Alejandro will be taking part in a residency program designed by the church to develop future church planters and pastors. They will also be partnering with local outreaches in the country. The church's vision is to reach all English speakers in the greater metro area of San Jose who don't know the Gospel of Jesus Christ and build an international, Christ-centered community where people can become mature followers of Christ.
Corinne Porter
CAMBODIA
Corinne is a nurse educator working in Phnom Penh since January 2022. She spent her first year focusing on learning the Khmer language. After that, she joined other medical missionaries, including the Helm family, at Hebron Medical Center. She works primarily with the Khmer nurses and nursing management, helping with education needs and nursing policy and project needs. She has many opportunities to talk to and share the gospel with Khmer patients and also to disciple and mentor the nurses. She also works at the Nursing school located on the grounds of the hospital, teaching and influences the next generation of Cambodian nurses.
Corinne grew up in Lima, New York, living in the staff housing at Elim Bible Institute. This is where she first felt called to missions, as she listened to missionaries share their experiences at her family's dinner table. She completed the nursing program at Cedarville University and started her career, but as she saw the incredible physical and spiritual needs around the world, God reminded her of His call. God has been faithful through every step of this journey.
Jonathan & Annette Gilmore
ITALY
Jonathan (JD) and Annette Gilmore minister in Italy, based in Palermo (Sicily). LifeHope is a growing church-plant seeking to reach out as a gospel-centered church in a very needy city and context.
In addition to spreading the Good News and connecting the body of local believers, LifeHope ministers to its community through a variety of means, including its English Conversation outreach on local university campuses.
JD is also regional director for SE Europe for Acts 29. JD loves jazz and good Italian food. Annette loves plants and people (she has had CFS for many years). They have three adult children and one granddaughter.
Heather Wing
OM SHIPS INTERNATIONAL
Heather is serving with OM Ships at their stateside base in Florence, SC. OM Ships is a ministry that aims to bring knowledge, help and hope around the world. Our ship brings Bibles and literature to the ports we visit through our on-ship book fair and much aid is done by the crew while in port.
Heather is at the main facility where all the books come from. She is the Volunteer Coordinator and Internet Administrator.
Taylor Wilson
JAPAN
Taylor Wilson felt the call to be a missionary at a young age. God made the way clear for her to go abroad first in 2022 to Bulgaria. Since then God placed Japan and the Japanese people on her heart. Taylor works with Pioneers teams in Japan to support the local churches.
Japan is 1% Christian and a lot of the churches that do exist are small and don't have much of a reach in the community. “I would rather be in hell with my family than in heaven without them.” This is, unfortunately, a rather common sentiment in Japan. Collectivism, that is the priority of the community over the individual, is the prevailing ideal. The sad truth is that Japanese people will believe in Jesus but also realize that they would have to give up things that make them feel Japanese, and that is very difficult for them to do.
As a missionary, Taylor’s goal is to be a vessel God can use to shed light into Japan and break the strongholds over the Japanese that keep them from committing to a life with Jesus. She is raising support right now, and her prayer is to have feet on the ground in Fukuoka, Japan by April 2025.
Reach Across
Reach Across seeks to share the love of Christ with Muslims worldwide. Ruby serves with them in Europe. She grew up in West Africa as a missionary kid. She loves using the languages God gave her to meet people with Jesus. In the UK, she works in a vibrant and diverse city with one of the largest Muslim diaspora populations. With the nations as our neighbors, God blesses her team with open access to tangibly reach out and witness our faith. She is passionate about creating relationships with Muslim women through community engagement such as tutoring or home visits.
Ruby has been exploring leading a ministry team in her city and is involved with her parents’ ministry to refugees in Greece. Ruby desires to commit to long-term work in Europe and asks for prayer for her UK visa.
M & S
SOUTHEAST ASIA
M&S and their three children live in a village on a remote island in Southeast Asia, working among unreached tribal people. Their aim is to see this people group worship the Living God and a healthy local church planted in their village.
Church Plants
Engage Albany Church
ALBANY, NY
Ministering to a city that ranked last on the Barna’s 2017 list of Bible-minded cities, Engage Albany is a like-minded church plant seeking to reach their city with the gospel and hope of Jesus.
​
They are a diverse community of humble learners, who love Christ, and labor to engage the city with the gospel.
Reedeming Hope
CLARKSVILLE, TN
Redeeming Hope aims to create engaging spaces for people who would never step foot inside of a church to explore spirituality, fostering environments to cultivate disciples, and intentionally equipping followers of Jesus to share their faith and live life on the front lines of discipleship, mission, and service in their neighborhoods and the world. Derek Levendusky serves as a co-lead pastor.
