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Reach Ministries International
is dedicated to the disciplemaking ministry in third-world
countries and it is committed to the following distinctives:
1. A commitment to the whole person
 The Asian mind is much closer to the Hebrew mind than
to the Greek or Western mind. Things… and people…
are not easily dissected into independent parts. The unique
importance of the spiritual realm is unquestioned in the Reach
ministry. But we were created in the image of God; the whole
of us, not just our spirits. As the parable of the Good Samaritan
illustrates, the Gospel whose essence is love cannot "pass
by on the other side of the road" where a brother or
sister in Christ lays robbed, beaten and bleeding. Although
the needs are obviously beyond Reach, a Third World ministry
in particular cannot stop short of a commitment to making
men and women whole in Christ.
2. A commitment to the poor
 God is eternally biased in favor of the weak, the oppressed
and the helpless. The theological terms for this are justice
and grace. In practice, the strong and ruthless claw their
way upward socially and economically. The common terms for
this are greed, self-interest and pride. It is all the more
difficult to have a godly attitude toward the poor where there
are so many, many poor. Ministering among them is difficult,
costly and frustrating. The Reach commitment to the poor does
not curtail our ministry to others, but it helps us walk as
Jesus walked. If He did it and said it, it's right.
3. A commitment to indigenous leadership
 Leadership in any culture is a complex phenomenon.
But where there has been a climate of dependency, subservience,
and economic survival, the "fulltime Christian worker"
scheme is a crippling burden. Most Reach ministry staff are
self supporting disciplemakers. They are sufficiently dedicated
and gifted to produce and lead substantial ministries. An
equally important leadership pattern is a strong "family
spirit" and mutual support. Also essential are consensus-forming
leadership and shared responsibility. This is in contrast
to the Western sense of individualistic responsibility and
achievement.
4. A commitment to disciplemaking
 Only true disciples of Jesus Christ have the resilience,
dynamism and selflessness to make a lasting impact in a Third
World context. It is His power at work through a community
of disciples…each of which is constantly being strengthened
by the Word of God, proven by obedience and renewed by the
Holy Spirit. Reach is not committed to a program, a project
or process but to multiplying and strengthening disciples
in fulfillment of the Great Commission.
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