Missionary Is Planning To Keep Going And Going
Unlike a lot of folks his age, the Rev. Garmond Mindt isn’t considering retirement.
“I’ve been in ministry 42 years. I’m a young 60, and still going where young guys don’t want to go,” he says, laughing. “They can’t keep up.”
Mindt will speak at Valley Open Bible Church on Sunday at 6 p.m. The church is at 905 N. McDonald Road.
Mindt has been traveling abroad for 30 of the 42 years he’s been a pastor. His first missionary visit overseas was in 1965 when he visited Japan.
Since then, he decided missionary work in Asia was his calling. Currently, he and the Oregon-based missionary group he founded, International Ministries, are focusing on work in the Philippines.
“Our specialty is to go where no one else has ever gone,” Mindt says. “Believe it or not, there are places in the Philippines where there are no Christian churches of any kind.”
He says he’s had his share of adventures, too - from passport snafus to run-ins with unfriendly government officials and bomb threats. Sometimes his life seems more like a James Bond movie than a religious endeavor.
“We’ve seen a lot,” he says.
After his group visits an area, they help start churches and even theological schools there. Mindt recently collected 50,000 books from churches in hopes of setting up a theological library.
“We’re just getting those boxed up and now we’re raising the funds to ship them,” Mindt said.
His stop in Spokane is one of a few speaking engagements he’ll make before heading back overseas. This isn’t a fund-raising visit, though. Mindt says many evangelists come home and go on revenue-raising tours, but he just visits congregations that ask him to preach there.
“The other (financial) part will take care of itself,” he says.
Mindt’s missionary group is non-denominational. He says he’ll speak at any church that asks.
He thinks that approach is best, because then missionaries cooperate with one another, instead of compete.
“It’s much more effective,” he says. “When you’re identified with one group, others will say, ‘Have a good time,’ but they don’t get involved. Now, everyone is involved.”
Men’s retreat
Redeemer Lutheran Church will host a men’s retreat at Coeur d’Alene Lake on Sept. 22-23.
Anyone interested is encouraged to sign up now, because space is limited. The cost is $40 for food, lodging, and all program materials.
For information or to sign up, call 926-6363 or stop by the welcome center at the church, 3606 S. Schafer Road.
, DataTimes