Four Generations, One Mission: Building a Church in the Dominican Republic

On July 11, thirteen people from three different states, ranging in age from 15 to their late 60s, set out on a journey that would span four generations and one shared purpose. We made our way to Miami from our respective home airports so we could board the same flight to Santiago, Dominican Republic. From there, a bus carried us northeast, close to Monte Cristi, to the site where we would spend the coming days building a church.

A Church Full of Children Before It Had Walls

Our first day of ministry began not with bricks or mortar, but with the children of the church. For a congregation this new, the group of children gathered was remarkably large. This is not uncommon for new churches in the area. Children are usually drawn to programs early on because it fills their hearts with joy and purpose, and the adults soon follow.

Later that same day, we went door to door to share the gospel and to invite people to the evening service. That service was held at the construction site itself, which at that point had only a foundation, a single line of brick running all the way around, and the rebar sticking up out of the ground for the 16 columns that would eventually form the support structure of the building.

Human Chains and Holy Spirit Strength

Our first full day on the construction site greeted us with clear skies, hot temperatures, and the heavy mugginess of a tropical summer. The first order of business was to move the bricks from where they had been dropped outside to a place within easy reach of the walls. We did this by forming a human chain, each person passing a block to the next. We repeated this process every day until the second-to-last day of construction.

There is something remarkable in knowing that every single brick that went into this church was touched by every single member of our team.

We poured the columns the same way. By hand. Bucket by bucket. A human chain passed each full bucket of concrete from one person to the next, with the final three teammates lifting it to the top so the receiver could pour it into the column. Every bucket of concrete that went into those columns was also touched by every teammate on our team.

More Than Brick and Concrete

Building a church is about far more than laying brick and pouring concrete. Most of us are not experienced construction workers, and most of us are used to the tropical heat. We were tested in the process, and we quickly came to understand that we had to rely on the power of the Holy Spirit to accomplish what was in front of us.

Days one and two were by far the hardest as our team worked to acclimate to the conditions. Once our bodies adjusted, the work got easier, though it remained draining and challenging throughout. It was also extremely rewarding, in a way that only comes from labor offered up as worship.

Of course, construction is only part of what we do. Kingdom work includes spiritual work and the building of relationships alongside the laying of brick and the pouring of concrete. Every afternoon, several team members would break away from the site to make house visits, ministering to the neighborhood that could soon call this church their home. We pray that all of them will eventually find their way there and make it their own.

It was amazing to see how far the word had traveled. People came from as far as Monte Cristi to the construction site because they had heard about what was happening and wanted to be a part of it. Americans, Dominicans, and Haitians worked side by side to build this house of worship.

Evenings in the Courtyard

Every evening after dinner, we would gather in the courtyard of one of the hotels we stayed at for a debrief. We talked about how the day had affected each of us, and along the way, someone would share their testimony. Those evenings became as much a part of the work as the site itself.

The Final Days

As we began pouring columns on Friday, it became clear that we would be able to conclude our construction project on time. We were excited to pour the final columns on Saturday and to clean up the site so another church service could be held there on Sunday night. That service would give the locals a chance to see just how much progress had been made in only six days of construction.

On Sunday morning, our team left for the coast and visited a small island offshore for some time in the sun and water, a reward for what had been accomplished. Even so, we were looking forward to getting back in time to be part of the evening service at the construction site before preparing to head home the next morning.

On the final day, we had breakfast together as a complete team alongside our Dominican brothers and sisters in Christ. We said our teary-eyed goodbyes and loaded the bus for the airport. With the exception of our Minnesota teammates getting stuck in Miami overnight on the way home due to a canceled flight, the trip was successful from beginning to end, both physically and spiritually.

We give God all the glory and praise Him for what He has made possible.

Four generations. Three states. One team. One church rising, brick by brick, bucket by bucket, in the northeast of the Dominican Republic.

We are still actively raising funds for this project, please help us cross the finish line.