““Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, “Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?” And I said, “Here am I. Send me!” ”
In the 1940s the Imperial Navy of Japan swept through the Pacific for the purpose of domination and control. From the late 1950s through the mid 1970s the Holy Spirit led a faithful couple and their daughter from the Ryukyu Islands of Japan to the Solomon Islands in the South Pacific to bear witness to the Living God revealed in and through Jesus Christ. This time the only weapons were the Christian Scriptures, prayer, faith, and love. The greatest of these was love for the Japanese and Pacific Island people living beyond the reef.
Today, their faithful obedient response, over 60 years ago, has flourished into a vibrant and growing faith based ministry called Beyond the Reef. Its sole purpose is to provide Biblical training opportunities for the isolated island pastors of Micronesia and the South Pacific.
Established in 1977 by Reverend David Bush, Beyond the Reef provides training opportunities for the isolated island pastors of Micronesia and the South Pacific
In 1958, Reverend David Bush and his family (Maxine and Lynette) responded to the “Macedonian Call” to the island of Yakushima, Japan. Since then this missionary family served on Okinawa, Guam, Solomon Islands, Nauru, Chuuk, Kosrae, Fiji, Tuvalu, and Hawaii.
In 1977, Reverend Bush established Beyond the Reef Theological Center/Missionary Memorial Church in Aurora, Oregon by purchasing a 17 acre Methodist Church Camp. After remodeling the buildings, Beyond the Reef trained over 75 Micronesian and South Pacific island pastors from 1981-1988, while reaching out to multiple islands along the way.
From 1989-2017 Beyond the Reef responded to God raising up the people of Chuuk in the Northwest as its main mission. Missionary Memorial Church became the focal point of the ministry. Missionary Memorial Church for the past 28 years was God’s instrument in reaching the Chuukese people. The faithfulness of this Chuukese congregation has seen the birth of 5 new Chuukese churches from Washington, to Idaho, to Colorado.
As of 2017, Beyond the Reef is now established on the island of Oahu, Hawaii. The ministry’s house will provide residential rooms for Micronesian and South Pacific island pastors to receive bible training and spiritual leader development.
Beyond the Reef is committed to assisting Island Pastors to become well-prepared Christian shepherds to their people for the sake of their communities and for the glory of God.
In order to assist the Island Pastor in this developmental endeavor, Beyond the Reef will send invited Ministerial Training Teams to strategic regions throughout the Pacific Rim. Island pastors, regardless of denominational background, will be invited to participate in these 1-2 week events at minimal cost. Beyond the Reef does not exist for gaining territorial or local church control, but for the express purpose of training men and women, called by God, to be leaders who are Christ-centered, Biblically-based, and Spirit-led.
Now that BTR has a permanent ministry house in Hawaii, the ministry will be offering extended residential classes for Island pastors.
