A note from Mission Possible President, Kurt Bishop:
March 18, 2017
To the Mission Possible family:
Serving as President of Mission Possible has been a real privilege and blessing to me, Julie, and our children. God has blessed me with a great fit at the intersection of my gifting and background and Mission Possible’s needs over the last 11+ years. Working with the U.S. and Canada Boards, Pastor Moise, Pastor Herve, our U.S. staff, and our supporters has been amazing and I thank God for bringing us to where we are today. Together, with God’s direction, we have prepared a solid base of leadership in our Haiti field. We have also built the financial support and a solid U.S. administrative team and operation.
While I have been a good fit to serve as President, for the last several years I have sensed Mission Possible is at the point where my skill set is not the best one for its future. Part of being a good leader is recognizing when our lap of the race is finished and not holding the baton too long. It is time for me to pass the baton to someone trained and equipped to lead into Mission Possible’s next chapter. This winter I asked the Board to consider my replacement. It is a great feeling to resign my position in harmony with our staff and Board, without any contention or scandal, and having great respect for the President following me. I will continue serving Mission Possible by transitioning to a part-time role providing organizational and administrative leadership.
Pastor David Rath is someone I have worked with in various ways since the early 1990’s. In fact, I am the one who recommended the Board consider him as a possible candidate to replace me. I believe David has the qualities, gifts, skills, experience, and vision to lead Mission Possible in the future. His background in youth, evangelism, church growth, and leadership development are just what Mission Possible needs in the future. He already enjoys excellent relationships with our field leadership and knows our history and current programs well. He has traveled to our fields numerous times. He is a proven leader of small teams. What a great fit! I wholeheartedly endorse David and know he will serve as an effective servant leader.
To my extended family, friends, and all the Mission Possible supporters: thank you for the support you have offered me and Mission Possible. I encourage you to remain faithful to this ministry and continue your prayer, financial, and volunteer support, as I will continue to support Mission Possible in new ways.
With thankfulness,
Kurt Bishop
A note from Mission Possible Board President, Mark Yoder:
March 18, 2017
Dear Friends of Mission Possible:
In 2006, after a long search for an Executive Director for Mission Possible, U.S.A., the Lord brought Kurt Bishop to our organization. Many of you have met, worked with and prayed for Kurt over the past 11 years and in that time our mission has seen God work in wonderful ways. During his tenure, the ministry has strengthened through our churches, our schools, our healthcare offerings, our short-term mission teams, our conferences and our leadership academy. He has helped us move our headquarters from Fort Pierce, Florida to Findlay, Ohio and has led an amazing team of staff and volunteers to help those we serve on the island of Hispaniola.
Over the past several months, God has led Kurt to consider changing his role with Mission Possible. He approached the Board of Trustees and desired to be part of a smooth transition into a new era of ministry. He is committing to volunteer and serve as a resource for us in the months ahead.
We will be not be able to find another Kurt. His passion for leadership development, his legal expertise, his accounting background and his giftedness came at an important time in our organization. We are so grateful for the role he has served in our body and are acutely aware of God’s orchestration of his placement in Mission Possible’s timeline.
Kurt has given us a gift in helping us in the transition and we are excited about what the Lord has in store for our future together.
So, the Board of Trustees is pleased to announce Mr. David Rath as the new President of Mission Possible U.S.A.
Many of you know David. He is a graduate of Findlay University and is currently the Youth Pastor at Gateway Evangelical Presbyterian Church, a role he has held since 1999. David has taken many teams to Haiti and the Dominican Republic through Mission Possible and has volunteered with our organization for years.
David is happily married to Tracy Rath (who presently works with our mission) and together they have 5 boys… Griffin (20), Owen (16), Keaton (14), Ian (12) and Jaxon (9). The entire family has been to the field and has a heart for who we are and what we do.
David comes to us as someone who can work with our fields to continue the vision of Mission Possible. He is a friend of our field leaders and is committed to continued leadership development. He has been pursuing a Master’s degree in Christian Leadership though Liberty University.
The Board sees David as someone who loves youth, loves to see young people pursue education, loves the church, is passionate about discipleship, loves developing relationships with donors, is a great team builder, works well with teams, and is committed to growing Christ centered leaders.
Our organization is blessed with an amazing team of staff members. They are behind all the letters, the sponsorship profiles, the short-term teams, the health care initiatives, the Facebook posts, the prayer letters, and the accounting. David is blessed to have such a great wealth of experience and expertise to work with. Our Board is expectant of what God has in store for our U.S. team and is hopeful about what the future holds for our fields.
The Board of Trustees of Mission Possible USA would like to thank you for your continued prayers for our next few months as David meets and works with the field and with the U.S. team.
It is our desire to see Christ alone be glorified.
“Sing to the Lord, bless His name; tell of His salvation from day to day
Declare His glory among the nations, His marvelous works among all the peoples!
For great is the Lord, and greatly to be praised;”
Psalm 96 2-4 ESV
With Excitement,
Mark Yoder
Chairman of the Board of Trustees of Mission Possible U.S.A.
A note from newly-appointed Mission Possible President, David Rath:
March 18, 2017
About two years ago, I felt God leading me into the mission field. Every time I heard a certain song on the radio or we sang it in church, I came to the realization that God’s plan was for my family to be on the mission field. Through my multiple trips leading teams with Mission Possible, God was hinting where I would be serving. I am honored to be the new President of Mission Possible.
Mission Possible is an amazing organization that has a 40-year history on the island of Hispaniola. They have been blessed with great leaders with tremendous gifts. Each one has left their mark on the organization and island. Kurt Bishop has served Mission Possible for the last eleven years in the role of President. His valuable leadership has moved Mission Possible light-years ahead of where it was.
The next chapter in the life of Mission Possible is extremely bright. We have a solid leadership team in Haiti, we are about to break ground on a new school, educational standards are being raised, sponsorship is trending up, leadership development is strong and the Dominican side is vibrant and growing in all ministry areas.
I am really looking forward to working with the Board, the awesome staff and our field leaders. Being familiar with the staff, Pastor Herve and Pastor Moise, the transition should be seamless. My family is on board 100% with this opportunity. All seven of us have been on the field at least twice. My wife, Tracy, has been on staff for the last four years as Educational Coordinator. My oldest son Griffin (20) has done some work in Haiti on the new school location. Owen, who is 17, loves the ministry of MP. Last Easter, my middle son, Keaton (14), was baptized in the ocean right outside the mission center in Haiti. My youngest two sons, Ian (12) and Jaxon (9) have both been to the Dominican Republic twice and can’t wait to visit Haiti.
My life passage is Matthew 14:22-33. When Peter was called upon the water, he followed, he obeyed, and as he remained focused on Jesus, he walked on water. The song I referred to earlier was “Oceans” from Hillsong United. The line is as follows: “You call me out upon the waters- the great unknown where feet may fail.” God has called me out onto the water. My feet may fail, but my God will not. All the glory goes to Him.
With anticipation,
David Rath
