VISTA
Missions is a non-profit organization with a mission to demonstrate
the Gospel of Jesus Christ through the provision of resources,
training and equipment support to short -term mission teams with
an emphasis on providing medical, dental and vision care to the
needy in cooperation with and under the authority of local foreign
ministries.
"The
VISTA Vision"
The
history of VISTA Missions really begins in Genesis when God created
man to populate the earth and reflect His image. It begins to
take focus with God’s call to Abram to leave his own land
and be the channel through whom God would show himself to the
nations and bless them, a story that unfolds throughout the Old
Testament. Christ’s life and death, the teaching and sending
of the disciples, the Great Commission in Matthew 28, and the
command to “GO” in Acts 1:8 are fundamental to VISTA
and all mission-focused efforts, and should be to each believer’s
life.
The need to
reach others with the Gospel and the blessing in the lives of
those that involve themselves in the task led Jerry Lehman to
start the Missionary Outreach Program in the 1960’s, taking
high school students to Mexico to come along side of churches
in making the Gospel known. This program became part of Seattle
Christian School in 1988, grew to sending several mission teams
each year throughout the world and became a source for training
and materials sought by other groups.
VISTA Missions
is one of several organizations born from this ministry. As the
program of adult teams grew beyond the scope of a Christian school,
experienced leaders and professionals who had been instrumental
in the Vision and Dental clinic teams formed VISTA Missions in
2006. As of April, 2013, VISTA has supplied and dispensed over
30,000 pair of glasses to the underserved population of Latin
America and taken care of more than 6,000 patients in the dental
clinics.
VISTA will
continue to provide support, training, leadership and expanded
ministry teams mainly in the areas of Vision and Dental Clinics.
This will allow groups to benefit from the short-term mission
experience and to be part of the blessing God intended us to be
to the nations.
VISTA
Missions is a 501(c)3 organization. All gifts are tax-deductible.