Timeline Stories

Servants Bible School sends out its first Village Missionaries, Mark & Karen Woolbright, to Helix, Oregon.

Contenders Discipleship Initiative (CDI) is launched as a two-year program offered by Village Missions to equip Christians for ministry within their local church and to prepare those called for full-time ministry as missionary pastors. The first course on the website was Bibliology and How to Study the Bible.

The groundwork begins for the creation of CDI. Videography: Jeff Haugen. Project Manager, Web Designer & Guidebook production: Cindy Kitts. A host of volunteers assisted them.

Village Missions receives a generous estate gift, which proves an immense blessing to our ministry. Combined with Executive Director Brian Wechsler’s passionate vision and support to expand Contenders Bible School and make it accessible to people and churches across rural North America – and around the world! – this gift helps pave the way for

Village Missionaries Russ Richardson and Rob Dore start Servants Bible School in Oregon, modeled after Contenders Bible School.

Village Missionary Raul Corona teaches a “Bibliology and How to Study the Bible” class using Contenders notes and PowerPoint slides translated into Spanish. This marks the beginning of Escuela de Evangelistas Alberto Motessi in Avenal, California.

Ron Sallee commutes to McKenna Community Church south of Tacoma, WA, and starts a Contenders Bible School there.

First graduates begin serving as Village Missionaries in Tensed, ID.

Contenders Bible School begins at Machias Community Church. From this program, God called people into full-time ministry, some with Village Missions. This program eventually grew into today’s Contenders Discipleship Initiative (CDI).