Rug, John & Cathy

John and Cathy Rug live in Concón, Chile, where they are part of an international church planting team. Their city is growing three times faster than the national average. While the number of Christians in Chile is 17%, Concón has little more than half that. This makes it urgent to plant a gospel-centered Reformed and Presbyterian church there. Among their various responsibilities in the church plant, the Rugs are especially busy doing one-on-one discipleship and encouraging a weekly growth group. Cathy also looks forward to being able to resume her quilt classes as a way to reach women with the gospel.

Another largely unreached group of people are those with disabilities. John and Cathy established the CEMIPRE Foundation (CEMIPRE project #90831) to reach those with visual disabilities, seeking to address their spiritual, emotional, and physical concerns. This ministry encourages sound local churches and church plants to include in their DNA the discipleship of those with disabilities. Another avenue of outreach for CEMIPRE (Presbyterian Ministry Center) is to provide training for eye clinics, hospital staff, and businessmen, preparing them to better serve those with low vision and blindness. It is exciting to be part of sharing a biblical world view, not only to the church, but the community at large.