Serve with ABWE
Aviation Ministries
ABWE's Aviation History and Future
ABWE was first interested in aviation in 1948 when the Dutch New Guinea field opened (later called Irian Jaya, now Papua). Dr. Harold Commons, mission president, invited Nate Saint to initiate the aviation ministry. However, Nate felt called of God to go to Ecuador. On January 8, 1956, Nate died in Operation Auca.
In 1958, ABWE asked Hank Scheltema to open an aviation ministry in Amazonas, Brazil. He arrived in 1960, using a 1948 Aeronca Sedan equipped with floats. In his second term, Terry Bowers arrived to join the team with a Cessna 185 on floats.
Over the next few years, ABWE expanded its aviation ministry to Colombia and the Philippine Islands. Presently, ABWE aviation is in five countries: Peru, Brazil, Paraguay, Togo, and Papua New Guinea.
The aviation team is currently seeking personnel for an aviation ministry in Ghana, West Africa where it will use a floatplane to help establish local churches. The team is presently preparing a floatplane at the airbase in Georgia.
Looking to the future, the team is also anticipating a ministry utilizing rotorcraft to reach areas not accessible by other means.
The Aviation Church Planter
ABWE's approach to missionary aviation requires its personnel to be professional missionaries, as well as professional pilots and mechanics. The aviation church planter partners with the churches and missionaries he serves, fits into a team ministry according to his gifts and abilities, and expedites the outreach to remote areas where transportation is a problem. Evangelism and church planting are his main priorities, though he also keeps his proficiency in flying and maintenance.
The following is recommended to prepare him for his part in evangelism, discipling, and church planting ministries:
- A formal Bible education in a recognized Bible or Christian liberal arts college.
- Experience in the local church; preaching, teaching, camp work, visitation and other related ministry is important.
ABWE Pilot Qualifications
A commercial license and instrument rating- Airframe and power plant mechanics license
- 400 flight hours
- Current Skill (During prefield ministry and/or language school, he must keep his proficiency, preferably in the type of aircraft he will use on the field)
- Final screening by competent aviation personnel
ABWE Aviation Policy
The Aviation Department exists because ABWE needs safe, satisfactory transportation for its personnel, especially in remote and hard-to-reach areas. A pilot's authority pertains to the safe use of the aircraft. The Field Council, through their goals and strategies, guides the pilot as to who, when, and where he flies, while the Aviation Department qualifies the technical limitation of the pilot/mechanic.
ABWE Aviation Fields
- International Airbase
- Coastal Peru - Piper Cruiser on Wheels
- Amazon River, Peru - Cessna 185 Floatplane (pending replacement)
- Amazon River, Brazil - Cessna 185 Floatplane & Cessna 185 Amphibian
- Paraguay - Cessna 185 on Wheels
- Togo - Cessna 206 on Wheels
- Ghana (proposed) - Cessna 182 Floatplane
- Papua New Guinea - Cessna 206 on Wheels