28 Aug Update on the Dave Datema Family

The Datema family (l-r): Callie, Julie, Jill, Culyer, Cathie, and Dave.

Dave and Cathie Datema are endorsed UB missionaries serving with Frontier Ventures in Pasadena, Calif. Dave’s role has changed a couple of time during the past two years. Here is an explanation from their most recent newsletter.

“Dave has been assigned to serve as Facilitator for a newly-appointed Missiology Task Force. This role will extend through April 2019, and Dave will be working with six other people within Frontier Ventures. The purpose of the group is to evaluate the missiological ‘voice’ of Frontier Ventures and make recommendations to leadership about moving it forward.

“‘Missiology’ is just a fancy word for the study of missions. Every mission organization prioritizes certain aspects of missions above others, and we are no different. The landscape of missions is constantly changing, and ideas come and go. This task force was created to analyze and evaluate how we think about missions and how that may need to change. It is also interested in ensuring that our voice as an organization, represented by our various programs and publications, is integrated and aligned. Our organization has been known for being a thought leader in missions, so this task force is an essential part of what we do.”

Other News from the Datema Family

• Dave recently completed a sabbatical, and has begun a PhD program.
• Callie, the oldest of the three daughters (19), is building a support team as she prepares for service with ACTS (Antioch Center for Training and Sending). She will spend eight months in Bible training in Colorado Springs, and then be deployed for two years to South Asia, where she will work in an area in the Himalayas that has 266 unreached people groups.
• Jill (16) recently spent two weeks with a team of youth from her church in a nation in Southeast Asia. She joined local believers in visiting a hospital to pray for the sick, and played with children whose mothers are involved in the sex industry.