Rich and Carol Bonham
Serving by multiplying disciples in Europe
Account# 4995
Our Story
We have always had a strong desire to help see the Great Commission fulfilled. In the first 10 years of our marriage, we went on 3 short-term missions trips together. Each trip, we wondered if the Lord would call us into full time service. We served on our church's mission's committee and hosted many missionaries as part of our pursuit of our place in missions. In January 2000 we started taking the Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course with the idea that we would use the time to focus on missions and see if the Lord would desire us to go. Six weeks into the class, we were certain that God was calling us to GO. We contacted GEM to see if they could use Rich's skills and experience in Project Management and Technology to help further the Kingdom in Europe. By the end of the year, we were in Germany.
Where We Work
We moved our family to Germany at the end of December 2000 to begin our lives as full time missionaries. Our children were 2, 4, and 8 years old at the time. Rich began his work with helping to start a ministry focused on using technology. We installed many computer centers in Eastern Europe to help churches reach their communities and train believers through electronic Bible resources. We developed many online Bible courses and helped a number of Bible schools in Europe begin their own distance learning programs. The ministry is called eDOT (stands for electronic Discipleship, Outreach, and Training).
In 2006 Rich also started to co-lead the ministries in GEM that work across Europe and in January 2011 he became the Europe Strategy Leader. He currently leads GEM's Leadership Team (GLT). We are so thrilled to be part of GEM and have the opportunity to use the skills, life experience, and passion to serve God to help our missionaries reach Europe.
Carol works part time at Black Forest Academy as the BFA Online Coordinator. Our 2 younger children attend school at BFA and our oldest attends college in the US.