Jill & Derick Dillard ask fans for money to fund missionary trips to Arkansas, etc.

Jill and Derick Dillard are “counting on” you tell help pay for their new missionary work. Derick just launched a fundraising campaign in hopes of raising the money needed “for various missions opportunities I will have throughout the year…including trips for Gospel-advancement and humanitarian work in Northwest Arkansas, North America, and abroad.”

“BIG NEWS!” Derick excitedly declares in the Pure Charity campaign listing. “For the next year, I will be serving through a program at my home church, called the Cross Church School of Ministry! I am so excited about this incredible opportunity for further ministry development, and I would like to invite you to share in this excitement with me.”

The campaign goal is $6,500, of which Derick has already raised $125 from two donors.

Here is more from the campaign description:

I started a fundraiser on Pure Charity to raise the funding I need for various missions opportunities I will have throughout the year. I have a donations goal of $6,500. This will enable me to fulfill my specific calling to ministry this year, including trips for Gospel-advancement and humanitarian work in Northwest Arkansas, North America, and abroad.

The Cross Church School of Ministry is a one-year, ministry, residency experience that I believe will be a key asset in not only my vocational ministry, but also in my personal development.

Every donation is important and will enable me to be present and help others in need. Would you kindly consider making a donation? Also, I would appreciate your willingness to share this with others who may want to partner with me.

Thank you so much for being a part of my life and helping me be a small part of something so big, that transcends time and space, the advancement of the good news of Jesus Christ!

Jill and Derick announced earlier this month that they would not be returning to Central America again. “Through a number of circumstances, and guided by much prayer and counsel, we are discerning the Lord leading our family’s full-time ministry back to the United States for the time being,” The couple explaioned. Here is the Dillard Family’s full announcement from August 9:

New Direction in Ministry

Thank you so much for your support of Dillard Family Ministries through your prayers and financial resources. It has been a joy and blessing to see how our Lord has worked in Central America, and your generous giving has been a huge part of making that possible! During our time working with SOS Ministries over the past 2 years, we have witnessed God transforming the lives of many involved in the gang community and positively influencing the lives of young people for the sake of the Kingdom. Through numerous efforts of community development, skills training, sports outreach, and local church ministry, a strong foundation has been laid that I believe the Lord will continue to grow for many years to come.

Through a number of circumstances, and guided by much prayer and counsel, we are discerning the Lord leading our family’s full-time ministry back to the United States for the time being.

We understand very well that mission work definitely requires flexibility. This, we have witnessed and experienced first-hand in our years of ministry. It is, and always has been our aim, to seek the Lord above all else. This includes walking in close relationship with Him daily, seeking His direction for our family, and doing our absolute best in everything, namely, being a Gospel witness and Kingdom worker in whatever context He places us.

At this time, God has seen fit for our family to continue serving him in ministry within the context of Northwest Arkansas.

Because He Lives,
Derick and Jill Dillard (+Israel & Samuel)

Jill and Derick have drawn criticism because it is speculated that one of their mission’s major goals is to convert Catholics.

Derick responded to the criticism in a blog post titled “God Has Called Us…” back in November of 2015. “God did not call us to convert Catholics, but God has called us to follow His example,” Derick clarified. “He has not called us to convert Buddhists, Muslims, Baptists, atheists, Mormons, Lutherans, Jehovah’s Witnesses, Methodists, agnostics, or Hindus. God has called us to Central America to preach the good news of the kingdom of God. My desire is to preach good news to the poor and to proclaim liberty to the captives. I have the greatest treasure in Christ, and I want others to know that hope as well.”

In El Salvador, the last country that Jill and Derick did mission work in, the population is currently 85% Christian, but that breaks down further to 54% Catholic and 31% Protestant. By comparison, the Duggars’ home state of Arkansas is 56% Christian — with only 4.3% of the overall population identifying as Catholic. Many critics could not understand why they would spend so much money and resources traveling to another country when a far greater percentage of people in their own home state have not accepted the “good news of Jesus Christ.” It seems that the Dillards (and/or their ministry) were listening.

So will you be helping out the Dillards with some $$$ for their missionary work? Or, if you are a resident of Northwest Arkansas, how do you feel about the Dillards coming your way to help?