Rebekah hails from Southeast Asia and has a passion for research and education. An initial interest in studying church history and the witness of the church in the Second World War led to an exploration of an ecclesiology for the postcolonial and post-Christendom age as far back as 2012. She is currently a PhD student at Virginia Tech, studying the political and sociology implications of kingdom theology particularly for the postcolonial world. Her favourite Christian books are Dietrich Bonhoeffer’s “The Cost of Discipleship” and Corrie Ten Boom’s “The Hiding Place”.
My vision for the Kingdom Outpost is to connect with the worldwide church beyond our various shores and to build outposts and networks for Jesus’s Kingdom. Online resources and communities have played a huge role in my own spiritual growth and I hope that the Kingdom Outpost will be such a platform.
Aaron hails from the state of Arkansas, where he’s spent all 21 years of his life. He grew up the sixth of seven children in a conservative Amish-Mennonite church. His family left to join a less-conservative Mennonite church in his early teens, which he still calls home. He is passionate about helping his fellow conservative Mennonites live out Jesus’ teachings more fully. Aaron started in construction upon finishing grade school, and did that for 7 years before teaching 3rd-6th grades at his local Menno school. When not at work he enjoys hanging out with brothers and nephews at the local Fire Department, where he is a firefighter and EMR. Other hobbies include woodworking, volleyball, spikeball, listening to podcasts and audio books, and best of all, hanging out with his girlfriend, Mandie Derstine. A few recent favorite resources of his are ‘’Unwanted” by Jay Stringer, “To Be Told” by Dan Allender, and the Commoners Communion Podcast by Strahan.
My vision for the Kingdom Outpost is for a network of resources to help Christians from various faith traditions and walks of life think through what it means to live out Jesus’ teachings, to encourage them through hard times, and to have their convictions shaped and challenged. My prayer is that the global Ecclesia of Christ would embrace a more King Jesus-centered way of life and belief, and I hope to see the Kingdom Outpost contribute to that goal.
Dru Lattin reads books and drinks coffee in Northern Wisconsin with his wife Lisl, his children, and his wife’s chickens, ducks, geese, guineas, and dogs. After working with churches in northern Thailand, they settled in the land of fresh cheese and craft brews. He teaches middle school English to subsidize the chickens and does life with brothers and sisters at Refuge Chapel.
Abram hails from the state of Texas where he works in construction. He grew up the oldest of 10 children in a horse-and-buggy Mennonite church in western New York state. Even as a child he had a passion for history and learning about culture and people. He is passionate about his Mennonite heritage partly because it gave him the building blocks for his own journey and convictions towards Kingdom theology. Abram is also involved in prison ministry and loves the times he gets to encourage the incarcerated church. He serves as the Assistant Chief of the local volunteer fire department. His other hobbies include gardening, cooking, and reading.
Two books that have really impacted his life are Peter Hoover’s “The Secret of the Strength” (read online here) and Dean Taylor’s ‘“A Change of Allegiance” .
My vision for the Kingdom Outpost is for a place where Christians from a variety of faith traditions and walks of life can come to find resources to help them think through what it means to live as Christ, to encourage them when they walk through valleys, and to have their convictions shaped and challenged. My prayer is that as they interact with the variety of material that we platform here they can be challenged to model their lives after the example of King Jesus and can grow in their love and relationship with Him.