Grace Missions: Who We Are and What We Do

Jesus said, “Go into all the world and preach the good news to all creation” (Mark 16: 15, NIV) and “Make disciples of all nations” (Matthew 28: 19, NIV).

Grace Missions is committed to fulfilling Jesus’ commission by propagating the DNA of the church:

• Divine truth
• Nurturing relationships
• Apostolic mission

Our Senior Minister

The Senior Minister of Grace Missions is Pastor Ross Rennie.

Ross was born in Plymouth, Devon, England, and after an unhappy childhood, a troubled time in the British Army and difficulties in his personal life he reached the point of desperation. He was on his way to kill himself, but God had His hand on Ross’s life.

Ross was in Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire, when he walked into an evangelical bookshop at the side of a Brethren church and asked for a priest. As far as Ross was concerned, the only (so-called) Christians were priests. He was told that the church did not have a priest, just a minister, so Ross asked to see him.

The minister gave him food and drink, then he read from a book called Pilgrim’s Progress. Next he opened the Bible to John 3:16: “For God so loved the world that He gave His only begotten Son, that whosoever believes in Him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” The minister asked Ross, “Who do you think the ‘whosoever’ is?”

Ross replied, “Those do-gooders who go to church but will not even give you the time of day.”

“No,” said the minister. “The ‘whosoever’ are the broken-hearted like you.”

Then Ross cried as he had not cried for many years. “I need this Jesus. Can He help me? I have been so wicked,” he thought.

So it was that Ross became a born-again Christian. In the ensuing years, as he was growing as a Christian, he made many mistakes by not always listening to God. Because of his background he missed out on many opportunities in the church for one reason or another, but God opened doors that no human could shut.

At the age of 35 Ross enrolled at the Elim Bible College (now Regents Theological College), Nantwich. On 10th July 1994 he graduated with a 68% pass and immediately took a leap of faith by setting off on his first visit to Cambodia.

On this five-week trip Cambodian Communities out of Crisis (CCC) was born. Ross was to experience the greatest outpouring of the Holy Spirit that he had ever encountered. At that time there were few churches; now there are over 2,000 throughout the country with over 200,000 members.

Ross’s work with CCC has taken him back to Cambodia on a number of occasions; on three of those the devil tried to kill him.

• In 1996 Ross was standing on the Monivong Bridge, Phnom Penh, photographing the floods around the Bassac River, when someone approached him and pointed a gun at him. He jumped on a passing motor cycle taxi and escaped with his life.
• In 1998 Ross was standing outside Tuol Tumpoung Market in Phnom Penh when a motor cycle pulling a trailer loaded with charcoal careered towards him. Miraculously, his slightly built escort lifted him bodily out of the way.
• In 2000, while in Cambodia, Ross caught food poisoning. He struggled through his visit and managed to get home to England. He was admitted to hospital and diagnosed to be infected with Campylobacter. He lost 50% of his body weight but by God’s grace and thanks to the skill of consultant Geoff Hutchinson he survived.

Increasingly Ross’s work takes him to different countries around the world: Spain, Germany, Austria, Thailand, South Africa….

While in the UK, Ross is chairman and managing director of Integrity Supplies UK Limited. Ross’s favourite hymns are My Hope Is Built (On Christ the Solid Rock) and Here Is Love.

What We Are Doing

Our mission is to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to many nations as the Holy Spirit leads. As a seasoned traveller to many countries and an observer of successes and failures in church planting in various parts of the world, Rev Ross Rennie has learned that “unless the Lord builds the house, its builders labour in vain” (Psalm 127: 1, NIV). As a committed man of God, Ross is available to minister in small groups or at pastors’ conferences, but only if led by the Holy Spirit. Please contact him if you would like to explore this possibility.

Cambodia

You may have seen the BBC television programme Sex Trafficking in Cambodia: Stacey Dooley Investigates, broadcast in 2010. In the programme Stacey Dooley visited Cambodia to see first-hand how young women and girls are sold, forced or lured into prostitution. She spent time with two prostitutes and learned how they and thousands more enter the sex trade and how they might escape it.

In some ways the programme was naive and superficial, particularly glossing over how prostitution is allowed to flourish in a country with strict standards of sexual propriety, but at least it highlighted a serious problem affecting thousands of Cambodian women and putting at risk thousands of young girls.

Grace Missions would like to do something to address this problem. We are seeking the Lord about how He wants us to get involved. Please pray for us to know His will. If, as a result of watching the programme, you feel a personal calling from God to join with us, please contact us. If the Lord is leading you to give, we can pass on your gift to Hagar Cambodia, a Christian organisation with considerable experience of helping women and children who are victims of human rights abuse, particularly domestic violence, human trafficking and sexual exploitation. They provide a place of safety, education and training to enable victims of the sex trade to start a new life.

Myanmar

In June 2009 Ross taught at a pastors’ conference in Yangon, Myanmar. He was accompanied by Greg Dixon.

Other Countries

When the opportunity arises Ross would like to go to North Korea, Vietnam and Zimbabwe.

Friends and Partners

Pastor Ross Rennie has a long-standing friendship with Barnabas Mam, Asia Regional Director of Ambassadors for Christ International.

Grace Missions are in partnership with New River of Life Churches in Cambodia and Active in Missions Today, Myanmar.

Go to our partners page to find out more.