Caroline Kurtz
Staff Director
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Contact Information 2925 Oak Knoll Road NW |
BACKGROUND AND CALL
Caroline Kurtz builds on years of missionary experience. She was raised in Ethiopia, the daughter of missionaries, Harold and Polly Kurtz. At home and in boarding school, the stories of God’s plan for his beloved humans permeated her world view. She doesn’t remember a time when she did not feel called to be used by God to bring his will “on earth as it is in heaven.”
SERVICE
Caroline returned to Ethiopia in 1989 with her husband, Mark Rasmussen, and their three children. She taught English in a school that was started by Presbyterians in the 1930s to educate Ethiopian girls. After seven years in Ethiopia, Caroline and Mark were transferred to work with Presbyterians in war-torn South Sudan. There she taught teachers and worked with women’s groups in remote villages. Under New Sudan Council of Churches she organized a grass-roots peace conference which opened back up a fertile no-man’s-land along the Nile River between warring tribes.
MINISTRY FOCUS
Caroline has visited Presbyterian frontier mission work in Hungary, India, and Turkey. Because she speaks the national language and has relationships with church leaders in Ethiopia, she is PFF’s natural resource person to help US churches support the fast-growing partner church in Ethiopia which sponsors efforts to bring the gospel to fourteen different people groups in this multi-ethnic country. All but one of these outreach efforts is led by Ethiopians. Caroline frequently visits Ethiopia, where she encourages church leaders, hosts visiting US church groups, and helps strategize outreach into new areas.
HOW CAROLINE CAN HELP YOUR CHURCH
Preaching themes:
- These are revolutionary times in the church—how can we participate in them?
- Let’s learn from the fast-growing church in the global South
- The world-wide body of Christ needs us and blesses us in return
Services:
- Preaching, teaching adult Sunday School, children’s sermons, minutes for mission
- Helping mission committees evaluate their participation in God’s plan for the spread of the gospel—meetings or retreats
- Leading vision-casting trips to Ethiopia
- Helping congregations network to enhance their partnerships with overseas mission work
- Teaching culture and world-view sensitivity to enhance mission wisdom and effectiveness
- Teaching appropriate development strategies
“Everyone loved your presentation Sunday and one person even said it was the best missionary report she had ever heard. Considering this person’s breadth of experience and level of expertise, that is high praise.”
Rev. Vickie Brown, Roseburg, OR