Missions at SDCF

SDCF has a long history of supporting international missions as part of our obedience to Christ’s great commissions to make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:19).  In addition to pledging 10% of our annual church budget towards supporting missionaries and outreach organizations, our church has also acted as a Missions Sending Organization for SDCF Commissioned Missionaries over the years, providing essential administrative, financial, and personal support for our workers on the field. The missions sending arm of SDCF is known as For Love’s Purpose (FLP) and our current FLP / Commissioned Missionaries are Pastor Ep and Lulu Brion in the Philippines.


As part of the care and support provided to its commissioned missionaries, SDCF periodically sends representatives of the Missions Committee to conduct missionary visitation in their host countries.  The opportunity to see our missionaries in action and learn more about their context of ministry and how we might further support them is invaluable for the health and long-term sustainability of our missionaries and their ministries.  Note that these missionary visitation trips are unique in their scope and differ slightly from short-term mission trips that SDCF normally conducts, which focus more on missions exposure for the team members as they serve alongside missionaries and other local church workers in host countries.


This year’s missions trip is primarily a missionary visitation trip, with Pastor Rick and Sally Barreyro sent as representatives of the Missions Committee as they serve Pastor Ep and Lulu Brion.  While planning for this trip, the Brions and Pastor Rick decided on three other other church leaders - Van and Menard Fronda, and Gloria Morales - who would accompany them and assist the Brions in the conference they would be conducting to refresh local pastors.  All three serve as ministry leaders in their congregations and are successful graduates of Pastor Ep’s 2024 Personal Evangelism Workshop.  Van Fronda is also a member of the Missions Committee.  We praise the Lord for each team-member’s availability and willingness to serve!


Philippine Missions Team FAQs

  • How long will the Mission Trip last?  The official ministry schedule for the PMT will be February 28 - March 5.  The team members will be on their own after that period.
  • What will the PMT be doing?  As part of their visitation, time will be spent by Pastor Rick and Sally Barreyro encouraging the Brions.  For the period of Feb 28 - Mar 5, the entire PMT will be accompanying the Brions to their host church, Union Church Manila, and then preparing for and conducting the pastors refreshing conference in the province of Laguna that will minister to local pastors and their spouses.
  • How were the members of the 2025 Philippine Missions Team (PMT) selected?  Pastor Rick and Sally were designated to be representatives for missionary visitation by the Missions Committee .  Van, Menard, and Gloria were selected by the Brions and Pastor Rick from amongst the graduates of the Personal Evangelism Workshop. 
  • Where is the financial support to send the PMT coming from?  As part of our Missions Budget our church maintains a fund for short term missions trips.  A portion of that fund was designated for the travel expenses of the PMT.  A giving fund was also established for anyone who would like to contribute to the PMT.  The funds collected are to be distributed amongst the members of the PMT to cover travel expenses as the team determines as well as to help offset the cost of the pastors refreshing conference.  Each team member is ultimately responsible for all travel expenses not covered by the funds provided.
  • Will SDCF be organizing more short-term Missions Trips in the future?  God-willing, as the needs of our missionaries and the church abroad arise, we will be sending teams to come alongside others for the sake of the Gospel. Our hope is for our church to learn, grow, and experience a healthy expression of biblical missions, and there will be opportunities for church team members to participate in both the going and the sending aspects of those efforts.
  • Did the PMT undergo any training for this trip?  It is a top priority for us to equip the saints for the work of ministry (Eph. 4:12). With that in mind, Pastor Rick has led the team through the material Helping Without Hurting in Short-Term Missions (Corbett & Fikkert, 2014) and will have a debriefing session upon their return.



* All SDCF missions initiatives are overseen by the Missions Committee, which reports directly to the Board of Elders.  The Missions Committee sets the budget for missionary support annually as well as provides direct oversight for SDCF Commissioned Missionaries.  We believe that missionaries and those they serve benefit greatly when they are sent out by their own local church.  In this arrangement, the missionaries receive priceless holistic support and relational encouragement, and the sending church benefits from embracing the role of sending and supporting brothers and sisters that they love and know personally, directly participating in the work of the gospel advancement.