Gary and Mylinda are pastors and professors but mainly friends and connectors who walk alongside their sisters and brothers in Christ. They enjoy connecting students with leadership training, connecting scriptures to everyday life, and connecting people’s gifts with life changing ministries.

The Baits work with the Costa Rican Baptist Federation in pastoral and lay leadership development and theological education. There is an urgent need for committed, trained servant leaders for the churches. Recruiting, training, and encouraging leaders are some of the ways Gary and Mylinda spend their time and energy. This involves teaching courses at the Baptist Seminary in the San Jose area, and making practical ministry workshops available at a number of local church locations. Through annual events like a "Call Retreat" for people considering how God might be calling them into some kind of ministry, they help recruit new leadership for the churches and community ministries. Pastoral support groups, visits over coffee, and prayer walks through communities served by the local Baptist churches, are some of the many ways that the Baits “walk alongside” and encourage their Costa Rican friends.

Gary enjoys teaching preaching classes and encouraging his students to seriously study scripture and creatively communicate its transforming message. He also spends a great deal of time helping our North American and Costa Rican friends to make cross-cultural, Christ-centered connections while working and living together to build churches, share the Good News of Christ’s love, and learn from and pray for each other.

Mylinda has been able to use her artistic gifts and pastoral training to encourage worship that is biblical, rich in meaning, creative and thoroughly Latin-American. Believing that worship is not limited to Sunday mornings, but rather a daily expression of the life transforming and liberating love of Christ, Mylinda has sought to encourage the churches to reach beyond themselves. Mylinda is helping to establish “El Centro de Tranformación Mariposa” a church based family ministry working to keep young people out of the sex trade.

For Gary and Mylinda, and their children Jamie and Micah, it is an honor to work with their Costa Rican brothers and sisters.

Language used in ministry: Spanish