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REACH Inc., History

REACH Incorporated started in the Philippines. It grew out of the socioeconomic experience of the non-denominational mission organization called The Navigators. 

The name 'REACH' stands for:

Dawson Trotman founded the Navigators. Dawson was born in Bisbee, Arizona, U.S.A. in 1906 and after memorizing a number of Bible verses he was converted from an energetic but wasted life to a functioning disciple of Jesus Christ. He was a man God used to revive and popularize the long neglected New Testament theme of discipleship. 

He was captivated by what Christ had done for him.  Personal and "gospel team" evangelism became a dominant theme in his life. Personal intake of the Word of God through scripture memory and systematic Bible study also captured his imagination. Out of his fertile mind came scores of illustrations and principles designed to communicate the basic truths of Christian Living. These include the following:
 
 

  A systematic topical memory system;

The Wheel Illustration, which graphically demonstrates the relationship of basic disciplines in a dynamic and productive Christian Life;

  The Hand Illustration, which communicates the need and method of getting a strong "grasp" of the Scriptures and;

  The Big Dipper, which relates personal, Christian disciplines to the broader context of "reaching the world for Jesus Christ."

Dawson learned to adjust or contextualize evangelism and disciplemaking, fitting it into each new environment. He made six mischievous boys in his Sunday School class into a remarkable youth movement in Lomita, California. It captured the commitment and imagination of 256 boys and eventually pioneered a string of high school Bible clubs in the surrounding regions. 

Later, he began ministering to men in the U.S. Navy following the principle of 2 Timothy 2:2. He adopted a "man-to-man" type of evangelism and disciplemaking among the tough and generally hard drinking bunch of men. It was slow but sure. 

This led to the foundation of The Navigators, which grew in size and importance in the Christian world under his personal direction until his death in 1956.

 In 1948, the Navigators sent Roy Robertson, their first missionary' to Mainland China just before the fall of Shanghai to communist forces. By 1952, a handful of Navigator missionaries were scattered around Asia, Africa, and Europe. 

Gene and Mary Denler, 1953 to 1956, started a Navigator work in the Philippines in conjunction with the Philippine Crusades, now known as Overseas Crusades. The Navigator 'work began under its own banner in 1961 when the Denlers returned to the Philippines. Gene and Helen Tabor joined the Philippine Navigator staff in 1962.

In the early days of its Philippine work, The Navigators did not plan to have any involvement in socioeconomic development of its disciples. Its main goal was helping fulfill Jesus Christ's Great Commission by multiplying "laborers into the harvest."

The years that followed, however, brought events that required people to respond more flexibly than is possible with the highly specialized Navigator structure. Local disasters and disease outbreaks exacted their toll. Churches and homes of Navigator contacts toppled to the ground during typhoons and soaked in the floods from torrential rains. In quick response, Navigator people took to the disaster areas to share food, muscle power, and encouraging words. 

REACH, Inc. was born in the midst of these circumstances with the intention of providing logistical support to The Navigator work.

To help disaster-stricken Navigators recover economically; REACH started small employment and income-generating projects, such as backyard piggeries, small-scale boarding houses, and trading ventures in garlic, textiles, and a few other consumer goods.

Experiences gained through these modest efforts showed the need for larger-scale developments to benefit more people. The long-range goal was to hand dole-outs. It was to help people stand on their own feet, to provide a means of stabilizing their physical environment along with their spiritual development. In the holistic world of the Filipino, this looked quite practical. However, it marked only a beginning, and while God put the faith of the Christians to the test, discipleship took a new turn.

Filipino disciples began to better understand what it means to belong to one another as members of the family of God. They began to see themselves and other Christians more as whole beings, not as split personalities with conflicting interests in the physical and spiritual realms. Although they live in a secular, and sometimes-hostile world, they are citizens of heaven. However, while in this world, they are disciples of Jesus, and they are committed to a life of discipleship patterned after the One who called and chose them.

However, they wondered how they could best influence each other's lives -- as well as the lives of millions of other Filipinos -- for Christ, in ways that are meaningful and relevant. What should Christ's disciple be like in a country where most, people must work hard, just to survive?

 They decided to learn how to build character that would demonstrate their commitment as disciples of Christ. Their Christianity must impart meaning to the people around them. Their changed lives and their concern for whole persons would be their tools ensure a hearing for Christ's message of hope for their family and friends.

How should this vision for discipling people be translated to practical terms in a developing, agricultural country like the Philippines? It seemed obvious that they must have both serious disciplemaking and socioeconomic development. To do this they needed a training vehicle with two vital elements:

1) An economically productive business to serve as the indigenous logistic base upon which other socioeconomic services could be developed; and

2) A training center to provide a springboard for the building of Christian character and attitudes that foster self-reliance and ingenuity with the limited resources available.

In the early 1970's, the most logical approach appeared to be model farm. The Philippine government was commitment to agricultural development and there was a large pool of agriculture- trained Filipino disciples.

From 1971 to 1972, with permission from The Navigators International, a piggery project was tried, on an experimental basis. Although it proved to small to be economically viable, it provided insights into the mechanics of farm management, particularly on suitable feeds, market cycles, feeding techniques and the kind of technology for a larger project. 

The most significant outcome of the experimental stage was the development of new feeding techniques and production and testing of low-cost, high quality feeds made internally from locally obtained ingredients. Several trials have shown that these methods brought feed costs down by 30 to 40 % compared to equivalent commercial feeds in the market.

In 1974, seven hectares of land were leased in Pandi, Bulacan, an hour's drive north of Manila for an integrated farm project. After a series of work camps, participated in by Filipino Navigators, the thickets were cleared, pig houses and storage facilities were built, and part of the land plowed for the planting of crops.

This more systematic piggery project took the place of the backyard ventures of the past. With a gradual shift of management from Americans to Filipinos, business improved in terms of farm stock and facilities. By August 1977, under the supervision of a Filipino from the University of the Philippines College of Agriculture, farm assets (consisting of animals, buildings, and equipment) grew to almost P 100,000.

In 1975, the disciples reviewed the experience of the previous five years, and decided to create an organization separate from The Navigators to meet the financial and legal requirements of the Philippine government for income producing enterprises. The Philippine Securities and Exchange Commission approved REACH as a non-profit, non-stock corporation in 1976. In June 1978, it became an autonomous organization from The Navigators.

As new organization, the disciples wanted to set up a ministry, apart from the Navigators, to do contextualized disciplemaking. Initially, this consisted of a loosely connected family of disciples, which was called Lakas-Angkan. REACH, Inc. thus became the organizational and legal base supporting and advancing the Lakas-Ahgkan disciplemaking ministry. Quite apart from its origin and legal basis, REACH in itself was not a disciplemaking ministry but was the organization that provided the venue for the Lakas-Angkan movement to grow.

In 1978 REACH started its own disciplemaking ministry and since that time has provided both the support base and  disciplemaking.

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