Bottle Fed to Spirit Led

Tina and Craig Rumbley, Directors of CBI-Belize and founders of First Fruits Ministries International.
(Click to enlarge)

During the mid-1990s Craig and Tina Rumbley found themselves hungry for more of God's Word. Tired of being bottle-fed by their pastor Sunday after Sunday they began studying the Bible for themselves. As the Rumbleys attempted to feed their insatiable hunger for more understanding, they came across Andrew's Gospel Truth radio program. They remember agreeing with most of Andrew's teaching, but their denominational background prevented them from fully receiving from his messages. Their studies coupled with Andrew's teachings only raised questions; questions to which their pastor could not provide
scriptural answers.

Instead of giving up, the Rumbley's unquenchable desire for a closer relationship with Jesus only grew stronger, and they pulled away from their denominational background and church. After two years of searching, they finally found another church to call home, New Life Family Fellowship in North Carolina. At New Life, Craig and Tina were discipled and set free from the bondage of legalism, and both received the Baptism in the Holy Ghost.

CBI-Belize is located in Belize City, Belize in Central America.
(Click to enlarge)Through their new church fellowship they began to attend a Bible study hosted by friends, Tom and Cindy Boyd. The Boyd's used some of Andrew's materials as the basis for their group study. Thanks to their new found freedom, the Rumbleys were able to fully receive from Andrew's teaching.

The Rumbley family became active in their church and their community; however Craig and Tina still felt limited in their effectiveness. Although they continued to study the Word on their own, and were in church up to five times per week, they realized that their appetites for the Word were not being fulfilled.

The Rumbley family, missionaries to Belize (Click to enlarge)After attending a Gospel Truth Seminar in Atlanta Craig and Tina sensed the Lord leading them to go to Bible college, but neither shared the idea with the other. God continued to speak to them until one day Tina told Craig she thought they were supposed to go school. To her surprise Craig agreed. The couple flew to Colorado Springs to attend the Charis Bible College (CBC) Expand Your Vision weekend, a weekend tailor made for those contemplating attending the school. Their weekend experience confirmed the desire in their hearts and led them to pack up their their five children, and move to Colorado. To lighten the load for the relocation of seven people, the Rumbleys sold or gave away the majority of their belongings before crossing the country.

Tina leading a Discipleship Evangelism class in a rural church.
(Click to enlarge)After their first year at CBC the Rumbley family was asked to spend the summer in the Dominican Republic (DR) running a mission team house for some friends who needed to return to the States. While in the DR, they served the needs of visiting short-term missionary teams. The Rumbleys learned a tremendous amount about life on the mission field from several seasoned, long-term missionary families. It was during this time that the entire Rumbley family realized they were called to foreign missions.

Craig teaching in a church in Belize. (Click to enlarge)Craig and Tina sat down with their children to discuss their thoughts, and found that they only had two requests: First, they wanted to be in an English speaking country so they would not be hindered in their relationship building. And second, they did not want to serve in Africa because they felt it was too far away from their home and their extended family. Keeping these requests in mind, the Rumbleys began seeking God about where they would serve after graduation from CBC.

Craig ministering to a man convinced the he would go to heaven because he is honest and doesn't steal.
(Click to enlarge)In 2008, after graduating from the two-year CBC program, the Rumbleys agreed to serve as part of an eight member missionary team being sent to open a new CBC extension school Charis Bible Institute (CBI), in Belize, a country that fit both of the Rumbley children's requests. Seven months after their arrival, the CBC staff in Colorado asked if the Rumbleys would be willing to take over as the Directors of CBI-Belize, the Rumbleys gladly accepted.

"There is such a hunger for the grace message here. Many have brought religion to Belize and many can quote entire chapters of the Bible, but very few people understand what it means to have a personal relationship with Jesus Christ. We are blessed to have the privilege of not only living in a relationship with Jesus, but to share His mercy and His grace here in Belize," Tina said.

Baptism in the Siburn River.
(Click to enlarge)Craig, who prior to attending CBC, worked long hours with his father in the family's custom automotive upholstery shop, had this to say about his new life in ministry, "We go and share the love of God with confidence now. We can reach out to folks and trust that we have an understanding of the Word of God that will allow us to minister to anyone that God puts in our path. We know the voice of our Shepherd, He speaks clearly, and we share what He says."

Craig and Tina's pursuit of intimacy with Jesus led them to freedom from the grip of legalistic religion. They sought for themselves the Kingdom, and the Lord has been faithful to guide them each step of the way.

For more information about CBI-Belize contact Craig and Tina via email: charis.belize@yahoo.com.

To keep up with the Rumbley's ministry visit their blog Belize for Jesus.