Paracletos, Inc. was founded by Dave and Irene Lewis. They came to know the Lord in the early 70’s in Albuquerque, New Mexico, and were immediately involved in a ministry of campus outreach at the University of New Mexico. From the beginning of their walk with the Lord they were exposed to God’s heart for the world and were obedient to Christ’s command to pray that the Lord of the harvest would send forth laborers. God nurtured their desire to co-labor with Christ through their ministry of hospitality, through their roles as small group facilitators and Bible study leaders, and through involvement in the lives of missionaries through prayer and financial support. Dave also served as interim pastor in two churches and associate pastor of missions in two others.
God blessed them with two daughters and a son over the next 13 years. During that time their prayers progressed from asking God to send laborers into the harvest fields, to asking him if they were meant to go, to beseeching God for the privilege of being sent themselves.
In 1988 God answered their prayers and the family began training under New Tribes Mission. Armed with the rudiments of cross-cultural church planting techniques, Bible translation methods, and linguistics, they arrived in the country of Thailand in 1993 to begin 7 1/2 years of ministry. Their college-age daughters remained in the U.S. while their 7-year-old son went with them. They served in a variety of administrative roles in the field office and as church planters in a tribal village.
During those years on the mission field they saw firsthand the need for pastoral care for missionaries. They also witnessed incredible attrition that oftentimes was linked to the lack of such care. They developed a deep sense of empathy for missionaries who, for whatever reason, are beyond the reach of normal care providers. It was also during those years that God began to unveil a new vision for their personal ministry as he worked through them to provide encouragement for their fellow missionaries.
They returned to the U.S. in 2001 and began pursuing their vision. One year later they formed a non-profit corporation, Paracletos, Inc., for the purpose of caring for the souls of missionaries. Their desire is to help equip the body of Christ to provide pastoral care for those of God's servants who serve as part of the harvest force and who, far too often, are in desperate need of such care.