David & Debbie Board #1275

Dave and Debbie both came to know the Lord at a young age and attended a Christian school in the Midwest. Dave began working with the Cambodian people in 1984 while living in Des Moines, Iowa, where he learned the Khmer language and became familiar with the culture. They were married in 1988, and in 1990 they began serving as home missionaries to Cambodian refugees who had fled civil war and relocated to Long Beach, California.

While serving alongside Pastor Joe Esposito, a former BIMI missionary, they witnessed the growth of a Khmer-speaking congregation and gained valuable ministry experience that later proved invaluable on the foreign field. In 2003, the Board family was commissioned by Pacific Baptist Church as foreign missionaries to Cambodia. At that time, they joined BIMI.

God has richly blessed the ministry in Cambodia, which now reaches hundreds of children, teenagers, and adults each week. Serving with the Boards is a strong team of Cambodian-Americans who were reached with the gospel during the years the Boards ministered in Long Beach. These individuals were later commissioned and sent out by Pacific Baptist Church to serve in Southeast Asia beginning in 2010. In addition, there is a faithful group of national believers who have been reached with the gospel and trained for the Lord’s work, serving in various full-time ministry roles.

The team has established churches and outreach ministries in 30 villages across five provinces. They operate a K5 Christian school with an enrollment of 65 students, all of whom are children of church members. Their Bible college currently has 40 students enrolled from their churches. The ministry reaches the Khmer, Cham, and Kuy people groups, who come from Buddhist, Muslim, and animistic backgrounds.

As team leader, Dave also makes frequent trips to a "creative-access" country to assist in training national church planters and disciple-makers. Dave and Debbie have three grown sons, two of whom are married and serve alongside them in ministry in Cambodia.

Missionaries in Cambodia: