Throughout our nation’s history, Indigenous people have been among the most marginalized groups of American society. Native American ministry in The Alliance dates back many decades. However, for much of that history, Indigenous voices were not well represented. “When I was called to Minnesota as a director, I was the last licensed Native pastor among our nine association churches,” recalls Zane Williams, who has dedicated over 20 years to Indigenous ministry within The Alliance and currently serves as the president of The Alliance’s Native American association, a role he will soon surrender when a new president is elected this summer.

The Indigenous communities that The Alliance seeks to serve have faced deep and ongoing hardships. Poverty, family separation, and the historic trauma of a disappearing culture are commonplace among these communities. As a result, many Indigenous families have sought meaning and healing wherever they could, often turning to their environment to ease their loneliness and depression. But that path is short-lived and often destructive.

 

 

Native Churches Offer True and Lasting Hope

In response, Indigenous churches are finding ways to help these families reclaim their lives and legacies. The gospel, presented in ways that affirm their identity and respect their story, becomes more than just theology – it becomes a lifeline.

Ministry in the midst of these hardships, however, is far from easy. Spiritual wounds persist, fueled by past betrayals and tensions between traditional Native beliefs and Christianity. Many on the reservations find it hard to trust outsiders, making it difficult for non-indigenous pastors to shepherd Native congregations. Williams points to syncretism – a mixing of spiritual beliefs – as a particularly difficult challenge, one that many outside pastors struggle to understand.

It’s important to have Indigenous pastors because they can relate to their people.

Trust and healing within these communities are built most naturally and authentically through Indigenous pastors who share a common history. These leaders have experienced the suffering firsthand while looking ahead to a common hope. “It’s important to have Indigenous pastors because they can relate to their people,” says Williams.

Watch Zane Williams unpack the challenges of indigenous ministry:

 

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The Birth of a Training Center

The response to this need is deeply rooted in community: the launch of the Indigenous Academy in Oklahoma City. Inspired by a church-based discipleship model in Mongolia, the Academy seeks to support Native leaders both on-site and through live-streamed classes from a central studio. These classes will teach future Native pastors how to best reach, disciple, and lead their communities, building on a foundation of scriptural truth. “Discipleship is done in the local church. The congregation and the elders of the church recognize the importance of this calling, and they financially and prayerfully support that student,” explains Williams, who will serve as the director of the Academy.

The Oklahoma site was intentionally chosen – not just for its central location but also because it sits in a region rich with a rich tribal heritage. Phase one of the project includes classrooms, a church, and office space. Future developments include student housing and a gym open to the community, which will also serve as a shelter during tornado-prone seasons.

This is not just an education project – it is a movement to raise leaders who can navigate the unique cultural terrain of Indigenous ministry with wisdom and empathy.

“One of the things that our association wants to do is to have a church plant right on campus,” says Williams. “We’ve been holding off our conference for some time because we think it’s important that our association churches can gather at the location they approved of six years ago in nearby Tuba City.” This is not just an education project – it is a movement to raise leaders who can navigate the unique cultural terrain of Indigenous ministry with wisdom and empathy.

 

 

Vital Partnerships

This vision has not been without obstacles; permitting delays, zoning issues, and renovations required persistence and lots of prayer. This is where Orchard Alliance entered the picture – not just as a lender, but as a ministry partner. “Orchard is an amazing partner… There have been so many roadblocks… but they patiently just hung in there, stayed with us,” says Williams. More than once, he notes, their meetings turned into moments of prayer over the phone.

The property itself, once home to an Alliance church with Native roots going back to the 1950s, was transferred by the Alliance’s South-Central District to the Native American Association. On March 6, after a 12-year journey, the deal closed with Orchard’s help. It was a significant milestone for the movement and an example of how God provides through partnership.

 

 

Looking ahead, Williams envisions a successful, thriving ministry: students discipled, churches planted, and communities transformed. He knows it won’t happen overnight. “They have to see it,” he says, referencing the long timelines of trust required in Native ministry. But he’s hopeful. “I would just ask that you pray for our school, our association churches, the pastors that are in them now, and the future pastors and church plants.”

As students are trained and communities served, the Indigenous Academy is not just preparing pastors – it is writing a new chapter in the forward progress of The Alliance’s All of Jesus for All the World vision.

Watch this moving story about the historic and ongoing ministry of the Navajo Mountain Alliance Church in Tonalea, Arizona.

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Orchard is grateful for our account holders, whose investments help train and equip new leaders—like those attending the Indigenous Academy—for vibrant ministry among underserved people.