MINISTRY FOCUS

Jon and Rita Slankard look forward to serving as Limited-Term Missionaries. Jon served 3 years in the U.S. Army, including one tour in Vietnam, and now sees what a difference it would have made in his service time and in his life if there had been a ministry such as Cadence available to him. They will provide short-term staffing for vacant Cadence locations, where they will connect with the military community and offer Christ-centered hospitality.

FAITH

Rita was raised in a Midwest farm family that attended Christmas and Easter services. She did not have much exposure to the gospel but did attend a Billy Graham event while in college. Jon and Rita were married in 1971, both without Christ in their lives.

Living in New Orleans, Rita was invited to church by her hairdresser and introduced to a women’s Bible class, where she was exposed to the gospel and committed women. Because of the faithfulness of her hairdresser and the members of the Sunday School Class, she ultimately received Christ and was baptized.

Jon grew up in a church-going family. However, it was a very legalistic church, and he quickly moved away from any form of religion after leaving home. Rita and her Sunday School class began praying for Jon’s salvation, and eventually, after ten years of resistance, he softened and began feeling Christ’s call on his life. The turning point was hearing a sermon on Romans 8:1 about no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. That freed Jon from the baggage of his legalistic home church and opened the door to him receiving salvation and being baptized. Rita led Jon to Christ in their home in 1991. Jon’s testimony, in a nutshell, is that God showed him that you can have a successful business and all the things the world offers, but true happiness is impossible without Jesus in your life.

FAMILY

Jon and Rita have three children and eight grandchildren, all of whom live in Littleton, Colorado. The Slankards are thankful to be so close to family.