Global Outreach Director and Co-Founder Allan Martin Eliason has passed on to the next phase of his eternal life to be spent with his Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ, in His Kingdom. He died peacefully and qui-etly on March 22, 2011.
Reverend Eliason dedicated his life to serving the Lord in Christian ministry. He and Harle received a call to world missions shortly after having a life-changing encounter with the Lord in 1953. Allan then left his career as a carpenter and farmer to prepare for ministry at Bible School. While attending Bible School, he and Harle accepted an assignment to serve as missionaries to New Zealand for the Pentecostal denomination operating the school. At the end of 1959, Allan sailed with his family to New Zealand, where they spent four years planting churches and starting Sunday School programs.
During these years in the South Pacific, Allan and Harle began to formulate an idea for a different kind of mission agency. They discovered that American missionaries were often starting new ministries in countries where local Christians were already at work, with little formal cooperation between them. They realized that a more fruitful model would be to partner with these local Christians, who knew their home culture and required less financial support than traditional missionaries.
The Eliasons continued to harbor this dream after returning from New Zealand in 1964. Allan served in several ministry capacities in the following years, pastoring and planting new churches. In 1982, he was appointed Missions Pastor of the Valley Cathedral in Phoenix. Under Allan’s leadership, Valley Cathedral sponsored mission programs around the globe.
Early in 1986, the dream of founding a new mission agency was realized when Harle incorporated Global Outreach. By the end of that year, Global Outreach had become so involved in work in several countries that Allan resigned at Valley Cathedral to help operate the new organization. During his tenure as Chairman & General Director, Global Outreach ministered in approximately thirty countries. He made numerous missions trips to Mexico, Honduras and Asia to partner in ministry with the local Christian workers supported by Global Outreach. His lifetime of experience in missions proved to be an invaluable asset for Global Outreach, since many of the supported ministries were in their infancy. Allan engaged in preaching, teaching, writing, counseling, organizing work trips, and overseeing workers during his years with Global Outreach. He also served as a “Pastor at Large” for many Global Outreach partners in the greater Phoenix area.
Reverend Eliason was very thankful that he and his family were able to be used of the Lord to impact the lives of thousands of people in many areas of the world. A true and faithful servant of His Lord, He goes home to God with a full and happy heart.
