About TLA Ministries: Statement of Faith
1. We believe in the Holy Scriptures, limited to the 39 canonical books of the Old Testament and the 27 canonical books of the New Testament, comprising the 66 books of the Christian Protestant Holy Bible. We accept fully the writings of the Old and New Testaments as the very Word of God, verbally inspired in all parts, inerrant, infallible and authoritative as the final rule of faith and practice.
2. We believe in the Trinity: that there is one God eternally existing in three Persons: the Father, the Son (our Lord Jesus Christ), and the Holy Spirit.
3. We believe in the absolute and full Deity of our Lord Jesus Christ; His virgin birth; His blood shed on the cross of Calvary as the only satisfactory substitutionary atonement for sin; His literal bodily resurrection from the dead; and His bodily Ascension into Heaven, there to be our Intercessor before God the Father.
4. We believe that the Holy Spirit is the third member of the Godhead, coequal with the Father and the Son, and that He convicts the world of sin, righteousness and judgment, makes believers into the children of God through the new birth, assuring them of Heaven, and that His indwelling presence enables all Christians to live holy and godly lives when they yield the members of their bodies to His control.
5. We believe that all human beings are by nature and choice sinful and lost, and have within themselves no possible means of salvation.
6. We believe in salvation by grace through faith alone; that salvation is the free gift of God, not by any virtue or works of men, but received only by personal faith in the Lord Jesus Christ; that all true believers possess the following blessings: the gift of eternal life, a perfect righteous standing before God “in Christ”, membership in the family of God, and the Divine guarantee that they shall never perish.
7. We believe in the existence of the evil enemy of God and man referred to in Scripture as Satan and the Devil, who is the Deceiver and Prince of this present world. We believe that he was defeated and judged at the Cross of Calvary, and therefore his final doom is certain.
8. We believe in the personal, bodily, visible and glorious return of our Lord Jesus Christ, the time being unrevealed but always imminent.
9. We believe that at death the spirits of the saved go immediately to be with Christ in Heaven until they receive their resurrection bodies at His return, and that the spirits of the unsaved at death descend immediately into Hell until the final day of Judgment, at which time their bodies shall also be raised from the grave, and they will be judged and cast into the Lake of Fire, the place of final and everlasting punishment, originally prepared for the Devil and his angels, not to be annihilated, but to be tormented forever.
10. We believe in the priesthood of all believers, that Christ is our Great High Priest, and through Him every born-again person has direct access into God’s presence without the need of a human priest; that the believer has the right and responsibility to personally study and interpret the Scriptures guided by the Holy Spirit, under the authority and teaching ministry established by the Holy Spirit through men whom He has gifted with the spiritual gifts of Evangelist, Pastor-Teacher and Teacher.
11. We believe that the New Testament Church is an organized body of born-again believers, practicing the Biblical ordinances and actively engaged in fulfilling the Great Commission of Matthew 28.
12. We believe that the two Biblical ordinances given to the local church are water baptism and the Lord’s Supper, to be partaken of by obedient Christians.
13. We believe in the everlasting conscious punishment of the wicked in Hell, and the everlasting conscious blessedness of the believers in Heaven.
OBJECTIVES
1. Encourage young Christian workers who are called to fulfill the Great Commission.
2. Teach them in spiritual disciplines and godly virtues.
3. Train them to become faithful expositors of the Word of God and effective Biblical Counselors.
4. Equip them with tools, training, and resources that would enhance their ministry.
5. Empower them to serve churches, Christian organizations, society, and the nations in Asia.
6. Accept partnership with like-minded Christian movements and institutions.
7. Receive God-given resources locally and globally toward the fulfillment of the vision of TLA.
Our Strategies
- Establish a Center for Transforming Leaders in Asia (CTLA), a TRAINING and RETREAT Center for Pastors and Christian Workers with programs for training in evangelism, disciple making, Biblical Counselling and preaching of the Word of God.
- Conduct activities that will encourage, equip, and empower native Christian workers.
- Facilitate the ministry of Dr. A.K. Lama and Dr. Asangla Ao in Asia.
- Utilize the resources available among the like-minded Christian leaders globally.
Board OF DIRECTORS
Ted Vonk | President
Ted graduated from Iowa State University with a degree in Education. After receiving an MA degree from Western Michigan University he served as a Director of Counseling in Michigan and later as Academic Principal at Woodstock School in Mussoorie North India. Upon returning to the USA he became the Director of a Career and Technical Center. Ted is a member of the Jibit Asha Board which gives direction to Christian ministry outreach in Nepal.
Teunis Lee DeYoung | Secretary
Lee is retired from Words of Hope, an International media ministry based in Grand Rapids, MI, where he served for 33 years as the Vice President for International Ministries. Lee earned his B.A. from Hope College in Holland, Michigan, and an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business. He also attended Western Theological Seminary in Holland, Michigan.
Lee has served as an Elder and Vice President of the Consistory at Hager Park Reformed Church in Jenison, MI. He is also active on its worship and prayer teams, IT, and occasionally preaches. In the Reformed Church in America (RCA), Lee has served as the President of the General Synod, Moderator of the General Synod Council, Commission on Nominations, and twice President of the South Grand Rapids Classis. He currently serves on the Regional Synod of the Great Lakes Executive Committee.
An Illinois native, Lee grew up in the south suburbs of Chicago. He and his wife Sheri have resided in Jenison, Michigan, since 1985. They’ve been blessed with four adult children and 30 grandchildren.
Ray Stroup | Treasurer
Ray, a graduate of Auburn, is a project manager. He has been in the financial industry for 30 years. Tiese, his wife, is a Regional training facility manager for a National Banking institution. They are blessed with twin daughters and three grandchildren.
A. K. Lama | Consultant for Field Ministries
AK is a Veterinary doctor by profession. He worked as a campus minister for 8 years. He earned a Doctor of Ministry from the Beeson Divinity School and a Doctor of Philosophy in the Old Testament from the Trinity International University.
Asangla Ao | Consultant for Women’s Ministry
Asangla, wife of AK, is a medical doctor. She worked as a campus minister for 8 years. She earned a Master of Divinity from Samford University and a Master of Counseling in Ministries from the Trinity International University. She is a homemaker and a mother of three children.
Board MEMBERS
Sheron Conner | Board Member
William Conner | Board Member
Nikki Davis | Board Member
Scott Davis | Board Member
Scott Gregory Davis, Jr. is a 1994 graduate of Bibb County High School. He continued his education at Auburn University receiving a Bachelors of Science in Forest Engineering in 1998. Upon a calling of God to pursue seminary, Dr. Davis received his Masters of Divinity from Beeson Divinity School at Samford University in 2001 and his Doctor of Ministry from New Orleans Baptist Theological Seminary in 2017.
Scott serves as the Pastor of Fayette First Baptist Church in Fayette, AL. He is married to Nikki and they have four children: Tre(13), Quinn(11), Elizabeth(9), and Micah(5). Nikki is an RN and works at Bevill State Community College.
Scott is passionate about preaching, missions, and workplace ministry. He enjoy hunting, fishing and working with his hands, but mostly spends his extra time supporting his children in their extracurricular activities.
Bill Marshall | Board Member
Tiese Stroup | Board Member
Tiese is a Regional training facility manager for a National Banking institution. They (Tiese & Ray) are blessed with twin daughters and three grandchildren.
Eleanor Vonk | Board Member
Eleanor is a graduate of Western Michigan University and taught upper elementary for many years. She’s married to Ted and they have 4 children. The family spent five years in India serving at Woodstock International School. Ted and Eleanor have served three short terms in Niger West Africa with the purpose of advancing Christian Education in Niger. They have been deployed with the Red Cross Disaster Relief Teams on many occasions. Eleanor has been active in leading and participating in Bible studies and women’s groups.
Associate Board MEMBERS
Angela Olexa | Associate Board Member
Angela received her degree in Public relations from the University of Florida. She has spent most of her career as a homemaker raising her two children. Her daughter, Abby, is an accountant in Dallas, Texas and her son, Anderson, is finishing his degree in supply chain management at Auburn University. Angela has has spent the last seven years as a Pharmaceutical sales representative.
Greg Olexa | Associate Board Member
Greg, a graduate of the University of Florida, has more than 23 years working in the pharmaceutical sales industry. He has a devotion to international missions and has been to more than 16 different countries. He serves as a deacon at Shades Mountain Baptist church in Birmingham, AL and is involved in ministry to men. He and his wife Angela have two grown children, Abby and Anderson.
Founding President
Jim Thomason | Founding President
“I am convinced that God has ordained Dr. A. K. Lama to work among his people in India in a mighty way. I have been blessed to be a part of this ministry.”
Jim, a graduate of Georgia Tech, worked 16 years for Westinghouse Power System, 25 years as representative of Electrical Power Equipment, 5 years as Residential and Commercial Real Estate agent, and 6 years as associate on IMB Development council (SBC). He has traveled to England, Romania, South America and India on mission trips.