About Us
The Early Days
This photo is from the early days when we would meet in a chuch parking lot and car pool to the Indian Reservations. We would knock on doors and hand out a Bible in English or Spanish and then provide the children with pocket-sized New Testaments.
We would ask if we could pray with the families and if hearts were open, we would share the Gospel. When the family was not at home we would leave them a tract to read that included our phone number for a free Bible. Oh the stories we all could tell when we would visit the reservations and the adventures we had!
Our Vision
Our Vision is to present the Native Americans with the Gospel of Jesus Christ. We do this with the Bibles and Christian materials that we supply to the reservations.
Our Team
Our current board of directors includes Don Rasmussen, President, Vicki Aznoe, Vice President Linda Todhunter, Chief Financial Officer and Karen Eelma, Secretary/ Treasurer. American Indian Ministries is run completely by volunteers and over 90% of our incoming funds purchase Bibles, books and various supportive Christian materials for the reservations.
Our History
American Indian Ministries began in 1983, when the Lord gave Dr. Rasmussen and his wife, Nancy, a vision for Native Americans.
Soon, God brought a Native American family into their lives, Pastor George Luther and his wife Sarah. George was completing his degree in theology and planned to minister to his own First Nation people on the Hopi Reservation in New Mexico. From this friendship came the birth of American Indian Ministries, also known as A.I.M. We began to take Bibles to the San Diego county reservations. Over the years the ministry has expanded to California, Arizona, New Mexico, Wyoming, Montana, Wisconsin, and Southern Mexico.
Others who worked with us were Arthur Allen, Frank Lokits, Karen Eelma, Dr. Paul Blaze, Garry Bishop, Mary Goodison, Mark Murtomaki, Mindy Chenault, Vicki Aznoe, and many more. Karen became our Treasurer and Mary served as our Secretary after we became a non profit organization. Arthur was our CFO, and Mindy became our Vice President until her death in August of 2016. A.I.M still uses many of the books and Bible lesson plans she authored.
We have continued visiting reservations, presenting Family Bibles, Illustrated Children’s Bibles, the Book of John in English or Spanish , and our most requested book “Armed and Dangerous”, along with many other Christian books and materials. We hear many stories of Native Americans appreciating the materials.
Over the years, we realized that it was an insurmountable task to reach millions of Native Americans in North America, let alone the thousands living in Southern California. The Lord paved the way for A.I.M to be able to work with pastors and bible teachers who distributed the Bibles and Christian books we could send them. They always ask for more.
We are also assisting pastors in building their own reference libraries, several of whom lost all of their reference materials to wild fires in San Diego county. One church was purposely burned down so we are encouraging their rebuilding of a new all metal structure. Many have specified their donations for this purpose.
What do we need? We would welcome you to accompany us on our visits to the reservations. Your support to purchase the thousands of Bibles, tracts, and other supportive materials we distribute is crucial. We also need writers, clerical help, vans, researching and mapping of reservations, telephone callers, and above all else, prayer warriors. Prayer has opened every necessary door and kept us effective on our many trips.
If you have a heart for the Native Americans, or would like more information on our ministry, please contact us.