A Bishop Says He's Drowning. We Can Help Him.

I became friends with a Canadian priest, the Rev. Darrell Critch, about 10 years ago in a work group for the new 2019 Book of Common Prayer. I was very impressed with my new friend. The ACNA has some very bright, well-educated, and dedicated clergy who care deeply about the life and expansion of the Gospel message.

Then two years ago, I heard he was elected to the office of bishop.

What?
Where?
Bishop of what?

I was confused.

I wrote about it his election and his ministry and invited readers of The Anglican to read about his ministry and help him.

My first article here. Read about his jumpstart diocese.

I thought he would do well, but I didn’t think he’d do THIS well this fast!

At a conference I attended near Toronto, held before his departure, he and I sat together and talked about how to raise the needed funds for the work.

I introduced the good bishop to Substack, and he started to write, documenting his inaugural ministry. The first several months make a fascinating read.

Go to his Substack: Bishop Darrell Critch “The Missionary Musings of Bishop Darrell Critch”. It is an amazing story—an ongoing story of joy, hardship, culture, gospel, prayer, spiritual warfare, Islam, and the Bishop’s relationship with Jesus Christ.

He has kept writing. He has a small group of subscribers, both free and paid, and he has been documenting his immersive start into the Diocese of Mahajanga in Madagascar. (Note the red pin in the map below.)

Here is what I wrote his ministry in an article entitled: Our Man in Madagascar.

Darrell Critch is the Missionary Bishop of Mahajanga, a region in Madagascar, one of the world’s poorest nations. Some of you will remember Darrell from his years of faithful ministry in the ACNA, particularly in Canada. What you may not know is that he has traded:

the familiar for the unknown,
the secure for the uncertain,
and the comfortable for the costly.

He has stepped into a diocese marked by poverty, instability, and real danger—and yet also marked by joy, faith, and a deep hunger for the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

Darrell did not go with a large sending agency behind him. There are no large, well-funded institutional safety nets in the ACNA. His ministry is sustained by prayer, providence, and the generosity of others who believe the Church must show up where Christ sends her shepherds.

He has a small Substack audience, but it is growing. And I believe that Substack could be the engine that could really help him get the word out, solicit prayer support, and raise a modest sum for the work of ministry.

Recently, I heard from him again. I read his newsletter, and I noticed the photos in particular. They are a pictorial catalog of a caring and loving man who is beginning at the basics of ministry in a place marked by poverty, hunger, and the hard presence of Islam.

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Bishop Darrell wrote me recently. And his letter alarmed me. He has a problem. He said he was drowning. Not literally, but financially. Here’s how he expressed it:

I’m drowning.

I don’t say that lightly.

I can’t seem to get ahead of the expenses required to lead this growing diocese. Every month I find myself wondering how we will pay for the people and ministries God has entrusted to us.

That is why I am writing to you. I need some counsel and advice from the one to help me get this started.

The difficult part is that nothing about this financial pressure comes from failure. It comes from growth.

By God’s grace, I have more congregations than ever before.

• More people are worshipping Christ than ever before.

• More catechists, evangelists, theological students, and priests are serving than at any other time in the life of this diocese.

• Most of these are young men who have willingly gone to difficult places with little expectation of recognition or advancement.

• They simply want to serve Jesus.

It is one of the greatest privileges of my life to watch what God is doing here.

But growth has a cost.

• Every new leader needs training.

• Every theological student needs support.

• Every priest needs a place to live.

• Congregations need churches in which to worship. Schools need repairs. The daily work of the diocese continues whether the funds are available or not.

My wife and I have been using our own savings to keep this ministry moving forward. I receive no salary from the diocese. We live entirely from the generosity of friends who believe in this mission.

The reality is simple. Without continued support from outside Madagascar, we cannot continue at the present pace. We will have to slow down the training of leaders, delay ministry opportunities, and postpone work that desperately needs to be done.

That is heartbreaking because the opportunities before us have never been greater.

I am asking for help.

1. First, please pray. Pray for wisdom as I make difficult decisions. Pray that God would continue to raise up faithful leaders. Pray that He would provide what is needed for this growing work.

2. Second, if you are able, could you ask your contacts to make a significant financial gift? Better yet, would you consider becoming a regular monthly supporter? (via Substack or direct gifts to his agency here in North America.)

Every gift, whether large or small, helps train leaders, support clergy serving in remote places, strengthen congregations, and extend the gospel throughout northwest Madagascar.

And if you know a family, parish, foundation, or donor who might be able to make a substantial investment in this ministry, I would be deeply grateful if you would introduce us.

My hope is not simply to meet next month’s expenses.

My prayer is to raise up a generation of faithful evangelical leaders who will strengthen the Church, plant new congregations, and help this diocese become financially self-supporting over time.

I believe that day can come.
But we cannot reach it alone.

Thank you for praying. Thank you for believing in what God is doing here. And thank you for standing with us in this work of the gospel.

I am breaking protocol in this quick letter to the readers of The Anglican. I do not use this platform to showcase ministries in the hope of helping them raise funds. That isn’t why many of you read The Anglican.

But I hope you will hear about his situation. And read his request for help. And I truly hope that many of you will do three things:

1. Join his Substack

2. Pray for his ministry. It is exhilarating and difficult.

3. Become a supporter.

Grace and peace,

David Roseberry+
The Anglican

PS: Many of you know that I am the Executive Director of LeaderWorks, a non-profit ministry to help leaders in ACNA do their work. Our audience is the clergy in North America, but in this case, I could not sit idly by. I felt it important to help him. (Eight Time Zones Away from Plano!)

LeaderWorks has sent a check for $5,000 to help support the bishop and his ministry. Last year we made a much larger donation to this ministry. He needs all we can do.

Will you help him? You can sign up for his Substack and even become a Paid Subscriber or his Founder’s level. But he does need our help. He needs your help.

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Co-Director of Missionary Care and Mission Engagement
Society of Anglican Missionaries and Senders (SAMS)
P.O. Box 399
Ambridge, PA 15003 USA
Call SAMS: 1-724-266-0669
Contact: chelseaweeldreyer@samsusa.org

You Can Give to Bishop Darrell Critch

Read about his pool party!