Lutheran missionary/pilot dies in Colorado crash

by James Morgan

LAMP missionary/pilot Rev. Steve Dreher

The Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP) is mourning the loss of a missionary/pilot who helped bring the light of Christ to many. Rev. Steve Dreher of Salida,Colorado died Thursday, November 10 when his twin-engine Cessna crashed in a field near Alamosa,Colorado. Rev. Dreher was a full-time missionary/pilot with LAMP, the Edmonton-based cross-cultural ministry that aims to share the love of Jesus Christ with people in remote areas of northern Canada.

On his blog (www.lightaboutmypath.blogspot.com), he posted a devotion on October 30, using his experience supporting a vacation Bible school (VBS) in the Northern Ontario community of Fort Severn last spring to explain Psalm 103 as an example of how God continually seeks out believers and saves us from our transgressions. His love for the aboriginal people in the north is obvious through the many photos and video of their communities, art, and smiling children taking part in VBS programs.

In a 2007 LAMPLighter newsletter article, Rev. Dreher wrote about how much he enjoyed visiting the many friends he had made in the north and praised God for using LAMP as the tool that allowed him to bring the Gospel to the people there. “He encouraged me to keep working with the kids and keep steadfast in my faith,” says a resident of one northern community in one of the many comments recently posted on his blog.

“We at LAMP are all in shock at this time. Only the Gospel of Jesus Christ is sustaining us in this hour of deep sadness and loss,” says Rev. Bill Ney, a fellow LAMP missionary/pilot. LAMP is asking for prayers for Rev. Dreher’s wife Sarah and daughter Katie, his extended family, and LAMP staff.

According to an article in the Alamosa Valley Courier newspaper, the aircraft Rev. Dreher was flying was built in 1976 but had undergone total body maintenance earlier this year. The National Transportation Safety Board and Federal Aviation Administration are conducting an on-site investigation to determine a cause of the crash.

Lutheran Association of Missionaries and Pilots (LAMP) is a Listed Service Organization of Lutheran Church–Canada.

Updated: November 13, 2011

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