About the Armstrongs

Dave and Velva both grew up in Christian homes. Their parents served faithfully, and their churches supported missions. They met at Ozark Christian College in Joplin, Missouri where they received their training and later were married. Dave and Velva have four children and five grandchildren whom they love dearly.

Dave served as a pastor to churches from 1983 until December 2020 including 26 years at his last ministry. Velva has served in many ways over the years with a passion for prayer, mentoring women, and worship ministry.

The Armstrongs have a heart for missionaries and recognize that often they do not have anyone they can look to as their own pastor while serving in the field. Missionaries can grow tired and discouraged dealing with stresses and challenges far from the support of their own faith family, birth family and friends. Wycliffe Bible Translators founder, Cameron Townsend, saw the need for pastoral care on the mission field and created the Pastors Beyond organization to help missionaries.

“We are excited to share in this ministry of encouragement to missionaries as a couple and to pastor missionaries on their own turf. We are ready to preach, teach, pray, listen, love, listen, encourage, babysit, listen, or serve in other ways needed. For almost four decades we served and shared God’s Word with people here in the U.S. Now, God has put it in our hearts and opened doors to offer pastoral care to brothers and sisters who serve far from home on the front lines,” Dave shared.

Each pastor-wife couple serving with Pastors Beyond establishes their own 501©3. The Armstrongs’ non-profit is "Grace on the Go Ministries”. Each couple raises their own prayer team and financial support to cover living expenses at their US home, travel to ministry assignments, and expenses while in the field anywhere from 2 weeks to 2 months at a time.