Chuck’s father said, ‘Don’t bother to come to Costa Rica unless you’re going to commit for five years.’ So we said, ‘Well, we’ll go for five years and see how God works,’” Joy Befus ’83 says.

With Chuck’s full construction business and Joy’s childcare center, the Befuses had plenty of opportunities to stay stateside and make money.

“But that just wasn’t what we wanted to do,” Chuck Befus ’84 says.

Their plan was to go to Costa Rica to help Chuck’s aging parents—who had been the first Grace Ministries International missionaries to Costa Rica—for at least five years.

“We didn’t know we were going to end up staying here 37 years,”Joy says.

The better part of four decades on the mission field holds plenty of adventures, challenges, and stories of God’s faithfulness. Chuck and Joy have seen a lot.

Second Generation Grace Graduate

Chuck was one of Clarence ’61 and Elnora’s eight children raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, near Milwaukee Bible Institute, where his father studied. Named after its founder, Charles F. Baker, Chuck was the only one who attended Grace Christian University; everyone else went to Wheaton College in the Chicago suburbs. At Grace, he met Joy Edwards, who, ironically, was from the Chicago area. They had a lot in common: they’d both grown up in church, they both appreciated large families, and, most importantly, were Christians and wanted to be in full-time Christian service.

“We were so encouraged by the idea that we could do ministry,” Chuck says.

Grace Christian University’s curriculum was full of ministry and missions-focused themes. Dr. Sam Vinton ’55, having grown up on the mission field, taught from a wealth of experience as a missionary in Congo, West Africa. Naturally, Africa held plenty of connections, and students were encouraged to consider it for a mission field.

But neither Chuck nor Joy wanted to go to Africa. Latin America sounded much better. And since his parents were already there, it made sense.

After Chuck and Joy married in 1982, they stayed in Grand Rapids for five years while Chuck tried his hand at pastoral ministry, something his professors encouraged him toward. They saw ministry potential in him and he was qualified for it, thanks to his bachelor’s in theology and pastoral studies. But while he always knew he was headed for ministry, he also knew he didn’t really want to be a traditional pastor.

The plan was to start a school in Costa Rica, so Chuck earned a secondary history education  degree from Calvin University. They’d start a school, he’d teach high school history, and help his parents. So off Chuck and Joy went, with one child in tow.

The Costa Rica Adventure

It was a fine plan, and it worked for about a year. Until:

“The man who was the pastor took the money from the offering and ran,” Chuck says. “Never saw him again except for when he wanted more money.”

Because Chuck was teaching a class, the church looked to him. He told them not to call him pastor, but as time went on, he assumed more and more church responsibilities in addition to the school, the Sunday school, and the school’s chapels.

“I had to decide what a church looked like,” Chuck says. “And how I was going to get it into the people’s hands…The true job of a missionary is to work yourself out of a job.”

Once that church became more established, they began planting new churches. One in Nicaragua, then one in Panama, and now they’re working with national missionaries who will be going to Honduras or Colombia. It’s exciting work, but not always easy work.

“The struggles with people are the hardest thing,” Chuck says. “I think it’s Satan trying to discourage and change directions or something. It’s hard when you’re discipling people and they turn on you.”

But Chuck and Joy will tell you that God has always been faithful to bring them exactly what they need when they need it. Chuck recalls a recent challenge that caused some friction: the church purchased a piece of land for well under the value price but couldn’t sustain the whole thing long-term. Sharp disagreements and worries of bankruptcy floated through the church. But at just the right time, God sent a buyer for a portion of the land that offered more than they paid for it, and now the church is completely debt-free.

“But you just have to be faithful and say, ‘God, we’re waiting on you,’” Chuck says. “And God opens the doors.”

Going Big

“We went to start a school,” Chuck says. “We thought very small, but God said, ‘This is a lot bigger than you are.’ And it’s way bigger than I thought it was going to be.”

The church and school were not the only ministries Chuck and Joy saw God grow while in Costa Rica. Their family began growing, too. Their oldest child was born in 1985, in Grand Rapids, and Joy was pregnant for their second when they moved to Costa Rica. Chuck and Joy welcomed a baby into their family and the world every two years until 2001.

That adds up to nine.

One family. Two parents. Nine children. All raised in Costa Rica among ministry and career transitions and the general chaos a family brings in the early years. Chuck and Joy homeschooled the kids through the sixth grade.
After that, they attended an international school so they would be ready for college in the United States. Michigan, actually. Grand Rapids, specifically.

Grace Christian University, to be exact.

No, Chuck and Joy didn’t require their children to attend Grace Christian University. But they encouraged each of them to spend a year at Grace to build a solid biblical foundation for whatever God would lead them to do.

And they did!

All nine of them spent time at Grace Christian University. Four of them met spouses there, and now one of them serves on the board.

“We’re hoping that our grandchildren will be able to go there, too,” Joy says with a bounce in her voice.

The chances are good. Chuck and Joy have 17 grandkids—so far.

Chuck & Joy Befus’ nine children

The Befus Legacy

It’s certainly no small task to raise a large family on the mission field. And Chuck and Joy wouldn’t say they have it all figured out or did everything right, in ministry or in parenting. But their firm belief and advice is the same to anyone: keep Christ central.

“You have to have your own relationship with God to help you through all the ups and downs that everybody faces in this world,” Joy says.

Five years could turn into 37. A family could grow from 2 to 11 to 20 to 37 and counting. Plans could get turned upside down in all the best ways. But the Befus legacy is not about the Befuses. It’s about Christ.

“If you want to have a life that’s full,” Chuck says, “it’s got to be in Christ.”

Read more stories like this in The Journey Magazine | Spring 2024 >