Colville Missionaries Built Native Ministry on Faith, Relationship Building and Storytelling

Colville Missionaries Built Native Ministry on Faith, Relationship Building and Storytelling

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News Story by Loren Negron

“You may get killed, but you will never get bored.”

David Norman thought about these words as he pondered about all the jobs he worked throughout this life. He jumped from one job to another because he was bored. Norman worked as a salesman for a pet shop, sold Cadillacs and copiers, among other jobs. 

But when Norman’s missionary friend visited him at work and told him of an opportunity that might get him killed but would satisfy his boredom, he knew he needed to say yes.

“Are you willing to kind of jump off a cliff and say yes to God?” Norman asked his wife, Diane, as they sat in their driveway with their three children.

Everyone prayed and said they obeyed the call to the mission field. Norman’s friend served in Native American ministry and encouraged the Norman’s to live on a reservation during the summer of 1984, followed by a months-long, cross-cultural training with North America Indigenous Ministries.

Since then, the Norman’s have spent almost 40 years working with Natives across the country and now live in Colville ministering to the Colville Tribes.

Storytelling with a culture of storytellers

It took many years of learning and immersing themselves into the Native culture for the Norman’s to feel accepted in those communities. Norman said ministering to them is a slow process because it’s built around relationships.

The Norman’s rely on storytelling to bridge the gap between cultures. The Native culture is naturally a community of storytellers, Norman said. They use storytelling to connect with people.

“I can tell a story, and I won’t be pointing the finger at anybody. I’m telling my story, so you don’t feel threatened. You can listen to it because I’m not trying to coerce you into becoming a believer,” Norman said.

Though many Native practices may seem very far off from Christian beliefs and values, the Norman’s have found many similarities between the two cultures. Norman said they call God “Creator,” and so they have been able to speak to the tribes they’ve worked with by referring to God as “Creator.”

Native Americans also believe in signs and wonders, which Christians call miracles.

Their communities have a chief, who is seen as a leader and as the biggest servant in the community, and the chief’s role resembles Jesus’ servant-leadership.

Prayer is also an important aspect in Native American culture.

Knowing when to speak

The key is to know when to speak and to be led by the Holy Spirit, Norman said. It can be easy to push people away by trying to coerce people to believe a certain way. However, through storytelling, the Norman’s are able to share their testimonies and the miracles they’ve experienced in their lives as a way to share the Gospel to the Native American community.

During one of their Native ministry visits to a jail, Norman was conversing with a Native who was reluctant to hear about Jesus. So Norman said he asked if the man was willing to hear his story of how he accepted Jesus as his savior when he was seven years old. At the end of the story, the man gave his life to Jesus.

“In the Native culture, you allow God to work in people’s lives,” Norman said. “You’re simply praying for him, and you’re praying for an opportunity to share a story.”

Through storytelling, the Norman’s have been able to expand their Native ministry in different ways. Norman said they have hosted Native conferences, including the Intertribal Gathering where people feast, drum and share stories about the Creator. They have a men’s warrior circle where they minister to Native veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder. They have also visited Natives in their homes, jails and schools to connect with the community better.

Contextualized ministry

The Norman’s walked into this ministry knowing that they were bringing the Gospel to a people who have been hurt by missionaries in the past, said Corb Morgan, a long-time friend of the Norman’s and co-founder of the Native ministry Many Tribes Walking This Way.

Being aware of the trauma and the history is part of the Norman’s contextualized ministry approach, Morgan said. This entails being sensitive about Native heritage without trying to erase their culture.

“When missionaries come and they try to erase the culture that exists, that’s always painful,” he said.

Jan Morgan, Corb’s wife who is a member of the Juaneno Band of Mission Indians Acjachemen Nation in California, said the Norman’s had to learn to be patient and communicate without condemnation toward the Native community. 

“You can minister to people, but if they don’t trust you, you have to be trusted in order for you to speak,” she said.

The Morgan’s have witnessed how the Norman’s have immersed themselves into the Native culture. Morgan said the Norman’s hold gatherings and conferences to honor the Native culture where they wear regalia themselves and dance with the community.

Connecting to and respecting Native culture

The Norman’s also connected with Natives well by partnering with Indigenous leaders, Morgan said. As white people, it’s sometimes difficult for the Norman’s to speak to the Natives because they’re not like them. Morgan even finds it challenging at times to connect with Natives, whereas his wife is more trusted since she’s Native.

“If you’re a missionary, you’re never going to be one of them, but you can be there with them,” he said.

Before moving to Colville about five years ago, the Norman’s lived in Tacoma. Norman said he spent many years working with at least 18 elementary schools in the Tacoma-Seattle area, mentoring children and helping promote the Native culture. Because he built relationships with the children and their families, the Native community embraced him.

Norman said he remembers attending a powwow he helped organize, and the Natives honored him with a drumming and dancing performance. They also made a red and black regalia for him to wear, which were his favorite colors. That was the day he and his wife were accepted by the Native community.

Simply growing his hair out and wearing a turquoise ring helped Norman relate to the community better. He said it was a great way for him to start conversations with Natives.

“I think probably at times [our ministry] gives them some hope that maybe white people can change because it breaks the stereotype of what white people do and the way they think,” Norman said.

Relationship building goes a long way

Ty Satiacum has known the Norman’s since kindergarten. Norman was a Native education teacher and organized many activities in and out of the school to help Native students connect with their culture. Satiacum said he went on many trips with the Norman’s, including a whitewater rafting trip in Colorado and a survival wilderness camp in Canada.

One of Satiacum’s first trips with the Norman’s was a camp in Colville where they ministered to the Colville Tribes. As a member of the Puyallup Tribe and descended from the Yakama and Upper Skagit Indian Tribes, Satiacum said it was an experience for him to share the Gospel to his Native community at 14 years old.

“It was powerful for yourself to get to tell somebody about your story, and then watch them feel impacted by it enough to where they want to ask Jesus Christ into their heart,” he said.

From mission trips to 5 a.m. morning runs, the Normans were people Satiacum could go to for anything. Satiacum said the relationship they built helped him overcome challenging seasons in his life.

“Just to hear his positivity and help, you know, kind of helped me through a tough situation. I remember there was a time when we had lost contact with each other for at least a good five to six years, and I was going through one of those tough times. I had to bust out the phone book to find his number,” he said.

A legacy that honors Native culture

The Norman’s success in their Native ministry is grounded on the level of care they’ve shown for the Native communities they serve. Satiacum said the Norman’s have a lot of respect and knowledge of Native history, and their genuineness makes them trustworthy.

“Their life’s work has literally been to spread the message and that’s all they’ve done,” he said. “They’ve never let anything deter them from spreading that message and staying involved with the Native community.”