Missionary Sunday: David and Sylvia Potter

February 6, 2022 | 10:30 am - 12:30 pm

David and Sylvia Potter are global missionaries for the Church of the Nazarene in the South Pacific island nation of Vanuatu. They are involved in training and equipping pastors and leaders for the church in Vanuatu, as well as serving in mission finance and other supportive roles. They take great delight in helping others embrace Christ and become strong, equipped missional pastors and leaders for the church.

They were first appointed as medical missionaries to the Nazarene College of Nursing at Kudjip, Papua New Guinea, in 1992 and served there until they accepted the call to begin the work of the Church of the Nazarene in Vanuatu in 2003.

David received a B.S. in Nursing from Point Loma Nazarene College in San Diego, California, in 1979. He received an M.A. in Missiology from Nazarene Theological Seminary in 1990. He was ordained as an elder in 1997. Prior to their departure for Vanuatu, David served as district superintendent for the Middle Ramu District in PNG.  David serves as the principal of the pastoral training program, South Pacific Nazarene Theological College.  It is one of four campuses also located in Samoa, Fiji, and Solomon Islands.

Sylvia received a B.S. in Nursing from Point Loma Nazarene College in 1980. She received her Masters of Arts in Spiritual Formation from Northwest Nazarene University in 2010 and was ordained as an elder in July 2013. She serves as the mission treasurer.

The Potters have three adult sons: Joel, Jeffrey, and Wesley.  Joel and his wife Rebekah live in Alaska with their three daughters, Dora and Sylvia (9 years old) and Rosa (4 years old).  Jeffrey and his wife Kristen live in northeast Michigan with their 2 little ones, Samuel (4 years) and Mary Ellen Joy (2 years).  Wesley lives and works in southwest Michigan area.