Living a Legacy:
David and Celia Dick
Rev. Donald Saum
Director of International
Support Ministries
David Dick came to know Christ as his
personal Savior while working as a manufacturing engineer in western Pennsylvania.
Celia worked as a medical secretary at
the time. Soon after, the Dicks
felt God’s call to missionary
service. In preparation for
cross-cultural ministry,
they quit their jobs,
and David enrolled at
Asbury College (now
Asbury University) in
Kentucky. To support
his family of four (Celia
and their two sons,
Ryan and Daniel), Dave
had five part-time jobs,
but he still finished college in three years and completed his Asbury Theological
Seminary degree in two and a half
years. He went on to earn a doctoral
degree from Trinity Evangelical Divinity
School.
David and I worked closely together
for nine years while we served with One
Mission Society in a largely
Muslim-populated country.
What a tremendous asset
he and Celia were to the
field. David learned
the language well and
served in a variety
of ways. He taught
and carried many responsibilities at the
OMS-related seminary, including mentoring the first full-time
national president of the
seminary and spurring the
development and growth of
the school. Celia played a critical
role in starting the seminary library, where
22