Compass Aviation

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Compass Aviation Compass Aviation provides aircraft maintenance and training to future missionary pilots.

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed? And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not...
09/16/2026

"How then shall they call on Him in whom they have not believed?
And how shall they believe in Him of whom they have not heard?
And how shall they hear without a preacher?
And how shall they preach unless they are sent?
As it is written:
How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the gospel of peace,
who bring glad tidings of good things!"
- Romans 10:14-15 (NKJV)

It may have been quiet from Compass Aviation lately, but behind the scenes, God has been faithfully at work. We’re grateful for the ways He continues to guide, provide, and prepare people for service in missionary aviation.

As we look back on the last month, we’re encouraged to see tangible reminders of His faithfulness. God is using the training, work, and prayers of many people to help carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

In recent weeks, Justin Lowell, Daniel Iznaga, and Aaron Watt each passed their commercial pilot checkrides! Aaron’s checkride was also a special milestone for flight instructor Caleb Warner—Aaron was Caleb's first student to send for checkride! And just in time, too; Caleb is now preparing for his upcoming Technical Evaluation with AIM AIR. We’re so thankful for the investment he continues to make in those coming behind him. Please be praying for Caleb, Hannah, and their little ones as they trust God for the next steps.

We are so thankful for the Cessna 206 and the amazing tool that God has provided! It has been getting a great deal of use, helping many people with their advanced flight training and TE preparation. In the last two months alone, Jacob and Bill have been very busy working on TE prep training with Luke, Dylan, and Caleb. More on that front in a future update. In the meantime, thank you for praying with us for safety and effective training sessions.

On that note, please welcome our newest candidate, Zach Stark! He earned his A&P and private pilot certificates through Liberty University. We look forward to helping him gain the maintenance experience and remaining flight ratings he needs in order to serve as a missionary aviator!

We’re also seeing encouraging progress on the helicopter front. The Canadian helicopter has received its FAA certification and U.S. airworthiness certificate and is now ready for service! The project helicopter is nearing completion of its overhaul, and we look forward to seeing it return to the air as well. One current need is a qualified helicopter CFI to support our training and operations. The Lord has connected us with several potential helicopter CFIs, and we are trusting Him to provide the right person at the right time and in His perfect way.
These milestones are exciting—but checkrides, certificates, helicopters, and airplanes are not the mission.

People are.

Romans 10:14 reminds us, “How are they to believe in Him of Whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching?” There are words this world desperately needs to hear: that there is a God who made us and loves us, that Jesus Christ came to save sinners, and that forgiveness, hope, and eternal life are found in Him.

That is why we train. That is why we pursue excellence. And that is why we fly.

Every pilot prepared, every aircraft maintained, and every hour invested is ultimately about helping servants of Christ go where God calls them—so that people in some of the hardest-to-reach places on earth can hear the life-giving and life-changing Word of God.

Please keep praying for Compass Aviation, our students and instructors, and especially for God to raise up the people needed for the work ahead.

The aircraft are tools. People are the mission. Christ is the reason. And the gospel is the message worth carrying to the ends of the earth.

Blessings,
John & Tara for the Compass team

"Then He said to them all, 'If anyone desires to come after Me,let him deny himself,and take up his cross daily, and fol...
05/29/2026

"Then He said to them all, '
If anyone desires to come after Me,
let him deny himself,
and take up his cross daily, and follow Me.
For whoever desires to save his life will lose it,
but whoever loses his life for My sake will save it.
For what profit is it to a man if he gains the whole world,
and is himself destroyed or lost?'"
- Luke 9:23-25 (NKJV)

Yesterday we had the privilege of hearing from Doctors Warren and Lindsey Cooper, medical missionaries who have been based at a certain hospital in northeastern DR Congo - where John's father worked for many years, and where John and all of his sisters were born! The doctors, with their young son Emmanuel, came to speak with us for a few hours at the airport here in Shelby. They were already in the U.S. for a planned trip when news of the new Ebola outbreak in Congo came out, and it looks like this is going to affect their plans to return to DRC next week.

From them we learned that medical personnel are struggling to catch up with an epidemic that went undetected for 2 months or more, as this strain of Ebola is not the one they've dealt with in the past. Two of the missionary doctors and their families were recently evacuated after the doctors suffered direct exposure to Ebola; Dr. Peter Stafford became very ill with the virus but is now making progress with recovery in a hospital in Germany. His family is so far free of illness. Dr. Patrick LaRochelle was taken to a hospital in Prague where he is being isolated and closely monitored; he has so far not come down with it.

I'd like to quote a written update from Dr. LaRochelle, who has been staying in contact with his colleagues in Congo:

"I can say that I have seen the commitment of the Congolese doctors leading the response. And I've seen the context in which they are working: an outbreak already out of control by the time it was recognized, a region in a constant state of conflict between multiple rebel groups since 2017, a province 1000 miles away from the capitol, and a health system under-resourced both in diagnostic and treatment capacity. The challenges are overwhelming, and it's easy for me to lose hope. But what gives me hope is my colleagues who are fighting for the lives of every patient, risking so much to follow their call to heal the sick, and then many hundreds and thousands - both Congolese and expatriate - who are mobilizing to come fight Ebola with them. We are encouraged by their lives and are honored to know them and serve alongside them. We are amazed to see them not flinch or draw back in the face of so much danger and chaos." (From an update published by Serge.org).

Serge also posted: "Dr. LaRochelle requests prayer on behalf of courageous Congolese medical workers and for the arrival of more protective equipment and treatments. He also asks for prayer that the transmission of this virus stops, and that a vaccine designed to treat this strain of the virus would be developed quickly. Serge requests prayer for Dr. LaRochelle and the Stafford family to remain healthy and for Dr. Peter Stafford's condition to improve daily."

While speaking to our Compass candidates who are preparing to serve overseas, Dr. Warren Cooper noted that many people in our society simply do not understand the desire to leave a comfortable, relatively safe life in American for a place that seems so dangerous. He pointed out that it is a privilege to be able to follow our Master. He said that as doctors, they get to do what Jesus spent most of His time on earth doing: preaching the gospel and healing the sick. He also emphasized that those ministries in Congo would not be possible if not for the missionary pilots and mechanics.

So please be praying for the situation in DRC. Pray that the Lord will be glorified as His people go in His name to preach the gospel, heal the sick, and provide the help and support needed to accomplish all of these things. And please pray for our candidates and staff as we work together to help them get ready to go!

Blessings,
John & Tara Watt
for the Compass team

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,And He shall stand at last on the earth;And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,T...
04/29/2026

"For I know that my Redeemer lives,
And He shall stand at last on the earth;
And after my skin is destroyed, this I know,
That in my flesh I shall see God,
Whom I shall see for myself,
And my eyes shall behold, and not another.
How my heart yearns within me!"
-- Job 19:25-27 (NKJV)

This month has been a month of milestones! Here are just a few:

Justin Lowell passed his instrument checkride!

Keylee Cray made her first solo flight!

A flying helicopter arrived at Compass this month! This helicopter is nearly timed out, so the plan is to fly the remaining hours off and then overhaul and sell it. Our prayer is that this will enable the ministry to invest in another helicopter, and (Lord willing!) help to fund the beginning of helicopter flight training here at Compass! The goal is to be able to provide a path for missionary pilots to receive helicopter training, since the need for helicopters is increasing. Overseas ministries are turning more and more to the helicopter to enable them to reach previously unreachable areas. Please pray for the Lord's provision for a helicopter instructor to join the team here. We need a rotorwing instructor not only for missionary candidates, but also to provide Compass flight instructor Aaron Hammitt with the training he'll need in order to transition to helicopter instruction as well.

It wasn't really a milestone, but we enjoyed a visit this month from some MAF missionaries in their Kodiak! They very kindly stopped over in Shelby as they traveled up from Florida. They treated the Compass family to lunch, and then took some of us for a quick ride in the Kodiak!

Caleb and Hannah Warner had an interview with Africa Inland Missions (AIM) and were invited to continue to the next step, which will be a week of candidacy training in June. Please pray for the Lord's continued guidance for them as they near the end of their time here with Compass!

Meanwhile, flight training and practice in the maintenance shop continue! Our senior candidates, including Caleb Lopez, have been honing their skills even further by supervising and teaching the newer ones.

We are so thankful for our flight instructors: Bill, Jake, Aaron Hammitt, and Caleb Warner. And we are thankful for all of those who help in the shop, with aircraft maintenance as well as instructing. Jake, Bill, and Aaron have been very busy with Technical Evaluation and advanced flight training using the 206. Please continue praying for safety in all of our flight and maintenance operations.

Please pray for the safety of missionary pilots and mechanics overseas as well. Kevin Rideout, who was abducted from his home in Niger in October of last year, is still missing. Please pray for him and for his family.

I'll end with one final milestone, one for which the verses from Job 19 seemed very appropriate. In mid-April John got word that a missionary family, one that he had known and loved as a child in Africa, was getting ready to lose their wife and mother. Connie's illness came on very suddenly; she was diagnosed with a fast-growing cancer, and she passed away on Saturday, April 18, only weeks after she became ill. Job's words recorded in Job 19:25-27 are words of hope. He didn't know why he was suffering, but he did know God -- the same God who was already planning to come to earth in the flesh, redeem us, and defeat death itself.

We are thankful that we know where Connie is, and with Whom she is. She is now, as her husband wrote, "healed, happy, and rejoicing with her Savior who she worshipped her whole life." Please pray for Connie's husband Don and their grown children Eric and Emily, and their families, as they grieve her earthly loss.

Thank you for your prayers and for supporting the people and the work here at Compass. We are blessed to be able to partner with you in what God is doing.

Blessings,
John & Tara Watt
For the Compass team

Address

830 College Avenue
Shelby, NC
28152

Opening Hours

Monday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Tuesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Wednesday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Thursday 8:30am - 4:30pm
Friday 8:30am - 4:30pm

Telephone

(704) 669-5935

Website

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