It is with sad hearts that we report the passing of beloved Encompass missionary Larry DeArmey. On June 25, Larry underwent surgery to remove one of his kidneys and an additional cancerous mass. In the days immediately following, he experienced many complications resulting in multiple additional surgeries. All of this overwhelmed his body, and he entered into the Lord’s presence at 6:30 am on July 1, 2020. Larry was 78 years old and is survived by his wife Vicki and children Matthieu, Marc, Luc, Ginette, and David. 

Larry faithfully served with Encompass as a missionary in Europe for 37 years. He was known there as a true apostle with a shepherd’s heart, always ready to share Jesus and see churches started. To countless missionaries, he was considered a friend, mentor, encourager, and visionary. Among other accomplishments, Larry was the founding church planter of the Grace Brethren Churches in Macon and Lyon, France—both still in existence today. 

Larry also served as Encompass’ Regional Director of Europe for many years during that time. After returning to the States in 2008, Larry served as a Special Assignment Missionary for another 12 years, continuing until his passing. During this time, he focused on leadership training in Chad, the Central African Republic, South Florida (training Haitian church leaders), Haiti, and the Bahamas. He was beloved by all, affectionately known in Chad as “Papa Larry.”

The DeArmey family plans a memorial service in Larry’s honor at Grace Polaris Church (Columbus, Ohio) at 2:00 pm on Monday, July 6. The service will be live-streamed online. Visit GracePolaris.org/Watch shortly before the service begins. The video will start playing automatically when the Livestream begins. To watch the video-on-demand soon after the service concludes, visit Vimeo.com/GracePolaris. View Larry’s full obituary here.

The family encourages gifts given in memoriam to two ministries: 

1. The School of Missiology in Chad provides advanced training for evangelism and church planting to unreached people groups in central Africa. Give online at EncompassWorldPartners.org/Chad-SMS.
2. The Ethnic Workers Roundtable is a Training Initiative for Pastors and Church Planters. Larry was quite involved in Haitian leadership training in recent years, both in Haiti and South Florida. Give online at EncompassWorldPartners.org/Ethnic.