About Us
About Us
Based in Tampa Bay, Compass Ministries is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization dedicated to sustaining global workers and their families through professional pastoral counseling, specialized debriefing, and strategic transitional care. We ensure frontline workers are emotionally resilient and spiritually equipped to thrive—both on the field and when navigating the transition back home.
Who We Are
At Compass Ministries, we view our calling as a deeply personal privilege. We understand the unique challenges of a cross-cultural lifestyle. Our team—consisting of licensed mental health counselors, pastoral counselors, and spiritual directors—approaches every missionary family with profound empathy. We are driven by a singular, professional commitment: to provide Christ-centered healing and community support so that global workers can thrive.
Our History
2011–2012: Founder Cindy Duff, was a Licensed Mental Health Counselor, teacher, and a CMA pastor's daughter with years of exposure to missionary families, began providing member care for missionaries. By May 2012, Compass Ministries was officially founded as a Christian non-profit to offer free pastoral counseling and debriefing in the Tampa Bay area.
2014: Recognizing a severe crisis among adult Third Culture Kids (MKs) struggling with cross-cultural identity and reverse culture shock, the organization expanded its scope. Compass opened a discipleship house for men and launched its Annual Southeastern college-age missionary kids retreat.
Present: Operating from our Tampa location on W Bearss Ave, the organization continues to grow its member care. Compass expanded its residential discipleship footprint with the "Ruth House"—a women's discipleship home—and a wider network of mental health programs. Today, the ministry relies heavily on community partnerships to provide over a hundred full and partial scholarships to missionary families each year.
Vision
Our vision is to make Tampa Bay a welcoming place for missionaries and their families. We provide in-person and virtual support, through services such as counseling, coaching, debriefing, and training. Our ministry enables missionaries and their families to receive these services at affordable costs. We will not turn away missionary families due to finances; we offer financial aid and scholarships to help reduce costs.
Mission
Our mission is to support cross-cultural missionaries and their families before they depart, while they are serving internationally, and long after they return.
Our services include:
1. Coaching and Counseling
2. Debriefings
3. Pre-field Training and Consulting
4. Support communities for Missionaries and their families
5. Member Care Trainings for Churches
Our Statement of Faith
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We believe the Bible to be the only inspired, infallible, authoritative Word of God.
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We believe there is one God, eternally existent in three persons: Father, Son, and The Holy Spirit.
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We believe that humans were created in the image of God, but disobeyed God and
are alienated from God and condemned to eternal death. -
We believe that God the Father prepared a plan of salvation, a means of being united in fellowship with God, by sending His Son to become a human man through a virgin birth, so that He is fully God and fully human. Jesus lived a sinless life fully pleasing to God, was crucified on a cross by order of Pontius Pilate, and rose again the third day by the power of the Holy Spirit. After appearing to the apostles, he ascended to the right hand of God the Father. We wait for his promised return to Earth to reign in power and glory.
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We believe that our salvation comes through faith and trust in Jesus as our representative and substitute sacrifice whose death satisfied God the Father’s justice. We believe that those who have faith in Christ will, after physical death, be resurrected into the presence of God for eternity. We believe that those who reject faith in Christ are eternally separated from God after their physical death.
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We believe that each person who trusts Jesus is indwelt by the Holy Spirit, who makes us spiritually alive. He lives in us to teach us, convict us, comfort us, and to enable us to live a godly life. The Spirit also works in us to bring unity to all those who have faith in Christ. We also believe that the Spirit helps us to recognize the image of God in all people, so that all people must be afforded compassion, love, kindness, respect, and dignity.
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We believe that God wonderfully created each person as distinctly and unchangeably male or female. We believe that marriage was created and sanctioned by God; God joins one man and one woman in a single and exclusive union. Any form of sexual intimacy outside of marriage is sexually immoral and is a sin against God. Sexual immorality includes, but is not limited to, adultery, fornication, homosexual conduct, and pornography.