By Operation Mobilisation (OM)
Dale Rhoton founded the organisation along with George Verwer and served for the rest of his life, including 40 years with OM’s Ship Ministry.
Dale Rhoton, a pioneering missionary and a co-founder of Operation Mobilisation, passed away in his sleep on Sunday at a retirement community in Florida, USA.
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Rhoton, who served OM since its founding, including 40 years with OM’s Ship Ministry, leaves his wife, Elaine, to whom he was married for 64 years, their three children, John, David and Sharon; seven grandchildren and two great-grandchildren.
In 1957, Rhoton, along with his college friends George Verwer and Walter Borchard, made his first mission trip to Mexico. This was to be the beginning of OM’s work to share the Gospel and distribute Christian literature across the globe.
Dale’s death comes three years after those of Borchard and Verwer, who both passed away in April 2023; aged 85 and 84, respectively.
Rhoton baptised Verwer, who considered him a spiritual mentor. He was Verwer’s right-hand man in OM for many decades. A thinker who was less in the limelight, he was a counterbalance to the more public-facing Verwer and the two worked together effectively, sharing a lifelong commitment to reach the nations for Christ.
In the 60s and 70s, Rhoton pioneered OM’s work in the Near East and Eastern Europe, before moving his family on board Doulos in 1978. He served as Managing Director of OM’s Ship Ministry for 15 years, and remained involved in fundraising and partner development when he returned to the USA in 1999, as President Emeritus.
A respected leader who poured much into encouraging others, Rhoton wrote several books and was passionate about prayer and memorising Scripture. He was influenced by the discipleship strategy of Dawson Trotman (founder of The Navigators) and the example of Richard Wurmbrand, who was imprisoned for his faith and started The Voice of the Martyrs.
OM’s international director, Iain Pickett, said: “While George Verwer had a strong mobilisation emphasis, Dale had a passion for seeing longer-term ministries established in local contexts and was deeply committed to the ministry of OM’s ships. OM wouldn’t exist without both George and Dale. Their lives were a beautiful example of mutual commitment to God, to each other, to OM and to the kingdom.”
OM’s international director emeritus, Lawrence Tong, knew Dale for more than 40 years: “In Dale, we have lost a brother, a friend, a pillar. It was God’s design that Verwer and Rhoton teamed up together to co-found OM. George was certainly a firecracker; he would go around disrupting the norm. Dale, on the other hand, was the quiet, grounded theologian who held the work together. George provided energy, while Dale provided credibility. I believe Dale is an unsung hero in the mission world — but that is exactly what he wanted.”
A compilation of tributes from those who knew and worked with Rhoton can be viewed here: https://gatewaynews.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Tributes-to-Dale-Rhoton-OM.pdf
Biography details of Rhoton can be viewed here: https://gatewaynews.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2026/06/Dale-Rhoton-OM-Biography-1.pdf
A short video with highlights of Rhoton’s life and ministry can be viewed here: https://vimeo.com/ominternational/dale-rhoton
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