About CHIEF
Read about our beginnings and those who came before us to make CHIEF what it is today. CHIEF is build on the Biblical principles and on the godly men and women who sacrificed their lives for the Native peoples.Get Involved
About CHIEF
Read about our beginnings and those who came before us to make CHIEF what it is today. CHIEF is build on the Biblical principles and on the godly men and women who sacrificed their lives for the Native peoples.Get Involved
Our Mission & Vision
Every Tribe, Nation, and Tongue!
The vision of CHIEF is to see an effective Christian witness in every Native American First Nations tribe in this generation.
Mission & Ministry Objectives
The mission of CHIEF is to disciple and equip strong Native leadership for the development of the Native Indigenous church throughout North, Central and South America.
The ministry of CHIEF is facilitated through:
- Evangelism To assist the leadership of the local Native churches with cultural-specific resources and assist in united evangelistic outreaches in their own communities and beyond to other unreached tribes and communities.
- Discipleship To engage, encourage, and disciple Native Christian pastors, lay leaders, and believers and to provide effective training in a manner uniquely suited for their culture and the ongoing needs of the indigenous church.
- Helps – Community Impact To give practical assistance in the context of God’s love shown through the person of the Lord Jesus Christ, to serve as a channel through which concerned individuals can respond to the physical and social needs of the Native First Nations people to help them become self-sustaining.
Our Statement of Faith
Bible
We believe in the Bible, which was given and sacredly inspired by God, as the infallible thoroughly trustworthy, and supremely authoritative book of faith and conduct.
God
We believe in one God, eternally coexistent in the Trinity of the Father, Son and Holy Spirit.
Jesus
We believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, who is God manifested in the flesh, His Virgin birth, His sinless life, His divine miracles, His vicarious and atoning death, His bodily resurrection. His ascension, His mediatorial work, and His personal return in power and glory.
Salvation
We believe in the salvation of the lost by faith, irrespective of works, through the shed blood of Jesus Christ and the regeneration by the Holy Spirit.
Holy Spirit
We believe in the Holy Spirit, who by His indwelling enables the believer to live uprightly, to witness for the Lord Jesus Christ and to live for Him, and who impels, equips and energizes His church for mission to the peoples of the whole world.
Church
We believe in the fellowship of all believers and in the church, the Body of Christ.
Eternity
We believe in the resurrection of the saved and the lost; the former to eternal life and the latter to eternal condemnation.
“For years, I have carried a burden for American Indian. Now our Christian responsibility to these first Americans can be effectively demonstrated through CHIEF. I ask you to join me in prayer and financial support of this ministry for our Native American Christian friends.”
– Dr. Billy Graham
Who We Are
Our Team & Leadership
We were founded in 1975 and have enjoyed diverse and Godly leadership. From the original board lead by Tom Claus to the current board lead by his son Huron Claus we are blessed by multi generations of leaders, representing both Native and Non-Native perspectives. Our many staff and volunteers help us make what CHIEF is today.
Huron Claus
President and CEO
Huron Claus is a fifth-generation follower of Jesus Christ. He comes from the Mohawk/Kiowa tribes of New York and Oklahoma. The Claus Indian family has ministered through evangelism and music in Native communities and villages across North, Central, and South America. The mission of CHIEF is to disciple and train a strong Native Christian leadership in the Word of God, who will practically impact their communities for the glory of God.
CHIEF networks with approximately 3,000 Native Churches among 300 of the 1,200 Native tribes in the Western Hemisphere. He resides in Phoenix, Arizona. He is married with wife, Lois and has two adult children.
Beside leading CHIEF, Rev. Claus has served on a number of Native Ministry boards. He is actively involved as a speaker for church events, national conferences, mission related activities and speaks often at colleges.
Ron Frahler
Director of Development
Lois Claus
Office Administrator
Paul Cox
Accounting
Donato Palomino
Representative
Alfreda Claus
Blessing to us all