Aviation flight instructor using skills to serve others

Mission Flight volunteers pray, thanking God for the financial resources to purchase another plane.

Riverside, Calif. (March 11, 2021) – Jason Rearick’s world revolves around the air. He is a major in the U.S. Air Force. He also is a flight instructor I, on call at California Baptist University. And he volunteers with Mission Flight.

When Rearick went to get his multi-engine certification in 2019, he and the examiner talked about their faith. The examiner encouraged Rearick to get involved in Mission Flight, a nonprofit group that flies medical workers and supplies to Mexico. Rearick said he was reluctant to get involved at first.

“The Holy Spirit was tugging at my heart, saying you need to step out in faith,” Rearick said. “I did my research and then I went on my first mission trip. I was just in love ever since then. I get to do service for the Lord and I get to bless other people.”

Rearick serves as pilot and pilot coordinator for Mission Flight, which flies out of Redlands and El Monte airports. He flies down about once a month, mainly to Tepic or San Quintin, where a team of medical workers sets up free medical and dental clinics for locals who have limited access to medical care. He is also the founder and director of Mission Flight Academy, a nonprofit, faith-based flight school and flying club that partners with Mission Flight.

The academy brings supplies and allows pilots who need flying hours to do something with a purpose, Rearick said. Pilots and volunteers are always needed, he added.

“When you’re doing something like this, it’s so rewarding because you get to use a talent and you get to be part of kingdom building,” he said.

Occasionally they cannot get the supplies off the plane because of customs, Rearick said.

“Customs requires a lot of prayer,” Rearick said. “We pray and let God work it out. If it doesn’t work out, we try to figure out why. I would rather it not work out on a supply run than with medical workers.”

When Rearick is not flying for Mission Flight, he is stationed at March Air Reserve Base, working in cyber defense for weapon systems. Rearick has been a part of the Air Force since he was 18.

Additionally, in 2020, Rearick became a flight instructor in CBU’s Department of Aviation Science. Rearick tries to impart to his students the experience of backcountry flying.

“I would like students to have to lean heavily on their training,” Rearick said. “In Mexico, there are no weather stations, very limited navigation devices and little radio communications. We are on our own. We must think ahead and plan worst case all the time.”

Rearick wants to use his talents for God and encourages his students to do the same.

“I don’t need to be the quarterback. I will be the water boy. I just want to be in the game. I want other people to feel that, too,” Rearick said. “There is a role for everybody. No special talent needed. Just heart.”