Can you spell M-I-S-S-I-O-N-A-R-Y?
Our perception of a missionary can range from, “someone who is not capable of doing anything else” to “being a select breed that only a few people can ever obtain to their spiritual level.” BOTH of these concepts are wrong!
A missionary is a servant of God, called by God and surrendered to God to reach people with the gospel. They are young and old, each gifted by God to play a role in the grand scheme of world evangelization. Their passion for God and His Word compels them to leave the known for the unknown.
Word of Life just completed a Missionary in Training conference and accepted 21 new people as missionaries. They are headed around the world to reach youth with the Truth. I want to introduce you to a few of them who will be serving in North America, assisting churches in their ministry to youth.
Bob and Robin Bell: They live in New Port Richey, Florida, where Bob has been serving as youth pastor and Robin as church secretary for over eleven years. They have two married daughters who both graduated from the Word of Life Florida Bible Institute. Word of Life has been a big part of their life and is in their blood.
Nick Charlton: Nick is single but is dating a wonderful girl who also wants to serve God. Nick grew up in Bermuda. As a teenager God brought him into contact with one of our staff who discipled him. After attending college in Canada, he attended the Word of Life New York Bible Institute for 2 additional years of training.
Chad and Ashley Harwell: Chad was a youth pastor for 4 years, and he and Ashley have been serving in their home church in the children’s ministry. They have a 4-year-old daughter, and they presently live in the Dallas area. They have been discipled by two of our top Area Missionaries and have been serving alongside them. Their involvement with our staff has played a major role in their desire to serve with Word of Life.
Dustan Horst and Beth Lundin: This wonderful couple will be married soon and are excited about serving God. Dustan and Beth met at the Word of Life New York Bible Institute. One of our other young staff members was instrumental in discipling Dustan while he was a student and gave him a passion for this ministry.
Beth is a “staff kid” whose parents have served with Word of Life in the Local Church Ministries area for her entire life. It is exciting to see them stepping out for God.
Justin Large aka J-Large: Justin grew up in South Florida and had a rough past. After getting on track with God, he attended the New York Word of Life Bible Institute. Evangelism permeates everything he does, and he very much enjoys speaking. He already has a ministry using music to reach people with the Gospel.
This generation is attracted to a cause and it is imperative that we communicate the cause of world evangelization with passion. As I look at this generation, I am excited about the future of missions.
