Recently, I was asked to serve as the Foreign Missions Director of FGEA. As excited and honored as I was, I was also a little reluctant to accept this responsibility. I would have some large shoes to fill. Tom Hall, who served as a fantastic FGEA Missions Director for several years, resigned in 2015. I know Pastor Hall continues to have a huge heart for missions and I am thrilled to do my best while walking in his footsteps.

I want to take a minute and tell you a little about myself, and how I became involved in missions. Being raised in a pastor’s home, missions and missionaries have always played a role in my life. I was fortunate to have a father who placed great emphasis on supporting and participating in missions work (home and abroad). Because of this, there has always been a desire in me to personally be involved in foreign missions.

In the summer of 1997, my life was changed. My wife, Stephanie, and I were youth pastors in West Virginia. Rick Morgan, an FGEA missionary, invited us to bring some of our students and minister with him in Honduras. Since we had never been on the mission field before, we began to pray for God’s wisdom, direction, and favor. The truth is, we were only 22 years old and would have been astonished if any of the parents had allowed their teenagers to go out of the country with us! To our surprise, a few of the parents consented, and we were off to Honduras for a week. We had such a great time with Rick and his family, as well as ministering in their churches and schools. It was absolutely life changing for all who went, especially our family. So much so, that in the years that followed, we planned mission trips in place of vacations.

Stephanie and I have been blessed to be able to take our children with us on a few trips…what a life! I have seen how that particular trip has changed the way that I lead and pastor a church. As pastors, we strongly believe in supporting our missionaries. In our experience, the blessing of God has been tied directly to our willingness to sow into missions and various ministries. You could not talk us, or our church, out of giving to missions.

As Missions Director, we want to achieve 3 things:

– Encourage our missionaries in Word and               prayer

– Encourage missions awareness and support       at the local church level

– Encourage those who are being called to the       mission field

We can all help and participate in these three areas. Let’s support and encourage those who are called to, “Tell everybody, about the Somebody, who can save anybody!”