Well Done, Good and Faithful Servants | the Reach November 2024

by | Nov 18, 2024 | Biblical/Missional, Field Story

Dear Friends,

Joe and Austia Hickey, after serving with World Outreach for 11 years, have retired as of the end of October 2024. Their formal time of planting and watering seeds across the globe has come to an end, and their mission to share the Good News of Christ remains.

Joe and Austia first met while serving on short-term mission trips with the divorce recovery program at their home church, Ward, in Northville, MI. These mission trips both allowed them a unique opportunity to get to know each other and sense their call to missions. They married three years later with missions as a central component of their marriage.

Ward church exposed them to more than short-term mission trips. They took the 15-week Perspectives on the World Christian Movement course which further ignited a desire to reach the unreached. After Perspectives, they participated in a 10-month TAG (Training Apprentices to Go) program through Ward. This program is an intensive 43 weeks of living in community with other Jesus followers and reaching out to Muslims in their area. All this was preparation for their eventual call to the field in 2012 and their launch into Southeast Asia in 2013.

Joe and Austia, in their late 60s and early 70s, donated their home to Ward Church, moved across the world, and began ministering to those who had never heard the gospel. Their fruitful work overseas has now come to a close, and their labor will have an everlasting impact.

Life is as full of mission as ever, though, as they seek opportunities to love their neighbors. In a full-circle event, the Lord provided Joe and Austia to live in their own home that they donated to Ward years ago, now called the Lighthouse and used as Ward’s mission house. They live missionally in their community, sharing the love of Jesus with their neighbors. Sometimes it starts as simply as helping a flustered neighbor with her temperamental lawn mower and intentionally developing a relationship from there.

In saying, “Well done, good and faithful servants,” we know Joe and Austia’s service in the kingdom is not yet complete as they continue to minister in their own community. We, too, can and ought to live on mission in our own contexts. They encourage, “Get to know your neighbors by frequent prayer walks, looking for opportunities to serve them, expressing the fruit of the Spirit, and being willing to love them as yourself.”

Whether it is to our physical neighbors, coworkers, classmates, or family members, we are called to be a city on a hill whose light is not hidden. Old or young, new to the faith or seasoned, we are to proclaim the love of Jesus through both word and deed. How can you share the hope of the gospel with those around you in your own life?

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Whose Time is Your Time? | the Reach September 2024

by | Nov 4, 2024 | Biblical/Missional, Mission Story

Dear Friends,

Life’s opportunities likely compete for your time. Family, neighbors, groups at church, volunteering, work, hobbies, travel. How do you determine what tasks or causes to accept? This has been a constant dilemma in adulthood for me. Especially how I use my digressionary time.

Over time God implanted and grew a desire in me to invest in people who don’t know Him and to make room for these opportunities. He eventually refined this desire to those who have least access to hearing about Jesus. Our family began reaching out to international students at nearby universities and “traveled” the world in our living room. Valentine’s Day discussions on love vs arranged marriages. Christmas Eve and Day with internationals joining our family celebration. Housing a Chinese family while their damaged roof was repaired. An Indian gal experiencing trauma with her roommates lived with us while she finished the semester. I was stretched while visiting a home learning to eat chicken foot. I didn’t want to embarrass my hostess in front of her generous neighbor bearing a good gift of plump feet—with the
toenails still attached. They laughed at my inadequate skills to eat common food.

Eventually a friend gave me a set of questions to ask yourself how you should be spending your time and efforts:

  1. What tasks are you uniquely gifted for?
  2. Where are others not stepping forward to fill the need?
  3. Will this task help the gospel move forward to reach those who have little or no exposure to the good news of Jesus?

As Ed and I got older, we began brainstorming how to skip “retirement” and move into “redeployment.” We used these questions and were led to join World Outreach’s International Theological Education Network (ITEN). One way we saw God work was through a trail blazing believer in Southeast Asia working with Far East Broadcasting Network. He created radio programs for a remote area with no exposure to Jesus. During extreme conflict in the 1970s, he fled for safety to the US where he continued this work. Broadcasted programs explained the Bible in their heart language. He called the people from this remote place to faith and taught them how to worship our majestic God of all gods. The Holy Spirit swept over the region and entire families came to faith followed by persecution. A registered denomination protectively embraced them. Their leadership was introduced to ITEN by a World Outreach worker which led to an invitation to train leaders in theological education and leadership development. Those we trained would go on to train others.

It’s amazing how the things Ed and I have experienced over our lives, involvement in the church, the study of scripture, our various jobs, and family life, equipped us for this task. Being “senior citizens” has opened doors. We marvel how God has put us in this time of serving as part of a series of others who have said, “Here I am. Send me.”

– Nan McCallum

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Meet Our Newly Commissioned Workers | the Reach July 2024

by | Nov 4, 2024 | Biblical/Missional, Church Partnership

Dear Friends,

This year at the 44th General Assembly and Gospel Priorities Summit, World Outreach had the joy and privilege of commissioning 15 Global Workers. The commissioning service at General Assembly is a sacred time for the denomination to come alongside those who have undergone a rigorous assessment process and have been appointed by the World Outreach Committee as new Global Workers. We are thrilled to introduce you to the newest members of the World Outreach family.

Peter and Jasmine come from the Presbytery of the East and are eagerly looking forward to ministry in Central Asia, both teaching expat children at an international school and exploring ministry to refugees there.

Pray that they would keep their eyes on Jesus, that they would be fruitful in their own and others’ lives, and pray for wisdom as they discern God’s long-term calling on their lives.

If you would like to support the work Peter and Jasmine are doing, visit their giving page here.

Bill and Sharon are joining the U.S. Church Mobilization team as well as pursuing diaspora outreach in their native context in the Presbytery of the West.

Pray for Christians in the U.S. to reach out to newcomers from least-reached nations. Pray that Bill and Sharon would have wisdom and the ability to support a fellowship of Afghan Christians as they grow in their leadership, life together, and mission vision. Pray that they would be able to effectively mobilize EPC churches to become more involved in local and global cross-cultural outreach. Pray for God’s help in knowing how to parent their children well as they go off to the work world and college, and finally, pray for provision as Bill continues the support-raising journey.

If you would like to support the work Bill and Sharon are doing, visit their giving page here.

After many years working cross culturally, Andrea Craddock will be joining Bill and Sharon on the Mobilizing Team here in the U.S., specifically working with the EPC Mission Cohorts to help raise up the next generation of global workers.

Pray that God would give Andrea wisdom as she works with young adults in the EPC. Pray that more workers would go to the least reached. Pray for the development of strong and strategic partnerships that will support the growth of the Mission Cohorts, and pray for an expanding network of ministry partners to join Andrea in her new role.

If you would like to support the work Andrea is doing, visit her giving page here.

Chris and Kirsten Furr have spent several years at a missional community in Scotland and are now joining the World Outreach Member Care Team while remaining Directors of the East Mountain UK charity in Edinburgh, Scotland. There they will be providing coaching, pilgrimages, soul care, evangelism, and discipleship.

Pray for their new roles on the WO Member Care Team, for their daughter, Maren, as she begins theological studies at the University of Edinburgh, and for their sons, Reece and Carlson, as they attend Scottish high school with all its challenges. Pray for the work of East Mountain UK as they provide soul care to European pastors, church planters, and leaders. And pray for a movement of God to break out again in Scotland and bring spiritual benefit to the world.

If you would like to support the work the Furrs are doing, visit their giving page here.

K and B are launching from the Presbytery of the Midwest to serve as team leaders in education and discipleship in Central Asia.

Pray for K and B to remain connected and passionately in love with our Redeemer. Pray they can represent Jesus well to the national government, employees, and friends, and pray for wisdom and discernment in relationships. Pray they remain safe in a very restrictive environment. Finally, pray for their three adult daughters back in the USA to grow in grace and truth as they pursue a university education and beyond.

If you would like to support the work K and B are doing, visit their giving page here.

Randy and Martha H have been full-time workers among unreached Muslim people groups since 2000. Randy has been newly commissioned to his new role starting September 1st to serve on the director team for the Frontiers US office. Frontiers helps to recruit, train, send, and serve teams of long-term workers (currently 570+ from the US), who live in the Muslim world and bring the Gospel to those who might otherwise never hear it.

He has been serving for the past seven years as EPC World Outreach’s Training and Development Coordinator and more recently as Engage Field Coordinator. Prior to that, Randy and Martha were serving in SE Asia among an unreached Muslim people group in church planting teams along with their two kids. 

Pray for Randy and Martha in their shift in this new role and for continued wisdom, unity, and strength as they’re seeing God call and send the next wave of leaders to unreached Muslim people groups who’ve never heard about Jesus.

If you would like to support the work Randy and Martha are doing, visit their giving page here.

After feeling a call to leave her job teaching in the states and pursue missions, Gretchen plans to begin ministry in Europe/Balkans teaching English, sharing the gospel, and loving those around her. She is launching from the Presbytery of the East.

Pray for complete financial support. Pray God will raise up prayer warriors for these unreached people, for clear direction moving forward, and for a strong ear and tongue for a new language and the stamina and perseverance to learn it. Pray that God’s light will shine brightly through Gretchen, and pray for her unsaved children and grandchildren.

If you would like to support the work Gretchen is doing, visit her giving page here.

Gloria’s ministry will primarily focus on church planting in South Asia.

Pray for teammates to come join her in this work and for raising support for business as mission.

If you would like to support the work Gloria is going, visit her giving page here.

David and Heather had been drawn to Japanese language, media, and culture, and felt this was an interest that should glorify God, but it wasn’t until they learned that the Japanese are the second largest unreached people group in the world that they really felt called to the field. They plan to launch later this year from the Presbytery of the Gulf South to Rural Japan to begin church planting there.

Pray for God to continue drawing the people of Japan to Himself, for the Holy Spirit to embolden Japanese Christians to share their faith, and for unity in the Skinner family as they continue trusting God to equip them for the work ahead.

If you would like to support the work the Skinners are doing, visit their giving page here.

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Cultivating Kingdom Partnerships | the Reach May 2024

by | May 28, 2024 | Biblical/Missional, Events

Dear Friends,

The idea was to partner with a small African village to help build a church, to join in a mutual ministry of encouragement and prayer continents apart. But how does a small rural church of less than 100 members start the journey of making that happen? We had no full-time missions director, and we’d never taken an international short-term missions trip. It seemed a bit daunting. Eventually a friend of a friend introduced me to Carol, the missions director of a larger church about an hour from our own. Carol said, “It just so happens we’re going to Africa in six weeks. You want to come?!”
 
Fast forward about fifteen years, and not only did we partner to build a church with the nationals in Africa, we partnered with another church in our own presbytery, taking not just one mission trip together, but three. Carol and I developed a friendship that led to collaboration and idea sharing, blessing both our own congregations and many of the missions we supported together.
 
Presbytery Meetings and General Assembly are such remarkable opportunities to bring Teaching and Ruling Elder Commissioners together, not only for the business of the church, but especially for mutual encouragement, collaboration, and idea sharing. Wouldn’t it be great if we had that kind of opportunity for the missions leaders in our EPC churches?
 
The Connecting Mission Leader Conference is just that! It brings together lay leaders, missions directors, pastors, and mission enthusiasts – providing opportunities for missiological reflection, worship, prayer, building relationships for new collaboration in mission, and sharing best practices. EPC World Outreach has partnered with Frontier Fellowship, The Antioch Partners, The Outreach Foundation, and others to plan and offer the biennial conference for mission leaders, this year to be held at Hope Church (EPC) in Memphis, Tennessee, October 24th to 26th.

Whether you lead missions in a small church, are on staff at a large church, or just feel a passion for God’s mission for the world, you are invited and encouraged to attend, make connections, share, and be inspired.

This year’s theme is the Whole Church, taken from the Lausanne Covenant, including the phrase, “evangelization requires the whole church to take the whole gospel to the whole world.” In reflecting on what is meant by the ‘Whole Church,’ Matthew Ellison, plenary speaker and president of Sixteen:Fifteen, will bring the perspective that the Great Commission is for everyone sitting in our pews. Missions isn’t just for the few God calls to go around the world; missions is for all believers! Whether by praying, sending, welcoming, mobilizing, going around the world, or going across the street, the Great Commission is for all of us. We have been blessed to be a blessing—to be used by God to take the whole gospel to the whole world.

Looking at the ‘Whole Church’ from the perspective of all generations, Rev. Dr. Lisa Pak, Finishing the Task and Operational Catalyst for the Kingdom Impact Network, will share her own passion for mobilizing the global church, especially the rising generations, towards collaboration in sharing the good news of Jesus Christ with all who have yet to hear. As we invest in younger believers, as the world is changing, and as we work to reach the unreached, how do we disciple, encourage, and prepare tomorrow’s leaders for the Great Commission? What do we have to learn from them? What synergies can be found by working together? And how can we sustain a long-term call to missions that continues from one generation to the next while trusting in Jesus’ promise to be with us always, to the end of the age?

The third plenary speaker will explore the ‘Whole Church’ from the perspective of all nations. As we enter a new era of missions, how can the global church partner to bring the whole gospel to the whole world? Inspiring the global church, to fully embrace its calling to share the news that is truly good, both in word and deed, at home and around the globe, is the subject of the third plenary. P* founded a youth movement dedicated to fostering reconciliation and leadership development in his homeland, which burgeoned to encompass over 25,000 young adults during the country’s post-civil conflict period. This movement ignited similar initiatives in over 10 other nations grappling with violence and turmoil. Today, the youth leaders of these movements are championing hope in their respective regions, guided by principles of forgiveness and love for their neighbors. P is renowned worldwide as a speaker, driven by his passion for hope and reconciliation rooted in the Gospel, and he inspires young people within the faith to embrace their mission of being witness to the Good News through both word and action on a global scale.

So, what happens in between the plenaries? Worship, prayer, networking, break-out sessions, meals, and time for fellowship. Perhaps you’ll find a new colleague and friend to plan a short-term trip with. Perhaps you’ll be inspired with new ideas to mobilize all the believers in your church to be on mission with God. Perhaps God will lead you to new ways to disciple the next generation for the Great Commission. Whatever God might be calling you to do next as a missions leader in your church, we invite you to come together, to connect, to be inspired, and to inspire others.

You can find registration details here. We hope you’ll mark your calendars now and plan to join us in October for the Connecting Mission Leader Conference. 

– Nancy Cimprich, EPC World Outreach Church Engagement Coordinator

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Sharing Christ’s Love through Word & Deed | the Reach February 2024

by | Feb 26, 2024 | Biblical/Missional, Field Story, Mission Story

Dear Friends,

The smell of unwashed bodies in too-close quarters filled the room. Elena* lay with her child pressed close to her, trying to surrender to the sleep she so desperately needed. She swallowed the lump in her throat, barely keeping her head above the despair that threatened to drown her. She was in a foreign country, sharing a one-room apartment with five other families, and uncertain if her husband was going to return to her. Her thoughts fixed on her urgent need to find employment and a new place to live.

It was in this condition that Elena connected with the GROW center from the Philemon Project, an early childhood development and adult mentoring program in the Middle East. Elena had no one else to turn to, but in her time of need, the group of women who ran the GROW center came alongside her in support and love.

Over the next several months, while her child was safely cared for and fed each day at the GROW center, Elena was able to find a stable job and safe housing for her and her child. Her husband did return, and they established a new life as a family. She felt that the women from the Philemon Project were the only ones to help when she had no other options. Because of the Christ-like love of these women and their faithful prayers, Elena also decided to follow Jesus.

This was just one story shared at the annual gathering of U.S. World Outreach workers in early February. The gathering was a time for fellowship, worship, and sharing the stories of what God is doing around the world.

As I sat there listening to this story, I couldn’t help but think about the practical love the women from the GROW center showed Elena and the eternal impact it will have. Elena had tangible and urgent needs, and the GROW center stood in the gap as she found her footing in a new environment.

The mission and work of the GROW center and the Philemon Project align with World Outreach’s five Strategic Priorities:

  1. Prayer
  2. Least Access Peoples
  3. Partnership & Sending
  4. Word & Deed
  5. Church Engagement

Read more about these here.

Elena’s story is a beautiful example of the Word & Deed priority. The church is called to a holistic approach to making disciples – we cannot be effective in ministry without caring for the physical, mental, and spiritual wellbeing of those we serve. The gospel is proclaimed by words and lived out through actions.

Those running the GROW center know this. They are not simply providing daycare, they are teaching and nurturing these children, and by extension, these families. Their care is life changing for the entire family, and this is just as important in reaching people for Jesus as teaching His word.

Loving your neighbor does not require special training or education – it requires a servant’s attitude and an infectious love for Jesus. How can you carry out the Great Commission in Word & Deed as you go about your day-to-day?

*names changed for privacy and security purposes

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Singing Jesus’s Birth | the Reach December 2023

by | Dec 15, 2023 | Biblical/Missional

Dear friends,

It seems like everybody sings in Luke’s story of Jesus’ birth: Mary sings (1:46-55), Zechariah sings (1:68-79), the angels sing (2:13-14), and finally, Simeon adds a chorus (2:28-32). So much singing.

From our distant 21st century American vantage point, we might be surprised to hear individuals break into song at significant moments like these—unless we’re fans of the great Broadway musicals! But I live in Nairobi, and as my Kenyan friend Elizabeth Mburu wrote in her book African Hermeneutics, “Song is the genre that best represents the heartbeat of African peoples. Whether in our traditional or modern contexts, songs are never far from our lips. What is a wedding without songs of rejoicing? Or a funeral without songs to express our sorrow? How else would politicians express their political agenda except through songs and poetry? . . . This feature of life has not changed in modern Africa” (p. 166).

Songs are everywhere in Africa, even today. Liz Mburu reminds us that “the culture of the Bible resembles African culture in so many ways” (p. 6). Even spontaneous songs in Africa can be very personal, with someone expressing their own experience and perspective through music. Likewise, have you noticed the incremental changes in emphasis from Mary’s song to Zechariah’s song to Simeon’s song?

Read Luke 1:46-55. Do you see how Mary emphasizes God fulfilling his promises to rescue his poor and lowly people from the oppression they’ve faced? “He has brought down the powerful from their thrones, and lifted up the lowly; he has filled the hungry with good things, and sent the rich away empty” (vv. 52-53). There’s nothing in this song about sin, there’s nothing in here about forgiveness, there’s nothing in here about eternity in heaven. But there’s a lot about mercy and justice. A powerful deliverer is coming!

Now read Luke 1:68-79. If it feels like a good bit of repetition from what Mary said, you’re right. When I moved to Ethiopia, I was impatient in meetings when each person seemed to repeat what the previous person had just said. To me it seemed like a waste of time! But then I learned how the repetition—enhanced by small changes and additions that each speaker made—built consensus and led to unity in Ethiopian decision-making. Yes, in Zechariah’s song we hear again about promised rescue, about mercy and righteousness (or justice, the same word in Greek). But the small thing that Zechariah adds comes in verses 76-77, that Zechariah’s son John “will go before the Lord to prepare his ways, to give knowledge of salvation to his people by the forgiveness of their sins.” Now we hear a whisper of something significant and new! Not only is a powerful deliverer coming, but one who brings forgiveness of sins.

Finally, read Luke 2:28-32. What does Simeon add to the chorus? In verse 32 he announces that this baby will become “a light for revelation to the Gentiles.” Simeon is quoting Isaiah 49:6: “It is too light a thing [or, ‘too small a thing’] that you should be my servant to raise up the tribes of Jacob and to restore the survivors of Israel; I will give you as a light to the nations, that my salvation may reach to the end of the earth.” In Isaiah 49 the intended servant was most likely Israel as a nation. But Israel did not manage to take God’s message of salvation to the Gentiles or to ends of the earth. Now, Simeon adds, that’s what this baby will do. He’s the servant, a powerful deliverer, who brings forgiveness of sin—to the whole world!

A powerful deliverer who brings forgiveness of sin to the whole world. It takes three songs to fill out this picture of Jesus in Luke’s story. What about your own song? What have you personally found to be true and essential about Jesus that you’d like to add to the chorus as you sing his birth this Christmas?

© 2023 Stephanie L. Black

Rev. Dr. Stephanie Black is an International Theological Education Specialist serving under a co-op agreement with Serge. Based in Kenya, she travels to Asia and elsewhere in Africa to teach in theological seminaries, help develop programs, and strengthen partnerships. With a heart to train the next generation of leaders for the global church, Stephanie is a gifted educator, leader, and life-long learner. We are so glad to have her in the WO family.

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