Obeying the Call

God is still calling people to go and people are still responding to Him! The following are testimonies from a recent appointment service!

New missionaries took turns sharing how God called them to missions.

-- Passing the baton. One new worker* heard God's call to missions when he attended a memorial service for Charles Beaty, an IMB representative in North Africa who continued his advocacy for the unreached of that region even after he was diagnosed with terminal cancer. "Avery Willis spoke about passing the baton," said the new worker. "In my heart I knew God was calling me to reach out and take it. Tonight is the next step in taking the baton to North Africa."

-- At Glorieta. Another new missionary responded to God's call while attending a conference at Glorieta, a LifeWay conference center in New Mexico. "During an invitation, the Holy Spirit spoke to my heart saying, ‘…it's OK if you don't want to go, I can send someone in your place.' I broke and said, 'No God, I know you're calling me, I'll go.'"

-- Parade of flags. "As a pastor's wife in 1994, I traveled as a chaperone to the National Acteen Convention in Birmingham," said another new missionary. "A colorful parade of world flags surrounded the stadium. Then quietly, gray flags symbolizing those who have never heard [the gospel] were carried in. At that moment, God called me to serve one of those people groups."

-- Empty nest. "Twenty years ago, when our daughter was born, God called me to be a stay-at-home mom. What a privilege!" said a fourth worker.* "Two years ago, facing the empty nest, I wondered 'What now?' Today I know God has a place for me to serve in Asia. What a privilege!"

-- Sept. 11. God used the attacks in New York City and Washington, D.C., to speak to three of the new missionaries. "I had just completed a day of prayer and fasting when I heard the news of the attack on the Twin Towers," one* said. "God suddenly made me aware of what is important in life. What we see is temporal but the souls of people are eternal. I go to share the good news with the people of Central Asia." Another new worker* asked his wife if the attacks had changed her mind about mission service. "No, we need to go now more than ever," she replied.