“Faith-Based” Mission Agency.
I was born and raised in church my entire life. Pretty much from the day that I was born, my parents had me in church.
Although hearing the Gospel message, it was not until the church we were members of held a play entitled “Eternity Train”. Even though I heard the Gospel message many times, it was not until the church we attended put on a play, “Eternity Train”. This play depicted various people who had passed into eternity, each one hoping their actions or deeds would grant them a ticket into Heaven. However, there was only one person who had a ticket, with the name Jesus written on it. It was because of this person's faith and trust in Jesus Christ that they were able to enter into eternity, not what they had done or who they were.
God used this small and simple play to open my eyes to the truth of the Gospel, that there was nothing I could do and nothing my parents could do that would allow me into the presence of God when I passed from this earth. I needed to put my faith and trust in Him.
I went home that night, talked with my parents, and surrendered my life to Christ at the age of 9. The following year I was baptized.
In High School, I began to have a desire to serve the Lord, not knowing what that would look like for my life. It was not until reading 1 Timothy 1:12-17 that my heart was opened to where the Lord was leading me and to what He wanted for my life. That was international missions.
Missions has been a major part of my life growing up. My grandparents served in Europe for 30+ years, and my parents served for 27 months in Europe as well.
At the church that I grew up in, my mother was responsible for keeping up-to-date with their missionaries and coordinating mission conferences. Having missionaries from around the world come and stay with us and hear their stories made a great impact on my life. All of these missionaries were “faith-based” missionaries; missionaries who depend upon individuals to provide their monetary support.
Missions is nothing that can be done alone and needs the help of the church. Missions can not be done alone; it is necessary to have the help and support of local churches. Because I saw as a child the impact that the local church had in supporting and partnering with missionaries, I chose to go with a missionary agency that also helped build partnerships with the local church.