Grateful For Missions

Introduction: Missions, Missionaries, The Great Commission, Missions Trips, Outreaches, etc.

Missions Heroes

William Carey

William Carey is regarded as the “father of modern missions”.

Trained as a shoemaker, William Carey became known as the ‘father of modern missions’ for his missionary work in India. The story goes that in 1787, he suggested that all Christians had a duty to share the gospel around the world, after which he was told: “Young man, sit down. When God pleases to convert the heathen, he will do it without your aid and mine.”

Undeterred, however, he founded the Baptist Missionary Society five years later in 1792, preaching a message during which he said one of his most famous quotes: “Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God”.

The next year, he traveled to India with his family, but his struggles continued. He saw no conversions for seven years, his son Peter died of dysentery and his wife’s mental health deteriorated rapidly. “This is indeed the valley of the shadow of death to me,” Carey wrote at the time. “But I rejoice that I am here notwithstanding, and God is here.”

But in 1800, he baptized his first convert to Christianity, and over more than 20 years went on to translate the Bible into dozens of major Indian languages and dialects. He also founded Serampore College to train local ministers.

Assemblies of God Missions:

List of Trinitarian Pentecostal denominations

Assemblies of God – 85,393,883.

•        2,708 missionaries in 252 countries, territories, and provinces.

•        Baptist International Missions Board (5200 cross-cultural workers).

•        The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints has 82,000 full-time proselytizing missionaries and another 10,000 service or humanitarian missionaries.

Apostolic Church – 15 million.

Foursquare Church – 8.8 million.

Church of God (Cleveland, Tennessee) – 7 million.

Church of God in Christ – 6.5 million.

Church of Pentecost – 3.9 million.

Christian Congregation of Brazil – 2.8 million.

The AG Missions Fields are divided into 7 geographical locations.

Some of those countries include places like Ethiopia, Belgium, Bolivia, Indonesia, Cambodia,  Scotland, Nicaragua, New Zealand, the Philippines, Netherlands, Zimbabwe, Panama, Austria, Papua New Guinea, etc…

France Missionary: Nicole Herrero

All I wanted to do was serve Jesus and follow Him. I learned in college through Chi Alpha that there was a Heavenly Father who wanted a tangible, day-to-day relationship with me. He didn’t want me to come only when I was desperate or reciting the prayers I grew up with. He wanted my whole heart. He wanted me. When I came to realize that, I laid down my dream of becoming a surgeon. I gave up the plan I had so intricately planned for myself as I came to understand that God’s ways were higher than mine (Isaiah 55:8-9). Why? Because He loves me and knows and desires only what is best for me.

After graduating from university, I gave a year to missions. I found out through Chi Alpha about the opportunity to serve overseas and my curiosity sparked. As soon as I saw France on the list my heart leaped at the thought of serving in a place I had only dreamt of visiting since I was a little girl. One year and then I’d figure out the rest of my life. That was my plan, but God had something else in mind.

I remember his gentle but firm whisper saying, “You’re going. I just need you to trust me.” It terrified me to think that God was actually willing to give me this dream of mine. I graduated, raised my budget, went through the hurdle of getting my visa, and landed in Grenoble in 2015.

Assemblies of God In Ethiopia Ministries to Jewish Population

El Salvador: Rember Those in Prison

MH – I went into a prison in Bolivia.

In the United States (Home Missions)

Testimonies: Stories

Hugo: Faith Despite Persecution

Growing up as a missionary kid in Taiwan, it wasn’t uncommon for people from our small church to come to our house and spend time with our family. The Holy Spirit was doing great things, and the struggling church my parents pastored was beginning to grow.

During that time, I met Hugo — a shy, mild-mannered young man a few years younger than me. Hugo was just learning English, and I was still struggling with Mandarin, but somehow, we found a way to communicate. Hugo was around every week until, suddenly, he wasn’t.

Then, one day, just as suddenly, our doorbell rang. I opened the door, and there was Hugo! His clothes were dirty, and his head hung low. Hugo sobbed as he asked to speak with my father. Dad came around the corner, and when Hugo looked up, I saw that his face was swollen, with a dark bruise on it.

“I told my father that I have become a Christian,” Hugo explained. His dad flew into a rage, beat him, and demanded that Hugo recant his faith in Jesus. When Hugo would not recant, his father threw him out of the house.

This was the first time I saw a real physical cost to being a Christian, and my friend Hugo was experiencing all this while still just a boy. I don’t remember much more of the conversation from all those years ago, but I do remember Hugo not once backing down from being a Christian.

More than three decades passed, and, as I started out in my own ministry, I often wondered about Hugo. Then, one day, I received a Facebook friend request from him! No longer is Hugo a shy boy — he is a pastor — a confident man with a wife and children. His testimony is not one of a survivor but of an overcomer.

Hugo’s victory started not long after my family moved away from Taiwan. I learned that after his father’s abuse, Hugo went home and led his mother and sister to the Lord. A few years later, Hugo led his father to Jesus, as well.

The Ukraine Crisis and the Churches Response

Gospel Opportunities in Sri Lanka

• Katrina
• Ukraine
• Maui Fires
• Fires, Floods, Famines, Wars
• Inner Cities of America