My Journey into Missions

After I finished school, I got a job in banking and quickly found that God had gifted me to do well in that industry. I started at the bottom in the collections department and, while working there, developed a plan to climb the corporate ladder.

I wanted to be a department manager by the time I was 25, a bank officer by the time I was 30 and a full vice president by the time I was 35. It was an aggressive goal, but I knew with God’s help I could do it. Through hard work and God’s provision, I was promoted to manager when I was 24, bank officer at 28, and full vice president by 33.

God had blessed me and my family. I had a lovely wife, four children, we were active in our church and our community, and we were on our way to a successful, happy life.

Then the Lord used several circumstances to let me know there was something different he wanted us to do. We were given the opportunity to become part owners of the loan brokering company we had helped get started. We’d have to take out a huge loan, but the potential was great, too.

We prayed diligently through this, and the Lord kept taking me to Colossians 3:2 – “Set your mind on the things above, not on the things that are on the earth.”  We politely declined the offer to buy into the company and started looking for what other direction the Lord might have in store for us. Our prayer was that God would show us how he could use our experience and talents for him.

Shortly after that, our church held a mission conference, and we housed a family of visiting missionaries as had become our custom. During a casual meal together with these missionaries, they asked about our lives and vocation, and we shared our story with them. They asked us if we realized how badly people with a finance background were needed in missions. I had no idea!

Wasn’t missions all about preaching and teaching and church planting? I did not have a seminary degree, nor was I planning to get one. Could the Lord really use someone with a banking and lending background in missions?

This visiting missionary was serving with TWR on Guam, so we started filling out some applications with a few sending agencies, including TWR. To our surprise, many of the organizations were interested in having people with my experience and skills. Was this the answer to prayer we had been searching for?

We would be taking a substantial cut in pay if we left the company and went into missions. Then there were issues like leaving extended family, packing everything we owned into a 40-foot shipping container, moving sight-unseen to a new place and, of course, raising our personal support. This might sound daunting to the everyday person, but for those who feel God asking them to make this move, it’s simply obedience.

We joined TWR when our kids were 10, 8, 6, and 3, and we moved to Guam after God raised our support. It was an adventure for the whole family. Yes, we took a substantial reduction in pay, but we have never been in need. God has ALWAYS provided. And raising support? Well, that is really much more than a phrase. It is developing lasting partnerships with people in ministry. Most of our partners have been on this ministry journey with us for 20 years now.

Is God prompting you to consider serving in missions? Don’t ignore him. Don’t miss the opportunity to experience his provision and multiple blessings. You will have questions and maybe even some doubts. That’s normal. But take it from me: following God’s leading is the best place to be.