Jon Siebert, General Director
God used many things to recruit me into missions. First of all, the missions-minded church I grew up in would welcome any evangelical missionary to come and speak (and they were given the better part of an hour!). I remember a missionary from South America showing us slides, another from Africa teaching us a song, and another from the West Indies brought piggy banks for us to save our pennies for missions. Every time a missionary mailed their prayer letter to our church, it was read out loud to the whole church! (yes, you read that right!)
Also, often my mom and dad invited missionaries to our home, and we would hear stories of what God was doing in many parts of the world. Mom also read missionary stories to us kids. And even though my parents struggled to pay the bills, they gave sacrificially to missions.
When I was attending Bible school, an elderly man wrote to ask if I would consider helping in ministry on the nearby Reserve. Upon returning home, my church appointed me to help him with a Sunday school he was leading in a Reserve home. I would play my guitar and he would teach the Bible. One day he took off his sweater and put it on me, like Elijah did to Elisha (1 Kings 19:19), and said, “I believe that you are to lead this ministry.” So I learned to teach and to lead.
Then Ray Bradford, an NCEM missionary, came for a visit to our church and heard about my ministry. He asked me, “Would you like some training for what you are doing? We are holding a Missionary Development Program for three months, and you are welcome to come with no obligation to join NCEM.” I gladly accepted … and here I am!
Missions was “for real” in my home church, and many became missionaries. Jesus tells us in Luke 10:2 to “Pray the Lord of the harvest to send forth labourers into his harvest.” We are praying much, and ask you to pray with us for more missionaries. There are many opportunities to serve. In various communities, people are asking for a missionary to come.
Do you think you could implement some of these things that God used in my life to encourage others to become missionaries? And could God be calling you to come?