I would like to take this opportunity to share with you about the many ways that our time at Christ For The Nations motivated and equipped us to serve as long-term missionaries across the globe. First of all, the CFNI emphasis on prayer and worship greatly impacted our relationship with the Lord and passion for ministry. I had extended times of prayer in the Prayer Chapel and in the prayer room in the main auditorium.

The Lord spoke to me first about going to China in the prayer room. Immediately after hearing this, the school announced their China Outreach which I went on and it really fed my hunger for longer term, cross-cultural missions. The Lord also used the guest speakers at CFNI to draw my heart toward becoming a full-time missionary. Directly after the Lord told me I would go to China, Paul Kaufman was a guest speaker and he spoke about his missions experience in China. I know this was not a coincidence and that God was directing my path.

Attending the regular Asian student get-togethers also broadened our experience with people from other cultures. These gatherings played a big part in giving my wife and myself a growing understanding and love for the peoples of Asia. The mission courses, and especially those of the third year missions program (we attended that the first year it opened) enlarged our understanding of what all is involved in the various types of overseas missions work. Each course continued to feed our passion to serve God as full-time missionaries in Asia.

We were asked to choose a nation to report on from Operation World in our third year missions class.  I choose a particular closed access country in southeast Asia and began to develop a heart for these people and for bringing the Gospel to them. 

Near the close of the program, we attended the “Laubach Teaching English As Another Language” course. At the completion of our third year, we were asked to share with the student body our vision for missions. I said that we were called by God to minister to Southeast Asian refugees in Dallas and that one day we would be missionaries in that same nation, which is exactly what happened. The Lord is so awesome! 

Shortly thereafter, having just studied the Laubach course on teaching ESL at CFNI, we began providing regular English classes in Dallas for the refugees from our target country. We also started a children’s Bible club, led a youth group, and ministered at the nearby mission church for the next five years until it was time to move overseas.

All of these experiences prepared us well for the 20+ years of overseas missions service we’ve done in the years that followed.  We’ve been privileged to lead Bible training programs, conduct cell church multiplication workshops, minister to the disadvantaged, do leadership development training, and mentor/coach/disciple many through the years.

We thank the Lord for the wonderful, mission-focused training we received at Christ For The Nations that propelled us into our work as full-time missionaries, helping to fulfill the Great Commission as we await the glorious return of our Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.