Fifteen Years of Saying Yes

This year marks three significant milestones in my life:

Fifteen years as a missionary.

Eleven years of marriage.

Ten years of motherhood.

When I entered the mission field fifteen years ago, I was single, full of zeal, and eager to say yes to whatever Jesus asked of me.

I had no idea where that yes would lead.

Over the years, that journey has taken me from the inner city of Jackson, Mississippi, to the nations overseas, through seasons of transition, marriage, raising children, and now into a new assignment in Nashville, Tennessee.

The mission field has been the backdrop of most of my adult life.

I met my husband while serving Jesus.

We built our marriage while serving Jesus.

We welcomed our children while serving Jesus.

Our family has crossed oceans, packed and unpacked homes, said countless goodbyes, and stepped through more unknown doors than I can count — all because we believed Jesus was worthy of our obedience.

Looking back, what stands out most is not the places we've lived or the ministries we've served.

It's the faithfulness of God.

Because the reality is that fifteen years of missionary life has not been a constant stream of victories and open doors.

There have been seasons of deep joy and incredible provision.

But there have also been disappointments. Doors that closed unexpectedly. Plans that unraveled. Relationships that seemed strong one day and nonexistent the next. Moments when we felt misunderstood, overlooked, or forgotten. Times when the path ahead made very little sense.

Yet through every season, Jesus has remained faithful.

Again and again, He has stripped away our dependence on outcomes, approval, opportunities, and human affirmation so that we would learn to trust Him alone.

Some of the hardest seasons became the most transformative.

Some of the greatest disappointments became the clearest evidence of His guidance.

And some of the doors we most wanted to walk through turned out to be the very doors God was protecting us from.

Today, as we lead MTC Nashville and invest in training the next generation of disciple-making missionaries, we can see how God was preparing us all along.

The confusion was preparation.

The waiting was preparation.

The loss was preparation.

The closed doors were preparation.

Nothing was wasted.

Jesus was writing a story far bigger than we could see at the time.

The Assignment Before Us

Today, God has planted our family in Nashville, Tennessee, and we believe this is one of the most strategic assignments He has ever given us.

Jesus' final command to His followers was simple:

"Go therefore and make disciples of all nations..." (Matthew 28:19)

For many years, we obeyed that command by crossing oceans and living among unreached peoples overseas. Today, we are discovering that God has gathered many of those same nations right here in our own city.

Nashville is home to people from every corner of the world. Refugees, immigrants, international students, business professionals, and families from dozens of nations now call Middle Tennessee home. The nations have come to us.

This reality creates an incredible opportunity for the Church.

MTC Nashville, our Missionary Training Center in the heart of the city, exists to help ordinary believers step into the Great Commission and learn how to make disciples who make disciples. We believe disciple-making is not reserved for pastors, missionaries, or ministry professionals. Jesus gave this mission to every follower of Christ.

That is why one of our primary focuses is training and equipping the next generation of disciple-making missionaries.

MTC Nashville serves as the home of an e3 Partners Residency Training Program, a hands-on discipleship and mission training experience designed to prepare laborers for gospel work both locally and globally. Through classroom instruction, practical ministry experience, mentoring relationships, prayer, and outreach among the nations, participants are equipped to live missionally wherever God sends them — into church planting, overseas missions, ministry leadership, or faithful disciple-making in their own neighborhood.

Whether you sense a call to overseas missions, church planting, ministry leadership, or simply want to become more effective in sharing your faith and making disciples, this training is designed to help you take the next step.

The harvest remains plentiful, but Jesus still calls His people to pray for laborers and become laborers themselves.

If you live in the Nashville area — or know someone who does — we would love to connect with you. Explore what missionary training at MTC Nashville could look like for you.

Come join us as we seek to obey the Great Commission, reach the nations gathered in our city, and equip disciple-makers who will carry the gospel to the ends of the earth.

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