Me: When did you first feel the call toward missions? What about missions intrigued you?
Carl: Martha and I responded to God’s call to missions in 1977, and were commissioned as missionaries in 1978. However, Martha had surrendered to missions at a much earlier age. For myself, I think I would have to distinguish between first feeling the call and recognizing the call on my life. I remember, as a young boy, feeling the desire to be among or to work with either Hispanic people or Native American people. I did not understand why I felt that way because I had virtually no contact with either group. However, I now believe that was a “feeling” God placed in my heart to prepare me for the day that He would “call” me to missionary service.
So, as I look back, I think I “first felt” the call to missions as a young boy, but did not recognize it as such. I recognized the call in 1977, when, as a pastor, our church began to pray that God, in accord with His will, would call someone from our church family to the foreign mission field. As Martha and I prayed, along with our church family, I knew that I had to be willing to go if I was to be serious about my prayer. I recognized God’s call in 1977, and, as He had called Martha years before, we responded to His call. On June 28, 1978, we were commissioned by the Foreign Mission Board of the Southern Baptist Convention as missionaries to Honduras.
The primary thing that intrigues me about missions is simply sharing God’s love with people. To learn and live in another culture, to learn and speak a different language, to travel to places you have never been, to see things you have never seen and to meet people you would not otherwise meet are all exciting things to do. But to get to share with people, especially with people who might not otherwise hear, that God loves them and that He loves them enough that He would send His Son to die for them, is the most intriguing and exciting thing about missions. To see God change the lives and eternal destiny of people, and to know that He allowed you to have a small part by showing them His love, is beyond intriguing. It is unexplainable.
Along with that is the simple truth that to be a faithful follower of Christ, we must answer His call. He called me to missions, and I could not declare myself to be a faithful follower of Christ, nor an example to others, if I did not follow His call. Knowing that I have done what I understand to be His will is vitally important, thus the call to missions had to be accepted.
Me: Why are mission trips important for those involved, as well as for those being ministered to?
Carl: Please allow me a moment of pettiness to express a personal pet peeve. I don’t particularly like the expression 'mission trip' (even though I sometimes use it myself). I prefer the term 'mission project.' I’m afraid that for some folks a mission 'trip' is just that, a trip that provides an exciting adventure to an exciting place that will be fun to see. A mission 'project' denotes a definite purpose that is to be accomplished, a purpose that goes beyond me having a good time in a new adventure. Often, the 'trip' focuses on me and my excitement, while the 'project' focuses on God’s purpose for my being involved in His kingdom activity, and that provides a greater excitement and benefit than any trip could afford.
Okay, I’m finished pontificating. Now, back to the question at hand.
Mission trips/projects are important for those who are part of the mission team because it moves them beyond themselves. The project is not about me. It is about God and His love for others. It is about others, and God’s love for them. It is about my love for God and my love for others whom He also loves. As I participate in mission projects, I learn that I am not the only one God loves. I learn how He has blessed me, and how fortunate I am to have been given the blessings I enjoy. I learn that not all people enjoy those kinds of blessings, and that I need to be more thankful for how He has blessed my life. I learn that my way of life is not the only way of life in this world. I learn that while the American way of doing things may be good for the American way, it is not the only way, and, in other cultures, it may not be the best way. I learn that other cultures, different from my own, are not inferior to my culture, nor is my culture inferior to theirs. They are simply different. I learn to accept and to respect the culture and the people of the places to which I go to serve. If I do not, I will never reach the level of effectiveness that will allow me to really witness of God’s love in a way that draws them to life-changing faith in Him. I learn that I must let God love them through me – my thoughts, my words, and my actions. I learn that God is the God who loves them as much as He loves me, and that He wants them to know Him, and to spend eternity with Him, just as much as He wants me – and I learn that I want that for them, too.
Those to whom a mission project ministers receive not only the blessing of hearing about God’s love, they also receive the blessing of seeing His love in action. Some will believe and will be eternally blessed. Those who participate as team members of the mission project receive the blessing of being God’s instruments of His blessing to impact those lives for eternity. For what more could we ask!
Me: The student ministry has a wide-range of mission trips planned for summer – from Springfield to Arkansas to Texas to Jamaica. How would you encourage students to consider each? Is one trip more important than another? Will more blessings come from one or another?
Carl: God wants all of us involved in His kingdom activity. That may or may not be a specific mission trip/project. Each student must decide how and where God wants him or her to invest their lives in the advancement of His kingdom. Regarding the student ministry and the mission projects that are planned, I would encourage students to consider each trip/project by asking God where they should invest their time and talents.
They might want to ask questions, such as: Does God want me to go now on one of
these projects? If yes, which one or ones? How do my talents fit with each
project? Where are my particular interests? How does the timeframe, or the
cost, of each project fit into my calendar, or my economic situation? What
is God’s call on my life, and how does that call fit with the mission
activities and purpose of each project? How can I contribute positively to
the purpose of each project?
If God says, “Go”, go. However, if God does not lead you to go on one of these projects, you must not feel guilty about not going. But you must endeavor to find where and how He wants you to be involved in his kingdom activity.
Now, is one trip more important than another, and will more blessings come from one or another? I can answer both questions with one word – NO! There are people in Springfield, in Arkansas, in Texas, in Jamaica, and in all places between, that need to hear and see God’s love in action. In God’s eyes, and it must be the same in our eyes, no one person is more important or of more value than another. God desires to touch the lives of people in one place just as much as in another. Whether you minister in Springfield, or in another state, or in another country, you are ministering in His name, and it takes the same love to touch and change a life in one place as in another. That which really matters, and which is most important, is not where you are, but that you are where He wants you to be. If you serve where He chooses, His blessings will abound. You can not manufacture His blessings by doing your own thing in a place of your own choosing simply because it looks more exciting. Only He can give His blessings, and He gives them to His people when His people seek His will, follow His call, and invest their time and talents in His kingdom activity.
Each and all of these mission trips/projects are important. The people to whom the ministry will be directed are all important to God, and to us. Those who participate on one team are just as important as those who participate on the other teams. The God who directs one team is the same God who directs the other teams. God’s love that will be shared by one team is the same love that will be shared by the other teams. God’s desire to bless the people among whom one team serves is the same desire to bless the people among whom the other teams serve. God’s power to use the members of one team is the same power to use the members of the other teams. And, God always blesses the faithfulness of His servants, and He will bless the faithful efforts of each team, regardless of where they serve.
Me: Final words for students who haven’t been on a mission trip before?
Carl: I encourage all students to consider going on a mission trip/project. If you have never served on a project, you don’t know what you are missing. Your life will never be the same. You will be blessed as you see God work in you and through you as you touch the lives of people you have never before met. I encourage you to ask God to lead you to the right project in the right place at the right time. If He leads you to go on one of these currently planned projects, then begin to plan to go. If He does not lead you to go on one of these projects, then get busy finding out where and how and when He wants you to serve in His kingdom activity. Pray, seek advice and counsel from others, be curious, get involved, and watch God work through you. Missions needs are all around you. God wants you involved! If I can help, please let me know.
Julie Johnson
