I was recently invited to speak about engaging in global mission as a local church pastor. Here are my brief remarks.
In the Fall of 1980, I was pastoring a small church in Attapulgus, Georgia. I was just a few months into the pastorate, when I invited a young evangelist – Phillip Kirkland – to come preach a revival. One night during the altar service he prophesied these words to me: “God has anointed you to preach the gospel throughout the world and God will raise you up to be a Pentecostal leader.” I was from a small town, pastoring in a small town, and never anticipated ministry beyond small town Georgia . . .
Almost twenty years later I was pastoring in Douglas, Georgia. I had been invited to preach a revival in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. As I was praying about the revival, the Holy Spirit spoke to me and said, “This will be the first of many trips.” About the same time, an elderly gentleman in our church, Brother Ed Brown, introduced me to a young man who pastored a church in Yangon, Myanmar – Dong Khan Mang. Brother Ed asked if I would be willing to allow Dong Mang a few minutes to share in our upcoming Sunday service and receive an offering for his ministry. I agreed. About six months later, Dong Mang unexpectedly called and asked if I would be willing to travel to Myanmar to teach his Bible College students and preach at his church – Yangon Gospel Church. We agreed that I would travel to Yangon.
In July 1998 I traveled alone to Yangon, Myanmar. As I prepared to depart LAX for Yangon, I prayed, “God, please give me an angel to travel with me.” A few minutes later a gentleman sat down beside me and we engaged in conversation. He told me that his mother was a Pentecostal evangelist in Oklahoma and that he was on the way to Bangkok. We shared that flight together. God provided a traveling partner for me. I arrived in Yangon and spent ten days teaching about thirty-five Burmese pastors (see here) and visiting with pastors in the region.
About the same time, I published a sermon online. A Pentecostal pastor in Razgrad, Bulgaria – Nikolay Kolev – read the sermon, and sent me an email inviting me to come teach pastors in the region. In December 1998 I traveled to Razgrad, Bulgaria, in the midst of the coldest European winter in a century. I was surprised to discover that several Bulgarian pastors had traveled from across the country to attend our training seminar. During this visit, I also traveled to small village churches to preach. There I met many ethic Turks who were cultural Muslims converted to Christ (see here), many of whom testified to great miracles.
Since those first trips, I have made more than a dozen trips to Asia and Europe, primarily to train pastors. Sharon and I have hosted missionaries in our home, and sponsored short-term mission trips. We have raised tens of thousands of dollars in support of native pastors. I have published two books – one in Burmese and the other in Spanish – that have given my work wide circulation.
Presently, I teach at Pentecostal Theological Seminary. Because of online technology, I teach students across the United States and the world. In my current Pastoral Ministries class, I have students from the United Kingdom, Rwanda, India, and the Caribbean. With the PTS Thrive initiative, funded by a $1,000,000 grant from the Lilly Foundation, over the past five years I have traveled throughout the United States presenting seminars focused on training and encouraging early career pastors and pastors in conflict. My association with the Society for Pentecostal Studies has put me in touch with Pentecostal theologians from around the world and allowed me to engage in ecumenical dialogues with theologians from various Christian traditions.
Looking back over my journey, I never anticipated the doors that would be opened. I have met and coached hundreds of pastors throughout the world. The prophetic words spoken by my friend many years ago proved to be true.
