Firsthand Experience

by Renee Gillespie, Creative + Digital Media Specialist

 

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Frontier Fellowship is Going Beyond: Wider, Deeper and Farther to new frontiers. One of our Going Wider initiatives is to develop next-generation frontier leaders. It’s been a delight to come alongside Ryan over the past year and to see his heart and passion for frontier mission.

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As part of my role with Frontier Fellowship, I am privileged to hear firsthand the incredible things that God is doing—both through our indigenous partners on the frontier and in the lives of individuals and congregations who engage with our work. 

One such story I heard recently was that of Ryan—a young man who met a Frontier Fellowship mobilizer at a Perspectives course and then joined a vision trip to South Asia, both of which had a remarkable impact on his life. I was able to interview Ryan and hear more about the journey God is leading him on. I first asked him about the Perspectives course, which is an invaluable resource in teaching people about God’s heart for the unreached. Ryan remarked:

“I grew up in the church, but had never really grasped the concept of missions… . I had no idea what to expect [from the Perspectives course], but I learned so much!”

Frontier Fellowship Associate Director Jim Truesdell was introduced to Ryan at one of those classes. Being the mobilizer that he is, Jim almost immediately invited Ryan to join him on an upcoming vision trip to South Asia. Laughingly, Ryan shared:

“I had never really thought about Asia when I thought about myself in missions, but then I met Jim. I hadn’t known him but three hours when he invited me to join him in South Asia, and that the trip was in two months. It was so crazy that it had to be from God.”

He continued:

“When I was praying and discerning my role in missions, I always felt compelled by the Middle East. But Jim shared with me that one of Frontier Fellowship’s partners in South Asia worked among Muslims, which was so cool to me and something I hadn’t even thought about before. This trip would give me an opportunity to actually meet Muslims, hear their stories, and hopefully get confirmation from God that He really did want me to work with people from that religion.”

The Holy Spirit paved a clear path for Ryan to join Jim in South Asia, and Frontier Fellowship’s Going Beyond Campaign provided scholarship funding to assist in this process. I asked Ryan what this funding meant to him, especially as a person who hadn’t been connected to Frontier Fellowship for very long. He paused for a moment and said:

“To me, it felt like an investment into God’s work in me. I had a lot of conversations with Jim about the emphasis that Frontier Fellowship is putting on young people engaging in frontier mission, and this felt like a tangible expression of that. It was the intentionality that spoke the most to me, as an olive branch that said “we need you on our team.” … . To me, the funding really was confirmation from God that He wanted me to go on this trip.”

Once in South Asia, Ryan’s eyes were opened to ministry among frontier peoples. He was struck by the hunger for God among small communities of faith, and awed by their passion for Him. When he returned from South Asia, he began discerning what God would have him do next, and he soon found himself accepting a six-month assignment in Mexico to serve local congregations and help them establish new churches. I asked Ryan what he learned in South Asia that most impacted him and his current ministry, and he shared:

“I’ve really implemented Discovery Bible Studies (DBS) into my ministry here in Mexico. I know that’s not exclusive to South Asia, but I had never seen it before. Now, I’m teaching individuals and congregations how to do DBS, and helping church plants teach them to new communities. The desire for me to engage in ministry in this way came directly from my experience with Frontier Fellowship’s South Asian partners.”

This story is just one of the myriad ways God is working among individuals who engage with the frontier in a personal way. I am honored to hear these stories, and continue to pray that God will help more individuals discover their role in making the Good News of Jesus accessible among the world’s least-reached peoples.

 

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Join us in helping make our Going Beyond vision a reality at: frontierfellowship.com/going-beyond