SPECIAL MISSIONARY FEATURE

You don't have to read much of On Mission to discover one of our most important core beliefs: God wants every Christian to be personally on mission with Him, delivering the gospel to the world.

Does that mean that every Christian is a missionary? Well, not exactly. Some on mission Christians receive a special call from God to go from where they are to places and people that God has prepared for them. Philip went to Samaria and Gaza (Acts 8), Peter went to the Gentile household of Cornelius (Acts 10), Paul and his partners went to places and people now chronicled as the names of many New Testament books (Acts 13-28). Names like William Carey, Adoniram Judson and Lottie Moon bring to mind more contemporary missionaries called to specific places and people.

So does that mean you have to cross an ocean or speak a different language to be a missionary? Again, not exactly. Take for example the eight modern-day missionaries profiled here. Their unique giftedness and preparation now help them get past the barriers that have kept people in their mission field from hearing the good news about Jesus.

These missionaries are representative of the 4,815 who have been appointed by the North American Mission Board (NAMB) to places of service in the United States, Canada and their territories. During a special "Week of Prayer" for North American missions March 7-14 thousands of churches and literally millions of Christians will pray for these eight and for the on mission cause of sharing the gospel throughout North America.

We invite you, too, to be their partners in prayer.

Writers contributing to this special missionary feature include Jenny Burns, Kelly Capers, Teresa Dickens, James Dotson, Joe Johnson, Lynne Jones and Sherra Still.

Jim McBride
Dover, Delaware

Mel Cruikshank
Calgary, Alberta

Victor Martinez
Ponce, Puerto Rico

Glenn Chappelear
Dallas, Georgia

Herb Stoneman
Sandy, Utah

Jim Queen
Chicago, Illinois

John Samb
Rochester, Minnesota

Rolland Slade
San Diego, California