ou dont 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), 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 5,025 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 5-12 thousands of churches and literally millions of Christians will pray for these eight and for theon mission cause of sharing the gospel throughout North America. We invite you, too, to be their partners in prayer.

The tune is familiar. The words are not. But as the keyboard leads the congregation in the opening hymn, its apparent that "How Great Thou Art" is easily recognizable in any language.

The pastor writes a scripture on a chalkboard, the Arabic characters flowing freely from his marker, right to left, right to left, as the verse takes shape.

As he leads the congregation in Bible study, Basem Qusous explains the importance of a seed dying in the ground before it can produce a plant.

Thats the business this Middle Eastern pastor occupies himself with as he teaches immigrants from Arabic-speaking nations about the importance of dying to self and turning to Christ for redemption. Its a slow work, hard work, but one that brings great reward, Basem says.

Khalil "Charlie" Hanna understands. For 20 years he has served Southern Baptists as a catalytic missionary in California, working to plant churches across the state.

When he was appointed both by the California Baptist Convention and the North American Board (NAMB), there was no Arabic work in his state.

Egyptian-born Charlie, whose Arabic name means "friend of God," spends much of his time teaching Bible studies open to non-Christians in homes and offices, encouraging pastors and trying to reach Middle Easterners for Christ. He knows their homesickness, but more important, he knows their heartsickness for peace with God.

Charlie accepted Christ in a small church in Cairo that was started by Southern Baptist missionaries. As a young man he went to Beirut where he received a degree at the Lebanon Southern Baptist Bible School. Then he was asked to pastor a Lebanese congregation, and hes been preaching ever since.

"The overall goal of my ministry is to start churches and lead that group to grow in the Lord and start another church. Our goal is to reach every Middle Easterner in California. Its a big state, and I cant do it on my own, but we can all do it working together," he explains.

Starting from scratch, Charlie first began building churches with Middle Easterners who had a Christian background. With that foundation in place, he now teaches those believers how to reach their unchurched friends.

But its no easy task. In the Los Angeles area where he lives, there are more than 15,000 Muslims practicing the faith of their fathers. There are more than 1 million Middle Easterners statewide.

"The Arab feels that Islam is the best religion because its older than Christian-ity," he said. "The Arab may listen to you, but he will politely respond with I already have the best [religion], so I dont need to change. Thats what creates the slow response to the gospel."

Thats why its so important for Charlie to train others so they, in turn, can start other churches. Others like Basem, who now serves as pastor of the Arabic mission at San Franciscos 19th Avenue Baptist Church.

In his role as catalytic missionary, Charlie oversees the health of Arabic-speaking churches across the state. When the San Francisco mission was ready to close its doors, Charlie prayed that God would lead him to another pastor who would share the vision for the churchs growth. Before long Basem and his family responded to Charlies vision. They left a beautiful home, moved into a crowded apartment and threw themselves into rebuilding the congregation and re-establishing a vibrant, growing church. Now, after seven hard years, the church has grown from two to 70.

Charlies work is many times overwhelming, but he is not alone in his ministry. His wife, Amal, begins each day at 4 a.m. on her knees in prayer for those needing to hear the gospel.

"I thank God because of my wife. Shes not only helping me to open our home for visitors, but she helps me in visitation. We are a team serving the Master. He deserves all that we can give."