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.

He used to "play the preacher" after church for his brothers and sister. "Back then the preacher would really preach and sweat and throw his hands up in the air and spin around and everybody would shout and just have a great time," said Roosevelt Broach, who recalled hollering to get the right sound and putting water on his face to get the right look.

But it was all just play to the 12-year-old boy who never dreamed of being a preacher. After he became a Christian at 14, that all changed.

"When I surrendered to the Lord, I really wanted to do something for God," Roosevelt said. "I knew it was just a matter of time before God was going to call me to the ministry."

In 1984, Roosevelt told his wife, Roslyn, that he believed God wanted him to be a pastor. He served as an associate minister at New Mount Zion Baptist Church in Dallas, Texas, before starting Macedonia Baptist Church in Garland, Texas, in 1989 and serving as its senior pastor until 1994.

Then Dallas Baptist Association (DBA) and the North American Mission Board asked Roosevelt to be a church growth consultant for African-American churches. Rooseveltwho thought his ministry would be as a pastor to a congregation, not to pastorsaccepted the position as a missionary and soon found Gods confirmation.

"Once I got to the association, I found out that God really had gifted me and that I had a passion to do what Im doing.

And I enjoy doing it," Roosevelt said.

Roosevelts ministry includes 122 African-American churches, 80 percent of which have fewer than 100 members. He counsels pastors and church planters, aids churches in locating resources, and helps churches and pastors work through problems. His goal is to help existing churches and church plants reach a community he said has a high spiritual sensitivity and openness to the gospel.

"You dont find a lot of atheists in the African-American community," he said.

With 12,000 to 15,000 African Americans attending the 122 churches, DBAs goal to plant 10 new African-American churches a year might seem high. But a growing African-American population estimated now at 427,000 in Dallas County means the association is reaching only 3 to 4 percent.

In addition to planting churches, Roosevelt works to keep at least 80 percent of existing churches healthy.

He defines healthy as a congregation that is growing. And to grow, churches must be relevant. "We cant do church the way we did church 50 years ago [or] 30 years ago," he said.

Roosevelt also encourages young pastors to do as he did and get ministerial and theological training from college and seminary.

"I felt to be the best I could be I needed to get all the practical, personal mentoring experience I could get from the church, but I also needed to get all the academic training, development and exposure that I couldnt get from my pastor," said Roosevelt, who is a doctoral candidate at Fuller Theological Seminary in Pasadena, California.

Roosevelt does not believe younger African-American pastors should forget the past. He knows firsthand the value of his spiritual father and mentor, R.E. Price, pastor at New Mount Zion for 35 years. From Price, Roosevelt traces his desire to love people, to preach the gospel and to minister with integrity.

Calling African-American churches the fastest growing group in the association and the state convention, Roosevelt senses that pastors are upbeat and excited about the spiritual and numerical growth.