God calls ‘all kinds of people’ to missions

Editor’s note: For security reasons, last names of missionaries in this story are omitted.

In 1999, Jeff and Cyndi were raising their family in the Lowcountry of South Carolina. Jeff had worked for 20 years in corporate banking, and they were content. Then God called. 

“I was working as a vice president at a local bank when I felt the call to missions,” Jeff said. “I struggled with the idea and even felt sick for a period of time. Once I finally surrendered, there was peace, and God continued to conform us more to his image.”

Tim Rice, director of missions mobilization for the South Carolina Baptist Convention, says people with different skill sets and work experiences are useful in the mission field. “God calls all kinds of people out of all kinds of careers into missions,” he said. “Missionaries are not just pastors.”

Jeff was born and raised in South Carolina, grew up in a sports-loving family, and became a Christian as a teenager. Cyndi’s father was in the Navy, so her childhood was spent moving from place to place. A Christian since her teens, Cyndi said she had her fill of traveling as a child and never felt a strong pull to full-time missions.

Initially, God used the family’s love of sports in calling them to missions. Their first assignment with the International Mission Board was to develop an international sports recreation company. Their children were 9, 11, and 13 when Jeff and Cyndi moved the family to the Middle East. They immersed themselves in the local community and started offering sports opportunities for men, women and children. Over the course of seven years, they built a recreation center, hosted sports camps and clinics, and took teams to tournaments in Europe. 

“We were not known as missionaries,” said Jeff, “but as people who added value to the community. Once we developed relationships within the local community, we were able to freely share our faith. I remember one day when some children saw me praying, they asked me if I was like them. Because they asked me, I was then able to share.” 

God Calls ‘All Kinds of People’ to Missions 2

South Carolina missionaries Jeff and Cyndi advance the gospel among the people of sub-Saharan Africa.

Their second IMB assignment took them to the Horn of Africa, where, for the next three years, Jeff helped missionaries serving in the region develop platforms to receive visas. Later, he developed a small business center in the community. Cyndi served in a women’s Bible-study fellowship class in the capital city. Today, Jeff marvels at how God is using their life experiences and skills as they work to serve and coordinate logistics for more than 700 IMB missionaries throughout the sub-Saharan region of Africa.

“The business experience I have has opened doors,” he said. “Without my background, it would be impossible to walk through the doors we are walking through today.”

One of those doors includes developing a strategic plan to share the gospel with African truck drivers. The logistics coordinators have taken note of how trucks move goods throughout Africa on a limited transportation infrastructure — essentially, one main road in each country. Most African truck drivers cannot read or write. They make frequent visits to truck stops along the routes. Logistics coordinators link up local believers at truck stops to interact with the drivers. They have developed the art of oral gospel “storying,” and they use memory cards embedded with Bible stories that the drivers can access with their cell phones. 

“The Lord is blessing this ministry by calling local churches to get involved,” Jeff said. He said American and African churches are adopting truck stops and placing local leaders there to start a ministry. “It is not uncommon for up to 200 people to get saved at these truck-stop ministry meetings,” he said. 

Cyndi also assists with a ministry guest house in the capital city, and she helps Somali women learn English. She talked about a faith-based conversation with a group of women that began with the question, “What makes you sad?”

“All of the ladies said the deaths of family members,” said Cyndi. “They asked me if I was afraid to die, and they were surprised when I said I wasn’t because I knew where I was going. They burst out laughing. When I asked why, one said, ‘Oh, Cyndi, nobody knows that.’ ”

How can South Carolina Baptists partner in Jeff and Cyndi’s work? They say their strongest support comes from prayer and financial giving through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. They also welcome partnerships with churches to further the truck-stop ministry; churches can adopt a truck stop or send short-term mission teams. French-speaking mission teams are especially needed in West Africa. 

Individuals or churches interested in connecting with Jeff and Cyndi may contact them directly at 843-246-9759. They are also available through January 2015 to speak to church groups.