June walked into the jungle and arrived in a village that had never heard of Jesus.
June was discipled in a SCBaptist church that cooperated with over 1,600 churches this past year by giving through the Cooperative Program. She heard about missions as a child, and it instilled the wonder of the adventure and calling of a missionary.
She was educated in one of our three universities, where she participated in Baptist Collegiate Ministries, funded by the Cooperative Program. There, she had opportunities of learning from teachers who have a biblical worldview and was given opportunities for short-term missions.
June interviewed for the Palmetto Collective with South Carolina Baptist Convention staff funded by the Cooperative Program. She was selected to be one of 54 students preparing for a lifetime of missions. While in the Palmetto Collective, she had the opportunity to go on an international mission experience and a North American mission experience. She received a mentor and a stipend for school loan debt reduction and expenses.
She was selected by Southern Baptists to be fully funded by the Cooperative Program to be the first of many explorers who would go to the last 3,000 people groups where there was no known believer. June was given a phone that would be tracked 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, by a team funded by the Cooperative Program. She was trained for two months before she departed in a training center built by Southern Baptists. When June departed, she passed a wall full of names of those who sacrificed their lives on the field sharing the good news of Jesus.
What is the Cooperative Program? It is the financial engine that funds the ecosystem of Baptist missionary deployment. The Cooperative Program is a way to join forces with like-minded churches and put flesh and bones to our desire to give every life an opportunity to hear and respond to the good news of Jesus. We celebrate 100 years this month of funding Baptist missions through the Cooperative Program.
June is willing to give her life. What is your church willing to sacrifice to hold the rope for her and send others?
There is one less people group without a gospel witness because the first known convert came to know Jesus that day in the jungle. You helped make it happen. When God says go, we go.
To watch video episodes and to learn more about June’s journey, visit scbaptist.org/whengodsaysgo.
— Lee Clamp is associate executive director-treasurer for the South Carolina Baptist Convention.