MissionNext partners with over 100 mission agencies and Christian schools, all with diverse needs. We help them connect with God’s people who are looking to serve Him in unique ways. The best part? Watching God fill those needs! Be encouraged with two stories of God-ordained connections told by our partners.
For over 70 years, Mission Aviation Fellowship (MAF) has been using aviation and technology to reach isolated people with the Gospel. MAF continually seeks to work in strategic locations to share the love of Jesus Christ in hard-to-reach locations. One thing that affects the ability of our staff to serve long-term is the educational needs of their children. In order to help meet this need, MAF places school teachers where needed.
Last year Charles and Alleene Dean attended the MissionNext Forum in Washington, DC, “exploring the idea of overseas missions and looking for God’s leading.” They stopped by the MAF booth and talked with Recruiter Brian Behal, who told them MAF’s #1 need right now was for teachers! Alleene is a gifted elementary teacher and Charles had recently gotten his ACSI certification to teach Bible.
Just a year ago Alleene wrote us, “I am not sure exactly where we are right now except that we are looking to take the next logical steps and see where God leads. For us, those next steps will be the Perspectives course and probably The Journey Deepens conference. Meanwhile, I thought maybe we could start a dialogue about MAF’s teaching needs.”
Here at MAF, we are very excited the Deans did take the Perspectives course last fall, and now – somewhat more quickly than they initially anticipated – they have been accepted by MAF and assigned to teach and use their gifts in support of the families and work in Kalimantan. Charles will likely teach Bible to our missionaries’ kids, as well as assist MAF’s media team with story gathering, while Alleene will teach multiple grades.
MAF has a great team of families serving the people of Kalimantan – and together they have around 20 kids in grades 1-7.
We thank the Lord for the partnership with MissionNext as you help God’s people know about and connect to “options in missions that are surprisingly suited for your skills and passions.”
New Mission Systems International (NMSI) is a mission sending agency that exists to proclaim Christ and make disciples globally. Today 197 NMSI missionaries in over 20 countries engage in church multiplication, community transformation, global youth ministry and marketplace ministry.
After spending many months seeking God’s will for their next phase of ministry and connecting with agencies after completing MissionNext’s Service Profile, Kathy and Andy (Andrew) Sodestrom stepped away from their church ministry and joined New Mission Systems International (NMSI) in January 2016.
They want to devote themselves to working with their African partners at Frontier Force Christian Ministries to multiply and develop healthy churches in the rural villages of Uganda.
Kathy and Andy are currently developing their prayer and financial ministry partners and are confident of God’s calling. NMSI is privileged to facilitate the Sodestroms as they live out the calling God has placed on their lives.
What agencies are waiting to connect with you? Learn more about MissionNext and our partners in the Great Commission.
Image by Chito Vecina – licensed under Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. The image was cropped from the original.
Joanna Evoniuk
Joanna Evoniuk is a writer and content manager with a heart for missions and travel. She has been a part of campus ministry, short-term mission trips, and moved to the UK as part of a church plant team.
