A flood of questions.

Introduction

Building relationships with unreached people is crucial in advancing the gospel among them. All 169 of our missionary partners work toward this in their time overseas—yet it looks completely different from partner to partner, culture to culture. 

Crystal does just that through teaching at her city’s girls club. After six years on the field, she’s no stranger to making friends with whomever God brings her way. Just last month, He opened the door for an unexpected, new relationship. That’s where today’s Thread takes us. 

A house visit, coffee, chatting with friends from girls club—all standard after a day of teaching in the city. 

Crystal sat on the floor with the group, catching up on life. Surrounded by all sorts of family members, she was excited to hear about everything happening in their lives. 

That was when Sara*, a 14-year-old girl, entered the room. 

She’d overheard her mom talking with Crystal and was eager to know if she was Muslim. Crystal explained to her that she was a Christian and asked if Sara had met any Christians herself. Surprisingly, she had! Two children at her school came from Christian backgrounds, but Sara had never been able to ask them about it. 

This was her chance. Sara began rapid-firing questions: “Do you really believe Jesus is God?”, “How do you pray?”, “What is meant by the phrase ‘Son of God’?” 

Sara was eager to hear truth, and Crystal couldn’t wait to share it with her. 

She began to answer each of Sara’s questions, watching as her face lit up with each response. This led Sara to ask deeper clarifying questions about the Christian life, prayer, and how the Word instructs believers to live. But what happened next truly shocked Crystal. 

As Sara heard answers to her questions, she’d lean over to her mother and other family members to reiterate what she’d just learned. Her excitement for the gospel meant that she couldn’t help but bring them into the conversation—even though she’d just heard it moments before! 

This went on for over an hour until Crystal had to leave for the day. After arriving home, all she could say was this: 

Never in my nearly six years overseas have I ever encountered someone who so immediately and enthusiastically shared with someone else! It was beautiful to see God drawing her hunger out.

While this conversation concluded Crystal’s visit to their home, she hopes it is only the beginning of a deeper relationship with Sara and her family! It’s relationships like these that are the answer to days, months, or even years of prayer. If you feel led to pray for them, Crystal asks that you pray for God to give them open hearts, and that Sara’s hunger for truth would spread within her family. 

As always, we want to thank you for making a story like this possible, %firstName%. Your support of Crystal and all our missionary partners is making a difference that will last for eternity—thank you for your faithfulness!

*pseudonym used for security purposes

How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent? As it is written, “How beautiful are the feet of those who preach the good news!” – Romans 10:14-15

We believe that senders playing their role empowers goers to play theirs. Romans 10:14-15 shows the importance of this partnership—the unreached will not hear the good news unless someone goes to tell them. And to go, they must be sent. 

December 2nd is Giving Tuesday, one of the biggest donation days of the year. While giving is crucial to the work God has called us to, it’s not what we’re most passionate about; We obsess over reaching unreached people groups with the good news of Jesus! 

For that reason, we’re reframing it as Sending Tuesday. We invite you to mark your calendar for December 2nd as we prepare to come together and eliminate barriers for missionaries going to the unreached! Tell your friends or share it with your family—we hope to see new senders rise up in support of those going to the field!

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We send with great joy.

It’s our greatest privilege to help send missionary partners like Crystal to the field and to keep them there long-term! Don’t want you to miss out on it.

Want to get in on the action? Make a gift today and advance the gospel to the unreached!