How will they know?
Who is going to tell them?
Why would they listen?
These questions are new neither to the church, nor to missions organizations. Seminally, Paul raises these questions in Romans 10. In verses 14-15, he writes:
“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!’”
God used these very verses to call me to missions. I imagine He has used them for millennia to draw minds to those who have never heard. In our missions organization, the questions Paul raises led several believers from Mississippi to begin a work in Ecuador in the 1960s.
It is not controversial to say we should look to Jesus. He modeled how ministry should be done while He was on earth. One concise account is offered in Matthew 9:35,. “And Jesus went throughout all the cities and villages, teaching in their synagogues and proclaiming the gospel of the kingdom and healing every disease and every affliction.”
Sammy and Sue Simpson were Mississippians who had a heart to show and share God’s love. Sammy earned a Ph.D. in agronomy (the science of soil management and crop production) from Mississippi State University. Maybe he couldn’t perform miracles and heal as Jesus did, but he could use his experience in farming and agriculture to help the hurting. The couple saw a great opportunity to do just that in Ecuador.
They established an agricultural demonstration farm while working with the Southern Baptist Convention. Other community development projects teamed up with them to start the farm, which allowed Sammy and Sue to plant churches. When illness invaded their bodies without hope of recovery, they returned to the United States.
Agricultural Missions Foundation: An Answer to Prayer
Sammy and Sue loved missions and prayed diligently for a million dollars to begin a missions organization. The missions organization they served with in Ecuador did not make it easy for them to operate as they desired in the 1960s. Longing for an organization that allowed atypical missionaries to serve (missionaries who were more outside the box of expected missionary work), they still had the desire to share God’s love around the world.
They prayed outrageously for $1 million (equal to $5.8 million in 2023) and L.D. and Elaine Hancock, the owners of Hancock Fabrics, became Sammy and Sue’s answer from the Lord. The Simpsons, Hancocks, and other lay people came together to form the Agricultural Missions Foundation.
The work of the foundation began with Sammy and Sue’s return to Ecuador. They served in the Amazon rainforest running a sawmill project and planting a church.
Mission: Show and Share God’s Love
In 1977, Agricultural Missions Foundation became Global Outreach International (GOI). Changing the name allowed for a broader possibility. Agriculture was no longer the only choice. Turns out there were many looking down unconventional avenues to show and share God’s love. Doctors joined the mission to bring healthcare to the neediest. Farmers signed up to help the poor through demonstration farms. Believers cared for the orphaned in nations suffering from AIDS and genocide. Teachers started schools in the remotest villages. And pastors planted churches and trained leaders.
This was a new missions organization. It wasn’t just for church planters. It wasn’t just for one denomination. It became a place where everyday believers called to go could go. They would use their talents to show and share God’s love. As Jesus walked village to village healing the sick and sharing the Good News of His Kingdom, Global Outreach International missionaries were doing the same. To this day, our mission statement is: To Show and Share God’s Love.
Sammy and Sue wanted to say yes to the ones who had been told no. They wanted a low barrier to entry for service in God’s Kingdom. Without their heart, my wife Emily and I would not have had the chance to go and serve in the field for five years.
We weren’t your standard missionaries. We hadn’t been to seminary. We weren’t translating Bibles into an indigenous language. But I could teach, and I could speak Spanish. GOI is the missions organization that said, “Yes, God can still use you!” Today, we are still an organization that says, “Yes, God can use you!”
Vision: The Good News to Every Nation this Generation
Our above mission statement describes what we do to achieve our vision. What began as a small missions organization has grown to be a medium-sized missions agency with a big vision. We long to see the nations know Jesus. We see Revelation 7:9 picturing for us every nation, tribe, and tongue around the throne. His kingdom will be restored! We want to play a significant role in ushering in God’s Kingdom. And we believe we can do it in this generation. That’s our vision: The Good News to Every Nation this Generation.
Strategic Goals
In 2021, the Board of Directors, alongside the staff of Global Outreach International, came together to form a strategic plan. The Board named three key strategic areas of focus: mobilization, missionary care, and healthy home office operations.
Mobilization: Sending More Workers into the Harvest
To get the Good News to every nation this generation, we must get more laborers into the harvest than ever before. Our goal is to send 100 new missionaries per year going into the field. This effort moves missionaries to the unreached and underserved areas of the world.
In 2023, we achieved an organizational record when 49 missionaries joined Global Outreach. Now this organization cares for more than 300 missionaries around the world, believers like you who were called to the nations. These missionaries come from all walks of life.
One newest missionary is a nurse in her 20s who responded to God’s call to the Middle East. She came to Global Outreach looking for an organization who would stand with her church in sending and supporting her. After securing a job in the healthcare system, she now works there showing and sharing God’s love. She lives with other Muslim nurses and shares the Good News with them as she loves on her patients and coworkers.
Another is a family from Texas called to serve in Alaska. Their passion to equip young believers with God’s Word formed while they attended Alaska Bible Institute. The parents and three children will soon launch to a village in the Aleutian Islands and pastor a small church.
A farmer and his family spent many years in the field managing their own non-profit without outside help. After seven years without the support of a missions organization, they joined Global Outreach. They teach farming techniques to help people in East Africa provide for their families without being trapped by endless cycles of debt. This same curriculum disciples the families in God’s Word along the way. It teaches them who God is, which allows them to teach their neighbors who God is.
We are so proud of the ones who are saying yes to Jesus, whether they are new or have already spent time in the field!
Missionary Care: Go Prepared, Stay Effective, Return with Dignity
Have you ever read this line in a missionary newsletter, “God is leading us back to the States?” The ugly truth? This is often the easiest way to explain why their assignment didn’t go as planned. Often, they were not adequately prepared for the stress or family challenges sparked by living cross-culturally.
Pre-field training is a vital element in preparing families for this huge change. They need to be equipped with the spiritual and relational tools to stay connected with the Lord. Leaving the comfort and care of their sending church is no small task. Moms and dads need language to talk to their kids about the changes they are facing. Families need tools to help them understand and process their experiences. These believers must be equipped to learn the language and culture in their host country so they can share Jesus in a way their hosts understand.
However, an uncomfortable truth still exists.
Even with the best training, we will still fall short.
Let’s be honest on this point. Missions is almost never what we think it will be! It is only by God’s grace and mercy that anything we end up doing on the field ends up being fruitful. That’s why missionary care is so important.
GOI has a unique relationship with its missionaries that is so different from many other missions organizations. We call ourselves “A Great Missions Family.” The people in the office and on the board are so passionate about serving and supporting the missionaries in the field.
We pray together.
We fast together.
We break bread together.
We really are one big family! Our job is to stand with the sending church and support these missionaries in their daily grind.
Missionaries face the same challenges you and I face. They struggle in their marriages and raising their children, complicated by the added stresses of living in their host countries. Their children struggle to adapt to their new culture and make friends. Many are lonely as they miss their families, friends, and church families back in the States.
The reality is that missionaries often find themselves fighting these battles alone. That’s not ok with us! We have an office staff with on-field missions experience ready to go at a moment’s notice. The Missionary Care team is comprised of current and former missionaries who engage in consistent touchpoints and on-field visits to consistently encourage our missionaries.
One day, God will call them back to the States (for those American missionaries). We also want them to be supported as they return; most missionaries say that transitioning back to the States is harder than going to the field.
Radically Different: Our 100% Promise
One of the distinctives that sets Global Outreach International apart as a mission organization is the 100% Promise. This means 100 percent of the donor’s gift goes to the ministry or project it is designated to.
This is radically different than almost every other missions organization of our size that routinely takes anywhere from 15-22% of the missionaries’ funding to finance home office operations.
Our desire is to provide this life-saving training and care at no cost to the missionary. We rely on donors like you to provide funding for this training and care. With this model, more money is going out into the field. More money is going to plant churches, train pastors, care for orphans, help widows, educate children, and heal the sick.
Our Values: How We Go About Our Work
Our values are really a conversation about the qualities we want to stand out most in our missionaries.
Worship
The conversation around missions and missions organizations often involve unreached peoples; those who have never heard the Gospel. We cannot stop there! At Global Outreach International, we not only want the Good News to go to Every Nation this Generation, but also, we long to see King Jesus worshipped as He rightly deserves. Our job is not done until we have recruited worshippers from every nation, tribe, and tongue. It is not just the salvation of man but the glory of God!
Humility
If we are to be fully obedient to Christ, we must go as Jesus went. As a King, He chose to become a servant. Through His humble submission to His Father’s plan, He lived a perfect life and died in our place. Now He is seated at the right hand of the Father.
With that in mind, we must also choose to become servants and forsake our own positions and entitlement. At every level of the organization, we desire to live in humble submission to one another. We desire to see our missionaries arrive on the field with humility; not as superheroes or saviors. With that same humility, we pray the Holy Spirit would open doors that were previously unable to be opened so the Gospel can go where it hasn’t yet.
With that in mind, we must also choose to become servants and forsake our own positions and entitlement. At every level of the organization, we desire to live in humble submission to one another. We desire to see our missionaries arrive on the field with humility; not as superheroes or saviors. With that same humility, we pray the Holy Spirit would open doors that were previously unable to be opened so the Gospel can go where it hasn’t yet.
Holy Spirit
The founders and early missionaries often spoke of being guided by the Holy Spirit in their decision making and their calling. We believe the Holy Spirit calls, and we want to partner with the Holy Spirit in sending to the field those whom He is moving and calling.
Once the missionaries arrive on the field, we want them following the Holy Spirit as He moves and guides. We believe that those in the office and those in the field should seek the Lord daily and follow the Spirit’s leading in every aspect of our ministry and leadership.
Faith
Ultimately, this is God’s work. Philippians tells us we will complete His work. He will do it in His timing. We go in faith recognizing that only He can move hearts. Being faithful to Him is our main job and priority.
We pray in faith knowing our work depends on God alone.
And we have faith God will provide for the work He calls us to. We trust Him completely to provide for His work.
The Church: The Only Sender Mentioned in the Bible
All of the above hinges on this fact: the church is the sender. No missions organization is mentioned in scripture. We believe the Bible is clear that the church is the one who helps discern whom God is calling, the church equips the called, and the church lays hands on and sends out the called.
So why a missions organization? Our heart is to partner with the church so it may do these things well. We have found many well-intentioned churches do not know how to support the missionary after they have laid hands on them to send them out, aside from sending money to the field.
That’s where we come in!
Our team knows what it is like to say “YES!” to God’s call, get rid of our stuff, and uproot our families to move to the field.
We’ve lived through earthquakes and terrorist attacks.
We’ve had children abroad and struggled to raise our kids in a different culture.
We’ve had ministry successes and ministry failures.
All this experience is humbly brought alongside the church to create a healthy, holistic missionary support model.
Not only is the church the sender, but also, we value the global church worldwide. We go in partnership – not in competition – with our brothers and sisters.
As Global Outreach International looks to the future, we remain committed to our core values of worship, reliance on the Holy Spirit, faith, humility, and the Church. These values will guide us as we look to increase our impact.
From its humble beginnings in Tupelo, Mississippi, this organization has grown into a global force for showing God’s love and sharing the Good News of Jesus.
We pray that our best days are yet to come!
Until the nets are full,
John A. Darnell, III
