Before our family moved to Cambodia, I believe God gave me a vision. I could see two doors. One was locked and through the keyhole I could see women and children enslaved. The other door was wide open with light pouring through it. I knew this represented Jesus, the light of the world and the gate through whom we are saved (John 10:9).
The compulsion I felt was that we had to not only get the women out of their suffering but also lead them into Christ, who alone could transform them from the inside out and meet their greatest need, namely, reconciliation with God. We went on to teach life skills, find housing, training opportunities and jobs for exploited women, while keeping evangelism and discipleship central and we saw what Jesus can do in the lives of very broken people.
Many Christians have heard the quote often attributed to Francis of Assisi, ‘Preach the gospel and if necessary, use words’. Yes, our whole lives should point people to Jesus, but words are necessary to explain who Jesus is; why he came; what he did to redeem us and what it means to follow him. Evangelism, discipleship and compassionate acts of service are integrated in a biblical vision of mission – one that echoes the life and teaching of Jesus.
All over the world, SIM workers are serving people at their point of need and faithfully sharing the message people need to hear. Our values in SIM include concern for human need and commitment to biblical truth and we are committed to making disciples of Jesus where he is least known.
This combination of sharing the gospel and practical care, of healing and telling, of declaration and demonstration, is one of the things I love about SIM. SIM’s summary of our core values states that we are ‘Compassionate’ which we unpack to mean that “We are people of love. We humbly offer compassionate, holistic service and eternal hope, through the knowledge of Jesus Christ.”
The Impact of Christ-like Love
History abounds with examples of Christ-like love in action. Caring for the needy was built into the early church from the beginning (see Acts 2-6). Paul gave instructions to Timothy to ensure those in need were looked after and was urged by the Jerusalem elders to “continue to remember the poor” (Galatians 2:10).
In the 2nd century AD, Justin Martyr described common practice in Christian meetings where “they took up an offering for all who are in need: orphans, widows, the sick, those in want, strangers sojourning among us.” The Roman emperor Julian said of Christians during the 300s that “they support not only their poor but ours as well.” He was annoyed and saw it as part of the reason for the growth of Christianity!
Today, communities in Northern Nigeria that have previously been hostile to gospel witness have been open to hearing the gospel following the care shown on medical outreaches. Dr. Yohannes Ymer, SIM Director in Nigeria, says that in these communities, people come not only seeking physical healing but also spiritual hope.
“I have witnessed hearts softened by kindness, ears opened to the message of salvation, and lives transformed by the love of Christ. Often, hundreds gather — many of whom are ready to receive the good news. Their openness to prayer and their hunger for truth are unmistakable. “They really need health care; they really need Jesus,” adds Ymer. “Our ‘prescription’ is not just medicine — it is Jesus.
“Through tangible acts of healing, we demonstrate the heart of the Father. We proclaim his love in word and deed, and the response is overwhelming. Even in areas of strong religious influence, people listen, pray, and respond.”
Motives Matter
It is important to say that, like Jesus, we extend our love and help to people whether or not they become interested in following him. People are not projects; we must genuinely care about their lives and about their eternity. We are all made in God’s image and loved by him unconditionally. So, our love is indiscriminate and extravagant, with no strings attached.
Mission in View of God’s Mercy
In view of God’s mercy, we offer up our lives to serve in grateful response: “Love so amazing, so divine, demands my life, my soul, my all.” Our gratitude for God’s amazing love shown at the cross overflows into mission, into serving others with humility, compassion and love and into sharing the message of the gospel.
May his love for us daily fuel our love for and witness to those around us. Who is God asking you to show his compassion to? How and where could you combine word and deed in Jesus’ name? We have opportunities to demonstrate God’s love and declare his good news with teams around the world, so please get in touch to begin a conversation.
By Alex Hawke
If I were to burst into song with, ‘I want to know what love is,’ some of you could finish the line of this ‘80s power ballad with: ‘I want you to show me.’ To know what true love is, we must go to its source. God is love and love comes from him (1 John 4:16, 7).
He has not only told us he loves us, John writes that he showed his love among us by sending his one and only Son into the world (1 John 4:9). God has decisively proven his love for us at the cross (Rom 5:8). Christ has also demonstrated what living a life of love looks like. To steal another lyric from the ‘80s, love is ‘more than a feeling.’
As Christians, our love and compassion for others spring from God’s heart of love, from the example of Christ, from amazement at the mercy we have been shown in the gospel, and from the clear command of Scripture.
Echoing God’s Heart
God is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love (Ps 103:8). His love is unfailing (e.g. Ps 33:5) and endures forever (e.g. Ps 136:1). It’s so great that he sent Christ to bring us eternal life (John 3:16). He also loves justice and shows care for the needy. “He defends the cause of the fatherless and the widow, and loves the alien, giving him food and clothing” (Deuteronomy 10:18).
Following Christ’s Example
Jesus was God in the flesh, and his earthly ministry was characterised by love. When Jesus washed the disciples’ feet, “he now showed them the full extent of his love” (John 13:1).
Matthew 9:35 tells us that, “Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, preaching the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.” In Mark’s account of the feeding of the multitude, we read that when he saw the large crowd, Jesus had compassion on them and “began teaching them many things.” He then also fed them. Jesus modelled selfless service and a harmony of word and deed and told his disciples to follow his example. Later, he sends them out “to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick” (Luke 9:2). He also sends us today to minister in word and deed like he did.
Amazed by God’s mercy
I believe that as people who know we are saved by grace — undeserving yet loved with an everlasting love — we can love like no other people can love. We humbly serve others as an appropriate response to how Jesus has loved and served us, especially through laying down his life to bring us to God.
At the heart of serving others is the knowledge that we ourselves have been served by Jesus. Those who know they’ve been shown mercy, love to show mercy to others. Our love in action is then the overflow of hearts amazed by the mercy we have received.
Obeying God’s Word
“If you love me, you will obey what I command,” said Jesus in John 14:15. A commitment to biblical truth (one of SIM’s values) involves doing what it says, and the Bible says to show love in action and care for those in need, saying that if we do not have pity on those in need, how can the love of God be in us? (1 John 3:17).
Jesus taught that the two greatest commandments were to love God with all our heart, soul and mind and to love our neighbour as ourselves (Matt. 22:37-38). Loving God is a fitting response to his love for us.
Part of loving God is also loving what he loves, and he loves people. So those who love God will find ways to show his love to others. They will ask themselves, ‘If I were in this situation, how would I want to be loved’?
Jesus also commanded us to go and make disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). I’ve been challenged about ensuring we hold these two commands together. Loving people well includes offering both help and the hope of the gospel. It is not loving to withhold the most important news anyone will ever hear, but we also mustn’t declare the good news without showing genuine love and care. In obeying both these commands, we are loving the whole person like Jesus did.
Read about seven compassionate and holistic ministries where SIM workers are proclaiming the gospel and living it out, helping to transform the communities where they serve.
Finding joy in the brokenness
Hope For Life
Since the height of the HIV epidemic in the 1990s, SIM has been responding to issues of HIV globally through a range of health and development projects, known as ‘Hope for Life’ (HFL).
By engaging people with Jesus’ love, doors are opened to share the gospel with vulnerable people most at risk of HIV and the communities they’re connected with.
Currently, SIM has more than 20 Hope for Life ministries in 12 least-reached communities around the world that address the different factors underlying HIV such as brokenness in families, the question of identity, teenage pregnancies, exploitation, sexuality, and depression.
In Thailand, the SIM team partners with the local church to teach English at schools and comes alongside people living with HIV and their families at a community drop-in centre, where they’re invited to join in Bible studies and hear of the hope of Christ.
The team has also recently started a badminton sports ministry after the church opened its grounds to families following its Sunday worship!
Breaking the cycle of desperation
Helping The Homeless
In a bustling South Asian mega-city, which is home to more than 22 million people, an SIM ministry is showing God’s love in practical ways to give gospel hope to homeless women and their children.
While their babies and children are cared for, vulnerable women encounter and experience God’s love through the Children’s Uplift Programme (CUP). Each day, they hear God’s Word as they learn vocational skills, like jewellery-making and sewing, so they can earn a living and escape a life on the streets and the risk of prostitution.
Peace for those forced to flee
Discipling Refugees
For ten years Biu has loved sharing the good news with women who’ve gone through great suffering and loss in South Sudan.
Recognising the many barriers these women face — from illiteracy to the challenges of daily survival — Biu developed unique and compassionate ways to share the gospel and connect deeply with them.
She visits the women each week to explain the gospel visually and gives them audio Bibles to make Scripture more accessible. Each time she returns to the refugee camp, the women are enthusiastic to sit down and learn more as God works through Biu to draw them to him.
Protecting those at risk
Preventing Human Trafficking
“God has told us to love him with all our heart, mind, and strength and to love our neighbour as ourselves. If we think about what loving our neighbours means today, it looks like loving those who are on the margins and who are in vulnerable spaces.
“This includes those who are at risk of being trafficked and exploited,” says Karine, who leads SIM’s global anti-trafficking and exploitation ministry, For Freedom.
Human traffickers are at work in several of the 70+ countries where SIM operates and For Freedom was launched in 2018 to coordinate SIM’s response and address the root causes. The ministry provides training, support, and strategic guidance to SIM teams, partner ministries, and local churches involved in anti-trafficking work.
“Our workers build relationships with those at risk to let them know they’re valued and loved as children of God, caring for them in a multitude of God-inspired ways and building practical protective measures to keep them safe,” adds Karine.
From anywhere to everywhere
Making Christ Known
The compassionate heart of Jesus compels SIM workers to share the gospel with people who’ve never heard the good news because they live in places where there are few Christians.
It’s estimated that more than three billion people have heard little or nothing about Jesus’ life, death, and resurrection, but through SIM’s pioneering Faithful Witness ministry, gospel seeds are being planted in nine least-reached communities across the world.
In places where people’s hearts are closed or hostile to the gospel, barriers are crossed, new churches are planted, and whole communities are blessed by multi-ethnic teams of workers sent from 22 different nations.
God’s healing power
Finding Restoration
According to the World Health Organisation, approximately 70% of the world’s population have been exposed to a traumatic life event, but God’s love is providing a pathway to healing for victims.
SIM’s trauma-healing ministries equip churches and believers with Bible-based and mental health principles to care for those who’ve experienced traumatic events. People are helped to take their pain to Jesus – the great healer and comforter – and to engage with the gospel in deeply meaningful ways.
Earlier this year, SIM UK’s Sarah Coleman launched her book, Life and Hope Out of Darkness: Creative Interventions for Helping People in Violent Communities that details her ministry among women living in the South Africa townships.
Using art, drama, puppetry, dance, mindfulness and breathwork, Sarah builds relationships to shine a ray of light and hope into the lives of people who seem so hopeless.
One woman, who attended Sarah’s trauma-healing group, said: “I’ve so much to be grateful for from this course. I feel lighter because I was able to dig out my old emotions from the past and deal with all the pain I have. To rely on God for more healing; to take all my pain to Jesus Christ.
Making Christ’s love known
Meeting vital health needs
“The Bible teaches us to put the gospel into action and we hope that in relieving a little bit of the physical suffering among a population who’ve suffered so much in recent history, we can make the love and heart of Jesus known,” says SIM UK’s James Hunter serving at Trinity Dental Clinic and the Dental Therapy School in Liberia.
Driven by compassion, James moved with his family to West Africa in August to use his skills as a dentist to help improve care in a country with just a handful of dentists for more than five million people.
James will train and mentor dental therapists; carry out complex dental procedures and support the day-to-day operations of the clinic to ensure continuity of care and a stronger, self-sustaining dental workforce.
It wasn’t easy for Mary when she left the UK in 2015 to serve in a least-reached part of South Asia.
“I was completely overwhelmed by the heat, the dust, the noises and the language,” she admits, “so I began taking photos of things I was curious about, or things that struck me as beautiful or different. I wanted to understand people, to see them, and relate to them.
“One day I stuck a piece of paper on my wall, got out some acrylics, and began painting. Somehow looking closely at things and putting them down on paper began to be a way of processing and growing in awareness of the people around me and the culture I was trying to bring my children up in.
“Art became an escape, but also a way to connect and help others to experience what I experienced. Over the years, I’ve attended classes and made friends, given dozens of paintings away to people who love the region as much as I do, and slowly learned to use my art to bless others.”
Since then, theuniversal language of art has helped Marybuild relationships and create gospel conversations where she can show God’s love and point people towards Jesus.
“Sometimes I have friends round and we’ll sit and paint mugs or make earrings, which I love doing, but it also gives me great opportunities to share things that might help point them towards finding Christ. It might be my testimony, or even just saying, ‘This is what I was learning about Jesus today’…”
Together with her husband, Dave, Mary has a heart for young people in this South Asian country, where 64% of the population is under 30. The couple now live and serve in a bustling city that’s rife with drug addiction.
“My husband’s recently been involved in opening a local rehab centre and once a week, I do art with members to help them process, heal, and find a new life in Christ,” says Mary.
Mary also runs arts clubs for children – both local and Third Culture Kids – where she can build relationships with parents and provide a safe space for the children to be creative and make friends.
“Put any child in front of a piece of paper and they’ll just create because they’re not afraid and I wander around and chat with them about what they’re doing,” she explains.
She’s also started another art club with a group of girls who live in a local orphanage.
“Many of the girls aren’t actually orphans, but for example, their mums have died and their dads have got remarried, but aren’t willing to look after them, so they end up living in the hostel,” says Mary.
The club is where girls can come and process things through art and while Mary finds it hugely rewarding, it’s also sometimes a heartbreaking experience.
“During an early session, one of the girls painted her entire paper black and when I asked why, she said it was how she felt because her mum had died and she was waiting for her dad to get out of prison,” Mary recalls.
God has now led Mary to use her artistic gifts to study for a Master’s degree in art psychotherapy.
“I studied a degree in mental health nursing at university and have a deep interest in mental well-being, so combining this with art has brought me much joy! I’m one year into a three-year online Master’s that means I’ll be able to offer professional support to people going through difficult things.
“I want to use my love for art to show God’s love to people as they work through trauma in a sustainable way.
“Art therapy is great for kids because they don’t care what it looks like, but as adults we’re more guarded and say things like, ‘I’m not an artist’ or ‘I can’t do art’ because we’re afraid of being judged.
“But it’s not about being an artist, it’s understanding that art can be a really good way of realising feelings you don’t know you have and speak in a way that words can’t.
“I want to help take away that layer of shame adults have and help them to know it doesn’t matter what it looks like, it’s about the process.
“I’m so grateful to God that art psychotherapy is a great way to minister to all types of people here.”
Creative arts ministries
Are you ready to develop your artistic skills for God’s glory? Please go to sim.co.uk/serve or email [email protected] to start a conversation with one of our Mission Journey Coordinators.
Please pray
give thanks that Mary is using her artistic gifts for God’s glory;
that God will continue using her as a bridge to the gospel in this least-reached community;
for Mary’s ministry to help children and adults express themselves and experience God’s healing touch through the therapeutic power of art.
The retelling of the Christmas story in Nativity form, with its colourful array of backdrops and costumes, is a well-established, beloved Christmas tradition.
The delightful procession of tea towel-donned shepherds and gleeful little angels brighten the greyest of Decembers, reminding us once more to anchor our hearts and attention in the reason for all our festivities.
Most of us have been in at least one Nativity play as a child. As a young girl one Christmas, I received the part of Mary and the audience giggled when I failed (despite the prompting of the narrator) to lay the ‘baby Jesus’ in the manger!
At the end of each Nativity I attend, while applauding as the proudest of parents, I try to take a fresh moment to marvel at the unusual and miraculous events re-enacted before me.
We should never let over-familiarity dull our wonder towards this incredible salvation story.
Consider again the unlikely and eclectic group of individuals represented on stage: the poor Israelite shepherds, a teenage girl and her working-class husband, the learned eastern mystics, and even a tyrannical King Herod.
What a seemingly arbitrary group of people! It reminds me of a jury in a courtroom drama with various individuals from different walks of life, randomly thrown together; or of a group of unsuspecting witnesses to some dramatic event.
But then, isn’t this exactly what the Nativity characters are?
They’re a collection of very different individuals, whose lives collide in the unfolding of a divine rescue plan orchestrated before the beginning of time. What at first glance may appear coincidental and insignificant, upon closer inspection, reveals an intricate design woven together by the infinite grace and power of our loving God.
These unusual witnesses didn’t need to be distinguished or highly qualified – for witnesses are only required to speak of what they’ve experienced – they needed only to be humble and willing. This is how God loves to move and these are the people he delights to send.
Like many other biblical stories, the birth of Jesus and the details surrounding it make no distinctions of gender, age, wealth, or heritage. The Christmas story is far more than a Middle Eastern anecdote; its events reach far beyond the borders of Israel.
This gospel, declared to shepherds on the slopes of Bethlehem, was to go out to every corner of the earth – to every people group, to every ‘unlikely’ person. This good news (a phrase that doesn’t even begin to cover it) extends beyond the borders of nations and the confines of time.
And 2,000 years later, the task isn’t yet complete.
We know that in ages past, good news of victory was carried by foot from the battlefield to the palace gates. But this isn’t a story of political triumph, it’s one of spiritual redemption. As the Bible says:
How beautiful on the mountains are the feet of those who bring good news, who proclaim peace, who bring good tidings, who proclaim salvation, who say to Zion, “Your God reigns!”
Their feet are most beautiful as they serve on the mountains, in the streets, in schools and prisons … heralding the grace of our triune God in Christ; declaring this good news of redemption to the nations and bringing a message of hope in the darkest place:
God has done this wonderful thing for all mankind. I’m included, and you’re included too!
At Christmas, driving home on pitch-black nights will feel easier when festive lights illuminate the way. No matter how dark somewhere might feel, the presence of light creates an immediate shift – what was once difficult to see or understand becomes clear.
Around the world, SIM workers are bringing the light of Jesus to areas of oppression and spiritual darkness where they live and serve…
Chiang Mai, Thailand, is known for its picturesque rice fields, misty mountains, and vibrant culture.
It’s a place where Buddhism is central to everyday life and culture and temples and chanting monks are a normal sight. It’s a place full of smiling faces, yet it’s also a place of deep spiritual darkness, broken families, and difficult life circumstances.
Of the nation’s 71.6 million people, only about 1.2% are Christians, while approximately 95% follow Buddhism. It’s in this spiritual landscape where Steph, part of Hope for Life Thailand first met Mali*.
Mali is from a broken home; her parents are separated and her mum has a new family, so Mali currently lives with her grandmother.
After connecting with Hope for Life (HFL) when she attended an English and life skills programme at her school, Mali then joined English classes held at the HFL community hub, Shalom House.
Over time, the team’s built a relationship with Mali and had opportunities to share and live out the love and hope of Christ with her.
One evening recently, the team began to see the fruit of this relationship.
As two of them drove Mali home, she began to ask questions about Christianity. She was especially curious about how Give, one of our Thai team members, came to know Jesus after growing up Buddhist. Give was able to share how God had transformed her life and how he’s helped her become kinder and more patient. Mali acknowledged that she could see that patience reflected in her interactions with Give.
“We’re excited to see this spark of light in Mali’s darkness,” shares Steph. “Please pray Mali will continue to ask questions and grow in her understanding of the hope found in Jesus, and that she will come to know him personally.”
Find out more about Hope for Life Thailand on Facebook and Instagram.
In South Africa,Sarah delivers trauma therapy to women who live in townships where every day, they face gang violence, crime, and poverty.
In 2024, South Africa recorded 26,232 deaths – more than in Gaza, an active war zone, in the same year.
With this, comes deep trauma, affecting every part of how the women live: ‘I’m late because the gangs were shooting again today and I didn’t want to leave my house until it was over‘ is a frequent comment at the weekly group sessions Sarah runs.
Sarah uses different therapeutic methods such as dance, play, and art, to help shine a ray of light and hope into the women’s lives.
“The aims of the group are to help the women find a purpose and meaning in their lives; to learn how to deal with the stresses they face; to navigate their life better; to build up resilience; and to find support among each other,” she explains.
Sarah starts each session by asking the group to pick a different picture card that demonstrates how they’re feeling and helps them relate to each other’s experiences.
“I feel like I’m taken advantage of all the time too,” says Lilly*. “It frustrates me endlessly when the gang members are running in and out of the house taking whatever food I’ve made and expecting me to feed them. … I wish I could have my own space for my family to live in.”
Sarah then invites the women to think about where and from whom they can find support and it’s clear their idea of support is through isolated activities like watching TV and comfort eating.
“I don’t have anyone I can speak to,” admits Courtney*. “I feel so isolated and alone.”
When another lady responds by inviting Courtney round for coffee, Sarah smiles. These ladies haven’t known each other long, yet they’re already forming strong bonds…
When during the following week’s check-in, Lilly chooses a picture card with two people standing with their arms around each other, Sarah’s over the moon as Lily shares: “Geraldine* and I went to the beach for a walk together. It was so nice.
“We chatted and chatted and chatted. I didn’t realise how much we had in common. We didn’t stop talking for hours and we’ve arranged to do it again tomorrow.”
Not only are the support sessions helping the women learn how to connect and support one another outside the group, as they meet each week, they’re also finding hope away from the gang-filled and traumatised communities they live in.
Sarah ends the session as she usually does with a Bible study that helps the women begin to see how Christ can bring them light amidst the darkness.
In South Asia,Oliver invests his time into discipling young people, walking alongside them in faith, and equipping them to live out the gospel in a place where Christians face many difficulties.
During the summer, Oliver joined a group headed to the hills for a youth camp. This camp was all about our faith and what it means to pass it on to the next generation.
In one session, one of the ministers leading the camp gave the young people a candle and told them to go away, to light it somewhere and to take a picture of it.
One evening soon after, two university student girls came to Oliver, asking for some help. For the past few nights they’d been praying together for the guards, who were at the gate of their accommodation. They were convicted to light the candle in the guard hut and to share the good news, but they didn’t know where to start.
Together, Oliver and the students brainstormed a few ideas of how they could ease into a spiritual conversation with questions like, “Do you think there is darkness in the world? What gives you light or hope in the darkness? Can I tell you where I’ve found light in the darkness?” And with that, off the girls went into the dark…
In the guards’ hut, the girls lit the candle and as the flame fluttered in the darkness, they began to share, even though it wasn’t easy for them.
In this culture, there were many power dynamics working against them: they were young, the guards were older; they were girls, the guards were men; and they were unarmed, while the guards were carrying guns.
Almost 30 minutes later, they returned trembling. They shared that one of the guards was interested in this spiritual conversation, but another was strongly opposed. They knew that these men were in spiritual darkness and blind to one who made them.
“But we don’t despair. We have faith that the true light has came the world. We have faith that this true light that gives light to those in darkness. We have faith that those who follow him will never again walk in darkness, but will have the light of life,” shares Oliver.
You are the light of the world. A town built on a hill cannot be hidden.
Matthew 5:14
This Christmas, amidst all the presents, carol singing, mince pies and festive cheer, remember those who don’t yet know Jesus as the Saviour of the world and please pray for those living in places of darkness – that the light of Christ will shine through our workers as they carry his hope.
*Names changed for privacy
After serving in Africa for many years, Debbie and David now teach mission courses at the Irish Baptist College and Belfast School of Theology. Read our Q&A with Debbie below.
Where are you currently serving?
We serve as part-time lecturers at the Irish Baptist College where we teach two Mission courses and part of a Christianity and Culture course to undergraduate students preparing for ministry. The college exists to train pastors and mission workers for service in mostly, but not exclusively, Baptist churches and Baptist Missions. We both teach other church-based Bible studies elsewhere.
I’m also the coordinator of the Women’s Study Fellowship at the Belfast School of Theology (formerly the Belfast Bible College). The goal of this part-time course is to help the women grow in their faith through disciplined study of God’s Word, participating in worship as well as engaging in practical service. The ladies are encouraged to discover and use their gifts to serve the Lord more effectively.
The second year of the programme has a missions’ focus, and it’s so good to see involvement from various mission agencies through this.
Debbie teaching Year 3 ladies
Wilma, who’s very active in her local church, shares: “WSF has opened up God’s Word to me in ways I didn’t think possible; not only directly through the teaching of the tutors on a Monday morning, but also giving me the tools and skills to enable me to go deeper into his Word as I study on my own.”
How did you serve in Nigeria?
We were privileged to serve as lecturers at an ECWA Theological Seminary, in Nigeria, for 18 years. David was the registrar of the seminary for twelve of those years and taught Hermeneutics, Systematic Theology and New Testament Books, while I supported the library and taught Old Testament courses.
We were part of a team of 25 teachers with up to six mission workers at any given time. This provided financial relief for the seminary but, more importantly, gave students a different perspective of the Scriptures, while the expats benefited from insights from African believers.
David and Debbie
Sharing a meal with students
It was so encouraging to see the growth of the church in Nigeria, but when there’s such rapid growth, we need people to support churches, especially in the areas of evangelism and discipleship.
We both still desire to prepare others for ministry and recognise the value of doing so in a community context. As students, we benefited greatly from studies at the Bible colleges we attended and thank the Lord for those whom our Lord used to teach us.
Theological study isn’t only an academic exercise but involves spiritual growth and the development of spiritual gifts in a supportive environment.
Bible college lecturers can’t cover everything, but can teach people how to study, learn from the Scriptures and then, hopefully, pass on what they learn to others.
And the things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrustto reliable people who will also be qualified to teach others.
2 Timothy 2:2
Working as part of a team and playing a small part in God’s purposes for his church in Nigeria and in Northern Ireland was and is a source of great joy. And to know that former students are now pastors, Bible teachers, mission workers, or serving in ministries alongside churches, is a tremendous blessing.
How have you seen God at work?
Many graduates are working in challenging places with at least one involved in the SIM Faithful Witness team.
Rev. Dr Yusuf Gajere was a student in the Certificate programme when we first went to Kagoro in 1999. Not only was he a diligent student, but he had the integrity of character to be employed by the seminary where he has served in various roles. Recently, he was the Deputy Provost at the seminary and still retains a place on the seminary management team.
Dr Yusuf Gajere and his wife Naomi
Rev. Nehemiah Maikai, another student who developed both academically and spiritually during his studies, has been a pastor for many years and is part of the regional leadership of ECWA. He’s also gone on mission to other West African countries and has such a heart to share the gospel, which continues to bring us so much joy.
Dorcas was also an impressive student. She has a heart to evangelise and disciple young women. Along with her husband, Victor, who also studied at the seminary, she serves with the Word of Life ministry, which holds children’s clubs and runs youth camps in central Nigeria.
She started a new programme for young girls called ‘Rise Up, Girls’ and one of the most recent events was community cleaning followed by a Christian movie. Another event had the aim of teaching teenage girls how to relate well to their mothers.
A group of students in class
Dorcas giving a class presentation when she was a student
We’re so thankful that most former students are faithfully serving the Lord in places of great hardship and persecution. The commitment of those people to Christ is impressive and many are serving Christ in places where it would be difficult for expatriate missionaries to work.
How can we pray for you?
for continued health and strength to study and teach our classes;
for more opportunities to present the needs of mission to our students;
that God will raise up more labourers for the harvest who will see the need of being prepared for service;
that we would stay close to Christ every day, because without him, we can do nothing (John 15:5).
“God loved me so much, he brought me two famines. Because this drove us towards the mission workers for food, where we could hear the gospel, and so that salvation could come to my people.”
These words of Isaaka, one of the first believers in a remote bush camp of nomadic Fulani in a desert area of West Africa, were both astonishing and humbling. As I sat at his feet, he on a simple chair and me on a rough, straw mat stretched across the sandy ground, he gave me the full story.
God began working within Isaaka’s community in 1974. A severe famine across much of Africa had wiped out the herds of countless nomads. It drove several men from Isaaka’s community to a city in search of food. While there, another man from Isaaka’s family, Nuhu, heard the message of salvation in a local hospital. Returning home, Nuhu wanted to follow Christ, but pressure from his family cooled his fire.
Fast-forward to 1984, which was when ‘God brought another famine’. Again, men from the community went to the city – and again God went ahead of them. Two other men, Haruuna and Deri, met a mission worker who spoke their minority language.
On that day, they heard the good news for the first time and chose to follow Jesus Christ.
Awaiting the return of Haruuna and Deri, Nuhu sat under a tree listening to a pair of doves chattering together. Deeply rooted in traditional beliefs, his clan believed that natural happenings occasionally carry a particular message. On this day, Nuhu felt that the birds’ babble indicated that he would soon receive good news.
Within a few hours, Haruuna and Deri had returned home. When Nuhu asked why they had not performed the ritual Muslim prayers, they told him they had heard about the way of Jesus in the city and had chosen to follow it. This was indeed good news to Nuhu and, 10 years after first hearing the gospel, he was able to follow Jesus with these two family members!
Such are the origins of a small community of Christian nomadic Fulani in this out-of-the-way blip, not found on any map. As I sat with Isaaka, I learned that the tiny spark in 1974, which ignited with seven men in 1984, has now caught fire with more than 200 households in the vicinity of that first bush camp! That’s over 1,000 believers.
God continues to choose key leaders from among the Fulani.
A handful of highly mature and wise leaders are scattered across the region. And the Fulani Church continues to grow in its capacity and ability to take the Gospel to other Fulani across a vast swath of land.
God’s ways are sovereign. The flicker that flashed in the communities of Isaaka and other groups has grown as these communities of Fulani live out their faith before others. And, just one among many, the small church planted through adversity over 50 years ago is strategically located to spread his love through this region like a wildfire.
By Jon Banke, SIM’s Fulani expert
Obed* wanted to go deeper in his Muslim faith. He is a Fulani, a nomadic people group who number 45 million in more than 20 countries across West and Central Africa.
They are pastoralists; shepherds and cattle herders who care for their animals. In this people group, Christians account for much less than one per cent of the total population. Most Fulani are Muslim, who also follow some animistic practices. This includes Obed’s father, who also wanted his son to go deeper in his understanding of Islam.
Obed’s search took him all the way to a neighbouring country. He found a teacher there and spent six months with him, only to then find he had gone no deeper in his understanding. But God, the good shepherd, was just getting started.
Finding new life
Still in pursuit of deeper understanding, the Lord directed Obed to a chief in another village. After spending a week there, he was confronted with the question,
“Do you want to know Islam more, or are you looking for salvation? What are you looking for?”
The answer came somewhat naturally. “I am looking for salvation,” Obed replied. God was moving.
“If it’s salvation, you must believe in Jesus Christ.”
He accepted then and there.
After some time, Obed returned home. His father, still a Muslim, said somewhat prophetically that Obed’s life would change. It was the beginning of a new life.
Obed got married. The foundation of marriage was also different from what he was accustomed to in his culture. It didn’t depend on dowry but on love and was underpinned by prayer.
After they welcomed their first child, the Lord directed Obed to Bible school. He graduated three years later and started church services in his friend’s house. The services weren’t just about studying the word and praying; they were about presenting this new life holistically. He not only taught people how to read the Bible and pray, but how to take the sick to the hospital, how to practice good hygiene, how to save money, and much more. Just as a shepherd cares for all aspects of their sheep’s life, Obed was caring for the whole person.
A new community
Obed’s new life translated to a new community. Today, if you visit Obed you find Christians and Muslims living together in an integrated community. If there are tuition needs among the children of Muslim families, the church helps pay for them. If there is a medical need, they will raise money in the church, whether beneficiaries are believers or not. It is truly a community, in which the church loves their neighbour as themselves.
Their Muslim neighbours have asked why Obed chooses to work with them, when he has found a new faith. He answers that it’s the power of Jesus that compels him.
It is moving to hear these stories of compassion in action. It’s moving to hear how a shepherd’s heart can impact the life of an entire community.
It shows how God can change entire communities and that he can do that through just one person.
God shepherded one man’s heart and through that, a whole community. The good shepherd is transforming the Fulani community.
Please pray
for Obed, that he would continue to be light and salt to his neighbours, no matter what they believe;
that those neighbours would see the light of Jesus in Obed and want to learn more about the good shepherd;
for the Fulani church to grow, both in numbers and in the impact it makes in the community.
by Tohru Inoue
*Pseudonym
A Q&A with Jon Banke, SIM’s Fulani expert
Jon, you know the Fulani well. What makes them different from the other groups they live alongside?
The fact that they are nomads is a big difference. It shapes how they see the world, which is often very different from how settled communities see things.
The acronym NOMAD is a useful tool for thinking of their distinctiveness:
“N” for Networking: Relationships are central to the Fulani and are especially strong within their community.
“O” for Organised: The Fulani are organised into clans and large families. They share most everything within these family units.
“M” for Mobility: A nomadic way of life is not random wandering. It is about a seeing mobility as a resource in and of itself, a readiness to move to access resources, like water and grazing land for their herds. As pastoralists, they feel more connected to their animals than to the land, even if they practice farming.
“A” for Autonomy: While the Fulani do trade with others, they can manage without those connections. In many places, Fulani co-exist peacefully alongside settled peoples.
“D” for Distinct: The Fulani see themselves as different from other groups, and others see them that way, too. Their appearance and clothing make them stand out.
The Fulani do share some things in common with the people around them. Is it possible for them to live peacefully and build good relationships?
Yes, it is. The Fulani value peace and want to live in harmony. However, in Nigeria for example, they have historically been despised and hated due to local tensions, which has led to violence. Since the 2010s, radical Muslim groups seem to have taken advantage of injustices against the Fulani, recruiting them as fighters.
An elder in West Africa is said to have declared, “If you tell me there are Fulani in heaven, I don’t want to go there.” This shows how they are often seen as outsiders and unwelcome wherever they live.
People often say that ministry among the Fulani is hard and that there aren’t many tangible results. That must be discouraging for missionaries!
We need to understand that working with the Fulani is a long-term commitment, which includes the commitment to understand who the Fulani are. We must accept that we may not see the results ourselves.
The Fulani value humility. Those who come with a preconceived plan to help or save the Fulani are not respected, though the Fulani’s politeness may imply otherwise.
In my experience, it’s not about the gospel being hard for them to accept. I think the idea that they’re unreachable is a myth. It just takes time to see results. Ultimately, we have to remember that it’s God who is doing the work.
The Bible has been translated into the Fulani language, and a number of dialects, like Borgu Fulfulde in Benin, have their own translations. How can the Bible become more treasured by the Fulani?
The complete Bible has been translated into Cameroonian Fulfulde, one of eight key dialects with translation projects. Yet, this translation is often seen as old-fashioned, like reading the King James Version. A lot of work is being done to improve literacy. When Fulani people hear the Word in their own language, it deeply moves them.
Several dialects have radio programs and broadcasts to share the Word.
Hearing the Bible spoken directly has a special power — no middleman is needed. Orality is an important tool for communicating with Fulani. It’s very important to use idioms, proverbs, and vivid imagery when sharing the message.
From your perspective, what’s the best way to reach the hearts of Fulani communities?
Making an effort and sacrificing the time to get to know them and learn their language is one of the best ways to connect. When you learn their language, you also begin to understand their culture. It’s not easy and can take years, but it’s worth it.
I wouldn’t want to be too rigid, but for me, the most effective approach is simply being with them. It’s what I call the “ministry of hanging out” — sitting with them, sharing time, and building relationships. This opens the door to talk about God, read the Bible together, and explore it with them.
Learning their language requires time and commitment. This kind of ministry is not a sprint; it is a marathon. But if you earn trust within a Fulani community, you can truly be welcomed into a Fulani family.
Are there any positive developments?
The Fulani Church is becoming more mature and growing in both numbers and understanding of its mission. Mobilisation of the Fulani Church is a strategic and ongoing effort.
In Benin, there is an association of Fulani churches. Fulani pastors are being trained, though this is still a rare occurrence in the Sahel.
Tell us about a ministry that’s particularly close to your heart.
One ministry that stands out to me is the work of a family who ran a programme from 2016 to 2020. This family had a wonderful way of living alongside the Fulani. They built simple, rustic homes, cultivated a small field, and spent time with the people.
Today, about 10 people in the village are Christians, including the village chief, who was the first to come to Christ. This is a perfect example of the kind of ministry I believe is really effective.
Please pray
for Jon to grow in his knowledge and understanding of Fulani culture, so that he might better equip gospel workers to serve among them
for the small number of Fulani Christians, that they would be allowed to worship together in peace and harmony, without fear of persecution
for God to raise up more workers from across the world to serve among the Fulani.
by Vincent Wastable
This article was first published by SIM France-Belgium in French.
From living in a small village on the outskirts of Cambridge to the bustling city of Athens, Al and Rachel are using their experiences in church planting to build up the Greek church.
The couple, along with daughters Charis and Lois, have been serving in Athens since 2021. Having both been involved in previous mission work, they bring with them a range of different skills and experiences that’s benefiting the teams they lead and work alongside.
Al shares his time between leading the European Christian Mission (ECM) team in Greece, which aims to partner with the evangelical church to equip, connect and multiply churches across the country, and helping to lead a church plant, Kypseli Church, in the heart of Athens.
Rachel helps with the church’s outreach ministry with young families, particularly focusing on mums. She coordinates pastoral care for the ECM team and helps ECM International with orientation of new mission workers across Europe and with receiving workers from partner organisations.
When Al led a short-term mission trip to Greece in 2018 his eyes were opened to the needs of the Greek church. “I saw just how small and under-resourced it was compared to what we have in the UK,” he shares.
“We’d already been involved in a church plant in the UK, where in theory, secularism holds sway, but we’d seen many different ways in which the gospel could make an impact on a local community through church planting.”
After exploring Greece as a long-term placement, the opportunity for a team leader with ECM came up – the first piece of everything else falling into place.
As part of their work with Kypseli Church, Rachel is building relationships through the toddler group. With a similar structure to a toddler group here in the UK, it’s a chance for mums and dads to bring their children.
“They love it because it’s a place for their kids to socialise with others, and for themselves to talk about parenting and share tips,” says Rachel.
Toddler groups aren’t as common as they are in the UK, and although some Greek families come, many who attend have international backgrounds themselves. To help build community with local people, Rachel and the team run a monthly Saturday event for the whole family.
“It’s all relationship building, praying for conversations about faith, and they ask us: ‘What is this building? Who are you, or what’s an evangelical church? It’s a great way to talk about Jesus through natural conversations.”
Another activity Rachel helps run one Saturday a month is MomCo. MomCo exists in over 100 countries and describes itself as the ‘front porch’ of the Church – inviting mothers into a safe, supportive community where they can share the struggles and joys of motherhood, but are also gently introduced to the Lord Jesus.
Both the toddler group and MomCo meet-ups are opportunities to see God at work. “They’re ways of opening up spiritual conversations,” says Rachel. “People come along to the groups from a range of different backgrounds – different countries, faiths, people who have never had anything to do with church, and some people who would call themselves spiritual but don’t know Jesus.
“We recently had a lady from North Africa asking about prayer, and how to pray. She wants to understand more about Jesus, and it’s been lovely to have conversations with her.
“God is using something very ordinary – the experience I have from running a toddler group at our church on the outskirts of Cambridge ever since our eldest, Charis, was a baby,” adds Rachel.
Opportunities to serve
If you’re interested in serving in Greece and have a willingness to learn Greek, there’s opportunities to work with different age groups in local churches in Athens and beyond, including families, teenagers, and students.
“Ultimately, people who love the church and are committed to seeing it grow are gold dust in Greece,” shares Al.
For more Greek families to come along to the toddler group and Saturday events, and for fruitful conversations about the gospel;
for opportunities for the MacInnes family to build friendships with those who don’t yet know Jesus;
for more people to come to Greece willing to take the time to learn a difficult language and serve the Greek church.
In some of the hardest places to be a Christian, Serving In Mission workers are sharing the hope of the gospel with students, who represent a strategic mission field — full of open hearts and searching minds.
Ewan and Dao with their three daughters
Ewan and Dao McGregor are serving in Bang Saen, Thailand, where they’ve planted The Landing – a growing church and outreach centre reaching Thai university students and young professionals with the hope and truth of Jesus.
Through creative events, meaningful relationships, and a gospel-centred community, the couple are helping a new generation explore faith in a place where Jesus is still largely unknown.
Ewan is originally from Stoke-on-Trent, and Dao is from Hat Yai in Southern Thailand. They met while studying at Bible college in Thailand and trained together for ministry. After marrying, they served in Northern Thailand before moving to Bang Saen in 2023 to pioneer their exciting new work focused on reaching the next generation.
Together, they lead The Landing, which connects with Buddhist-background students through weekly outreach events, board game nights, and Sunday services. It’s a safe and welcoming space where Thai young people can ask honest questions, build friendships, and discover who Jesus really is.
The Landing, left, and a church service, right
In a country where less than 1% of people know Jesus, the couple’s vision is to see a movement of Thai young adults transformed by Jesus and boldly sharing his love in their communities, campuses, and workplaces.
“We want to be known in our local area as a place where young people’s lives are turned around,” explains Ewan.
“Over the next few months, we’re planning big events that make The Landing known in our city. This starts with a 120- player UNO tournament! The centrewill be packed out and 120 new people will find out about The Landing and the more people know about it, the more they can have the opportunity to hear about Jesus. That’s the goal!”
How does The Landing introduce young people to Jesus?
“The Landing introduces people through many activities and we’ve become well known for our Wednesday ‘Board Game Nights.’ Often, outsiders look and say, ‘Woah, this church plays a lot of games!’
Games night at The Landing
“There’s so much intention around the table that relationships deepen over time playing board games (with phones left in pockets.) After two hours of playing, deeper questions can be asked, and stronger relationships are formed.
“As people get to know our team more and more, they want to know what happens on Friday, so they come along. This is when many Thai people hear about Jesus for the first time over a meal, through songs, and by sharing stories about him.”
What do you hope every young person can experience when they visit?
“When they visit, we hope they can experience a community that truly values them and takes time to listen to their story. We want them to know that The Landing is a place where they are seen and loved. We hope that every person who comes would be introduced to Jesus for the first time, but what’s most important is that it’s not a one-time thing and that they come consistently and hear more and more each week.
“My friend Erk started coming over two years ago; starting with games night, and then Friday night, and then Sunday church. As he was introduced more and more to Jesus, he started to pray to him.
“When he prayed his prayers were answered and this started his journey to coming to know Jesus and later being baptised!”
“The Landing gave me advice, welcomed me warmly, and helped me come to faith in Jesus,” says Erk. “It made me feel like I had a second family.”
Read Erk’s testimony in his own words here and experience what Friday night looks like at The Landing outreach centre here.
Please pray:
That Ewan and Dao would continue to grow in wisdom, strength, and joy as they serve.
That God will bless their ministry as they seek to build relationships, disciple young believers, mentor emerging leaders, and equip Thai Christians to live out their faith in everyday life.
For the students to encounter Jesus personally and respond to his invitation.
What do you do at SIM UK?
The short answer is a bit of everything! I lead our Leadership Team (LT) and, together with them, lead our amazing staff team. I represent SIM UK at events and with other organisations and networks and foster our collaboration with SIM International and SIM offices around the world. I provide spiritual and organisational leadership and ensure the development and implementation of our strategy. I help to keep SIM UK aligned with our vision, mission, and values and most of all, seek to keep us focused on Jesus.
Meeting with our mission workers is very important to me and I love cheering them on and encouraging them. My role also involves connecting with churches and church leaders, as well as speaking at churches or events.
As director, I’m also responsible for ensuring compliance with UK laws and SIM Policy, Principles and Practice, in collaboration with our Board of Trustees.
There’s also a lot of emails and Zoom calls but thankfully, I’m out and about quite a bit too.
What makes you passionate about working for SIM?
Every person’s greatest need is reconciliation with God. There’s nothing more important we can do with our lives than make disciples of Jesus and I love that I get to be part of a passionate and gifted team of people who are playing their part in doing this.
Jesus is worthy to receive the worship of all peoples. We’re drawing more people to know and worship Jesus in communities around the world. What an incredible calling!
Every day, around the world, SIM mission workers are sharing the gospel, providing life-changing medical care, teaching God’s word, discipling new believers, running vocational training programmes, serving exploited women and children at risk, and much more.
Finally, having served as a mission worker in a few different countries, I can relate to those who are serving cross-culturally in some challenging situations. Ensuring we provide good member care, in partnership with sending churches and the SIM teams on the ground, is hugely important to me.
You’ve been serving as SIM UK director with us for just over a year now. How have you seen God working through your job this past year?
I don’t want to underestimate how miraculous it is that SIM came to exist and that we’re sustained as an organisation day by day. It’s all from God. One of SIM’s core values is being dependent on God. It all has to be supernatural, by prayer. It can be tempting to think that we got here, or that we saw certain results because of our experience, skill set, or resources, etc. All of those are from God too!
More personally, I’ve seen that God has used me to bring encouragement to specific people, enabled me to speak into some situations and helped us make progress with our strategy. I’ve been enabled to inspire people to be involved in world mission or serve cross-culturally. One highlight was speaking at a world mission evening at a university CU where the students were hungry for God and really excited about playing their part in his mission.
What are you excited about for the future of SIM UK?
There remain many places in the world where Christ is not known or worshipped. Where people are yet to hear the gospel and yet to have an established church they can be part of. I’m excited about the role we get to play in seeing people reached with the gospel in least-reached places. We want to see an increase in the number of SIM UK workers serving in such places and the UK church informed and engaged with the need and opportunities.
We’re engaging with a lot of people interested in serving with us and have several enquirers and people getting ready to go.
I’m also excited about partnering with more UK churches and about growing our SIM UK community. We’d love to see a network of individuals and groups across the UK passionately engaging UK Christians about world mission and connecting them with SIM UK. Get in touch if you want to be part of an SIM ‘Champion Community’!
We also love supporting, encouraging and resourcing the UK church in local cross-cultural mission.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
At home, my wife and I seek to keep Christ at the centre, pray, and model trust and dependence on God. We love having guests at our table and staying with us. Having moved house, we’re getting to know our new neighbours who are open to hearing more after a recent ‘God-conversation.’
We’re part of Hope Church in Ipswich, where we serve in a few different teams/ministries. We have been group leaders and speakers in Called to God, a programme to prepare people for cross-cultural mission. Also, people who are exploring cross-cultural mission sometimes reach out and we meet with them.
How can we pray for you?
During the Hebrides revival, Duncan Campbell said the following, which I’ve had over my desk for many years:
“These are days of much activity in the field of church and mission work, but no amount of activity in the King’s service will make up for neglect of the King himself. The devil is not greatly concerned about getting between us and work; his great concern is getting between us and God. Many a Christian worker has buried his spirituality in the grave of his activity.”
Pray that I keep Christ at the centre of all I do as UK Director and help us to do that as an organisation.
Pray that I will manage my time and prioritise well when a lot is going on.
Pray that I will be an encouragement to those I meet with.
Pray for our witness as a family in our local area.
Pray for wisdom and insight as I lead.
What do you do at SIM?
This August marks my 10-year anniversary of joining SIM UK as the Mobiliser (now known as ‘Mission Journey Coordinators’) for the Central & South-West England region.
Over time, my responsibilities have gradually changed and expanded; most notably over the past five years as others moved on from the organisation and I absorbed aspects of their previous roles. I’m now the Head of Mission Personnel & People Care and part of the SIM UK Leadership team.
I still have responsibilities as a Mission Journey Coordinator to some of our mission workers but am particularly excited that we’re in the process of appointing a new person to whom I’ll hand over specific responsibilities for mission workers from the Central & South-West England region.
This will create significant capacity for me. I’m thankful I’ll still be (and even more so) available to the workers I’ve journeyed with over the past 10 years, just with a different hat on, as well as getting to know workers I haven’t yet been able to connect with as much.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
My job’s evolved significantly since 2015, but still has a mix of responsibilities woven in from my former roles, so my day-to-day job is very varied depending on which hat I’m wearing!
For the group of workers I’m still responsible for as their Mission Journey Coordinator, this means being the first point of contact and care for all things related to their assignments; ensuring a good partnership with their sending churches; debriefing them on Home Assignments and working with their receiving teams to ensure they’re well supported throughout their time with us.
As Head of Mission Personnel & People Care, this involves line managing several of the Mission Journey Coordinators and Mission Journey Administrators, as well as our Families Advisor, Health Coordinator and Missions Trainer. I’m responsible for providing leadership to both teams, ensuring they have the clear processes and resources needed to serve our workers as well as possible and to fulfil the responsibilities specific to their roles.
Within that, it’s my job to ensure that we’re working in line with SIM International principles and practices and attend regular learning and discussion groups with others involved in personnel roles across the global SIM community to nurture collaboration and strong relationships.
I’m available to the whole team and to all our mission workers for any advice, support, or consultation needed. This is often in more complex personnel/placement/people care matters.
I spend a lot of my time in Zoom meetings, either in 1-2-1s with my team members, colleagues, or mission workers, but I love it when I get to travel and meet people in-person, particularly for interviews and debriefs. That’s always a highlight!
As part of the SIM UK Leadership team, I work with other team heads to ensure we’re as joined up as we can be in the support we provide to the workers and churches we serve. We meet regularly as a leadership team to discuss and address our operational and strategic needs and goals, working closely with our Board of Trustees to do this.
What makes you passionate about working for SIM?
We’re a team that has a sincere heart to learn and grow and glorify God. The past few years have been hard and there’s been a lot of uncertainty and change. Trials and transitions are never straightforward, but one thing that hasn’t changed in the 10 years I’ve been part of SIM, is the fervent passion for making the gospel message of Jesus known.
It’s a privilege to be part of that and it keeps me going in the challenges. We’ve such an amazing group of mission workers to support and serve and I’m constantly humbled and encouraged by the gracious and courageous way they serve the Lord. To get to walk part of the journey with them is such a delight.
How have you seen God working through your job?
It’s just a joy to see people follow the call on their lives from tentative explorations of mission, through to flourishing in their work overseas. It’s exciting to get to encourage, equip, and support that journey and to see how God’s at work in their lives through the role our team plays in facilitating mission service.
Equally, when it’s hard and our people are tired and bruised, to be trusted to be ‘in’ that with them, providing a listening ear, standing with them in prayer, and seeing God use this team to bring reassurance, comfort and advice is also precious.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
I’m part of All Saints Worcester alongside my husband Luke. We’re plugged in there, leading a life group, helping to run monthly prayer gatherings as part of the prayer leadership team, and we’re both in the Creative and Worship team where I play guitar in the band on a regular basis. We’re passionate about authentic community and practising this in meaningful ways, big and small, throughout the week.
Outside of the Christian bubble of work and church, I’m part of two community football groups run by Worcester City Women FC. I play in a mixed men and women’s group on Friday nights and a ladies’ only group on Saturday mornings.
I love the combination of sport and building relationships with people of all sorts of age, life backgrounds and perspectives, whose paths I might never otherwise have crossed! It’s a missional opportunity to be salt and light and be a witness to Jesus.
How can we pray for you?
for sensitivity and wisdom to share faith with my footballing friends;
for stamina and dependence on God as I lead the team, which can sometimes feel overwhelming when I look at everything we need and want to do over the coming weeks, months, and years;
for this season of training and handover to the new Mission Journey Coordinator and for them as they settle in and build relationships with the team and our workers from the Central & South-West region.
Water engineer Lizzie White uses her skills to share the gospel while addressing challenges faced by least-reached communities in Peru.
What made you choose to serve God in Peru?
After various short-term experiences in South America – starting from when I was about 18 that helped me learn the language and culture – I was looking for long-term placements with a Christian charity and wanted something to do with water because that was the experience and training I’d built up.
I had two feasible options and one was a Peruvian NGO that’s existed for 20-odd years called AIDIA, which is made up of the main three evangelical churches in the city.
Interdenominational work is rare and valuable in Peru and it’s miraculous that it still exists, so I was inspired by the chance to work with such a great ministry. I really loved seeing its community development work in action, including Bible translation, church support, and church planting, and to realise how this growing ministry is reaching out to rural communities.
How are you serving with SIM?
Andes mountain range
I’m based in Abancay, in the heart of the Andes and I arrived 11 years ago to help AIDIA set up its first rural water project to improve drinking water. (Parasites that lurk in unsafe drinking water cause a range of complaints, including anaemia, malnourishment, and stomach upsets).
I worked alongside AIDIA for the first few years, and the water ministry has now become an SIM project and is managed by Noemi, one of AIDIA’s employees. Last year, when I was in the UK for my home assignment, Noemi ran the water projects for nine months, which is brilliant!
We’d been praying for this for many years because it means we can visit even more areas and the Peruvian Christians I train up, will eventually be able to take over the work.
This is the longest I’ve lived and worked in a single place, so thanks to the benefits of building relationships with families and gaining parents’ trust, I’m also involved in youth work, discipling teenagers who move from their village to work or study in the city.
I’m also the Personnel Coordinator for SIM Peru with lots of ongoing things like keeping policies and training and reviews up to date and trying to check in with all the different teams.
What does the water project involve?
We show people how to install simple water filters and train them in hygiene practices and how to store filtered water to ensure they can protect and properly maintain their water supplies.
As well as giving visible improvements in water quality, the project’s helped change attitudes towards the church as places that were often quite hostile to the church beforehand, see that we want to help.
Over the years, I’ve developed good contacts with the regional government, which is keen to prevent the health and economic difficulties created by poor water quality and sanitation, so we also teach water hygiene in schools and train district staff about the long-term benefits of water filters.
How do you share the gospel?
The water-related teaching has a clear, biblical, parallel, or example, which helps people to remember and understand both concepts. So, in Deuteronomy, there’s a teaching about basic sanitation that people are shocked to find is in the Bible, but they’re also amazed that God’s interested in all areas of their lives.
The ministry helps people become more accepting of the church and more open to the gospel. Also, after getting a water filter, part of the deal is villagers must let us come into their house to see how they’re using it and this slowly and slowly opens people up, which is really exciting.
How have you seen God working for your ministry?
In one village that was hostile to church, the father was the local plumber and so we’d make visits to the family home. Over time, the parents allowed their children to go to church events and then they started coming too and became believers!
What parts of mission work do you find the most rewarding?
Lots and lots of it is relationship-building, both within the church and within communities.
I love serving God here and seeing people grow, learn, and be able to put things into practice themselves; whether that’s the little extra things I do like helping to teach music at church and then seeing some of the teenagers I teach become part of the worship group on a Sunday; or watching our water ministry volunteers do the teaching themselves and tweak it with better examples and slightly more nuanced words to really make that connection.
What parts do you find the most challenging?
Travel! The villages are scattered around and quite remote, often high up in the mountains and although many have roads, the journey can take a couple of days. There’s a famous poem that describes this region as a crumpled-up piece of paper and its mountains and ravines make it extremely hard to travel.
The villages I visit are only about 100 kilometers, but it takes five or six hours to get there as it’s mostly a single track with lots of mining trucks going both ways.
How can we support or pray for you in your ministry?
The balance of the three roles!
We’re starting to try out expanding our water projects to other regions that Noemi will head up. Please pray for wisdom how that can go and how it needs to be slightly different and for me to support Noemi well.
There are several new people in the pipeline to join SIM Peru, so please pray for the team as we help them to prepare well and settle in once they arrive.
Please pray that God shows me the way forward with my youth ministry and for it to have an impact, especially on those teenagers already living in the city.
What do you do at SIM?
My job title is Head of Operations, which encompasses a wide variety of things across the organisation. My team is responsible for buildings and IT systems, policies and procedures, and donation processing.
Personally, I have responsibility on the leadership team for HR, safeguarding, and crisis and risk management. Plus, anything else that doesn’t fit within any other part of the organisation usually comes under me!
What does your job look like day to day?
It’s very varied and in some ways, quite a reactive job. In terms of managing my team, I make sure donation processing goes smoothly and will answer any queries my team have on that.
I respond to a lot of situations as they arise, really. In terms of crisis management and safeguarding, if something comes up, then obviously I must deal with that fairly quickly. The biggest thing I’m working on at the moment is a new software system we implemented last year. The process is still being rolled out, so I’m still very much involved in training, tweaking and updating it to make sure it’s working across every team, as well as being available for people if they’re unsure about what to do or how they’re using it.
What makes you passionate about working for SIM?
I came from a Christian organisation in my previous role and I wanted to stay in that place. I love working for a Christian organisation and my heart was to be in the Christian charity sector. My heart for the gospel, my heart for mission, and wanting people to come to know Jesus drew me to SIM.
Being in operations can be quite challenging as you’re often sat behind a computer and don’t see people out on the field; but it underpins everything we do to as an organisation to ensure we send out our workers and support them as best we can. So, I’m passionate about using my gifts and skills to make sure our operations are running smoothly to be able to send people out to serve Jesus.
Tell us the great story of how God brought you to SIM
I wasn’t looking to move jobs as I was quite happy where I was! But with my kids all in secondary school, it was a point in our family life where I could increase my hours, so I said to God, ‘If you want me to move, you’ve got to make it happen, because I’m not actively looking to move,’ and I left it at that.
We then had a couple of months where our bank account was looking quite low by the end of the month and we didn’t really know what was happening – we weren’t spending any more than usual, so I looked at what jobs were out there, not intending to move, but just to see – and the Head of Operations job was advertised, closing in a couple of days.
God knows that I tend to over-process things and that I wouldn’t have applied if I’d had time to think about it, so, I shared the advert with a few people close to me, who encouraged me to apply.
Everyone around me was praying for me and they all felt God was saying that I needed to take the job, but I felt way out of my depth and wasn’t sure. However, having that support around me reminded me that God knows what we need. Once I was offered the job, our financial situation improved.
God had clearly been in that situation to prompt me to look for a new job because I wouldn’t have seen the job advert at all had we not got to the end of the month and asked, ‘Where’s all the money gone?‘ In all this, I really feel God wants me here and is using me.
How have you seen God working through your job?
On a day-to-day basis, it’s the encouragement of working with everyone across the organisation and the relationships I’ve built with people and being able to support and come alongside them not just operationally, but in a pastoral way too. God has honoured what I’m doing and is allowing me to use my gifts and skills to facilitate and enable other people to do their jobs well.
In what ways do you continue your ministry of your life outside of work?
For me, my heart for mission is focused on my local community. In my village I co-lead a missional community with my husband and another couple where we use the Acts two church as our basis. We’re trying to live our lives alongside other people and being Jesus.
We do that in various ways, but we meet a couple of times a week always around the table – we always have food together! It’s an ongoing journey that we’ve been on with quite a few people over the last few years; praying for them, having conversations with them, and supporting them in crises are all at the heart of what we do. We’ve had people just turn up, knocking on the door, saying: ‘We don’t know where to go, but we know you pray, so will you pray for us?’ My heart is to come alongside people and show them the love of Jesus through these relationships.
How can we pray for you?
for wisdom to know on a day-to-day basis what priorities need to be dealt with. There’s always lots coming into my inbox, so being able to prioritise well and to look after my team well;
to serve well across the whole organisation, making sure that everyone’s fully equipped to do what they need to;
for juggling the businesses of three teenage boys, church, and elderly relatives and to be able to find the time and the space for me and Jesus in all this.
Jesus went throughout Galilee, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom, and healing every disease and sickness among the people.
Matt 4:23
For billions of people, access to safe, timely, and affordable healthcare is a distant hope, but in the face of this massive need, healthcare is a wonderful means of sharing Christ’s love.
Morethan half of the world’s population (about 4.5 billion people) lack full access to essential health services* but it presents a huge mission field for Serving In Mission as compassionate medical care serves as a bridge to share the good news about Jesus.
Serving in places where hospitals are scarce and access to safe and affordable medical care is limited, our cross-cultural workers are called to use their expertise and knowledge as a bridge to point others to Jesus, as they seek to heal both the body and soul.
Through the practice of good medicine, prayer, caring treatment, and training, physical and spiritual needs are met.
Serving In Mission has hospital and healthcare service partners in countries throughout the world and today, 250 medical professionals are working in 36 hospitals and clinics, as well as nearly 50 programmes focused on the health of communities, or specific vulnerable groups.
As well as partnering with hospitals, other mission teams, and churches, our workers develop and take part in outreach ministries that lead to church planting, disciple-making and good Bible teaching for those living in rural communities.
Not every health professional is doing medical ministry. Many are involved in relief and community health projects such as this clean water project in remote Peru that points people to Jesus
While SIM’s medical mission workers serve in a variety of roles, together, they’re a testimony to Christ’s love as they use their skills and experience to have a lasting impact on the lives of people living in places without the hope of the gospel.
The rejected
Sixty years ago, SIM started a leprosy centre in Danja, Niger, to provide compassionate care and healing for people suffering from the chronic disease.
Today, what started as a leprosy mission has grown into a multi-purpose health centre that reaches out to the neglected and rejected communities of rural Niger, including including those from two of the country’s least-reached peoples, the Hausa and Fulani.
Many former patients have come to faith at Danja, such as Abdou, who received treatment for three years: “I felt accepted and loved. The nurses would touch me; they would care for me, and I had a family. I was healed and because of the hospital, I met Jesus.”
Abdou’s new life flourished and he became confident enough to learn French, which enabled him to become a professional translator that helps him support his family.
The ostracised
Disabled children and their families face significant stigma and shame in Ethiopia and because of this stigma, children are kept at home with no opportunity for physical rehabilitation. Hidden Abilities is a long-standing SIM project that provides practical help and hope for disabled children and their families.
The centre offers physiotherapy and occupational therapy and doesn’t charge any of the families who attend, helping the poorest with food, medical and education expenses, and sometimes paying school fees or buying uniforms and books. It’s a place where families are welcomed, respected, and cherished and parents can discover their child’s hidden abilities.
The homeless
In one South Asian country, there are many homeless and destitute women who’ve been left without any means to take care of themselves or their children.
However, a SIM ministry is showing how God’s love brings hope and restoration as it empowers mothers to forge a new path for themselves and their families.
The Children’s Uplift Programme (CUP) extends hope to at-risk women by providing a safe space for them and their children as they’re trained to find good employment and a way out of poverty and desperation. As CUP walks alongside mothers, it takes care of their children by providing healthcare, food, and schooling.
The poor
In 1950, SIM opened Galmi Hospital on the south edge of the Sahara Desert in Niger — one of the world’s poorest countries where there’s no nationalised healthcare — treating up to 300 men, women and children at the outpatient clinics each day. It’s also the only hospital in the country that provides emergency, life-saving care without requiring payment upfront.
Medical ministry provides a unique opportunity to share the love and compassion of Jesus Christ by caring for those who are suffering
Last year, SIM celebrated 100 years of ministry in Niger, giving thanks for how God’s using this 180-bed hospital to help thousands of Nigeriens from all walks of life and to give them hope as every patient has the opportunity to hear the gospel message.
The hospital also serves as a training center for surgical residents from several African countries where there’s a critical shortage of physicians.
Good news for everyone
For the past seven years, SIM UK’s Ted Watts and his wife Rachel, a paediatrician, have worked at the Good News Hospital, Madagascar, which is part of a project seeking to make the good news of Jesus known in Mandritsara, and beyond.
The mission hospital lies in a remote town in the northern hills of the island and it’s where Ted first went during his elective as a medical student: “It’s where my call to medical mission really got going and I was struck by the model of mission at Mandritsara, where every member of staff is a Christian, committed to proclaiming the gospel and to the delivery of high-quality medical care.”
For 25 years, the hospital’s been a beacon of hope in Madagascar — one of the world’s poorest nations — and God has provided and grown his work in amazing ways over the years.
“We’ve been privileged to see a number of patients responding in faith and to see them embracing not only a new life physically, but a new eternal life,” says Ted, who’s supported by Beeston Free Church.
Today, the hospital provides a training programme for Malagasy surgeons alongside surgery, maternity, paediatrics and ophthalmology.
“The eye team plays a vital role in outreach in the area, meeting physical needs alongside our team of evangelists to share the gospel and to plant churches,” explains Ted.
However, medical ministries are by no means only medical, and the project’s latest plan is to upgrade the hospital radio station that broadcasts gospel programmes seven days a week.
“Mandritsara is a very mountainous region, and currently only 50% of the population of the district can receive our programmes,” explains Ted. “The plan is to build new facilities and increase its current reach to 80% by placing the transmitter and antenna in a higher location. The new building will include a live studio (to produce Christian music in the local Tsimihety language), production spaces and an office with much better sound-proofing.
Site of the Voice of Good News radio station in Mandritsara town
“The radio is an incredible support to Christians in remote areas, a training resource for village pastors, and a way for many to hear the good news of Jesus for the first time.”
Please pray
For the sick to receive the treatment they need and to turn to the Great Healer, Jesus, in their suffering.
For the Lord to uphold all SIM healthcare workers as they proclaim Jesus and make disciples through their compassionate ministries.
Praise God for progress with the new radio project.
Raising awareness
In 2020, SIM UK couple Victor and Rachel Fredlund founded ‘Ngithume Nkosi’ (Send Me Lord’ in Zulu) to encourage healthcare professionals into mission from the South African churches they’ve worked amongst during their many years of service.
In addition to raising awareness for medical missions, the project aims to match people with short- and long-term medical ministry opportunities in South Africa, surrounding countries, and around the world – wherever there are people who still need to hear about the healing power of Christ, both in the present and for eternity.
Search opportunities to serve
Medical ministry opportunities are available in community-based programmes, as well as in hospitals and clinics, and include a broad range of healthcare professions.
Is God leading you to serve with your unique healthcare skills and move overseas? Go to sim.co.uk/serve or email [email protected] to take the next step.
Engagement officer Hannah recently sat down with Dr Tim Nunn, a paediatric orthopaedic surgeon and Medical Director at CURE Hospital in Ethiopia, where children with life-limiting, yet curable conditions, receive help and hope.
Sent by St George’s Church, Leeds, Tim’s been in Ethiopia since August 2014 and has worked at CURE Hospital for nearly 11 years. Before serving in Ethiopia, Tim and his family lived in South Africa, including serving short-term with another SIM UK medical mission worker, Dr Victor Fredlund. When it became clear that there were opportunities for both him and his wife Rachel, a GP, to serve in Addis Ababa, Tim began to search for the right role himself.
“Whilst prayerfully looking for opportunities, an Ethiopian surgeon training with CURE invited me to explore CURE Ethiopia. We went for a ‘look-see’ to explore the opportunities. I was grateful that a vacancy at CURE Ethiopia came along soon after completing my training – and the surgeon who gave me the local invite I was searching for, is now my colleague!”
CURE has eight paediatric hospitals across Africa and the Philippines, all providing medical care for children with treatable disabilities, at no cost to families living in poverty.
Each year, CURE Ethiopia carries out more than 3,000 surgeries and sees 12,000 children in the outpatient clinics. Since 2006, the hospital has trained more than 2,400 medical professionals. Conditions treated include bowed legs, clubfoot, windswept legs, cleft palate and cleft lip.
With each surgery costing CURE around $1,500 dollars, the work of the hospital is only possibly through the generosity of donors.
Alongside world-class surgical care, the hospital offers spiritual care to its young patients in the forms of biblical counselling, prayer, bedside ministry, and play therapy.
“What makes me continue at CURE is the mission, the service expansions that are happening, the training and discipleship, and the fact that it’s a fun place to work!” adds Tim.
‘and he [Jesus] sent them out to proclaim the kingdom of God and to heal the sick.’
Luke 9:2
Outreach clinics
Not only does CURE Ethiopia transform the lives of thousands of children at the hospital, but outreach clinics make it possible to reach out to those living remotely and a long and challenging drive away.
“Taking expertise to the regional hubs means that families who cannot afford to travel to Addis can still access life-changing treatment … treatment that they wouldn’t otherwise receive, and we thank God for that,” shares Tim.
One member of the team was Dr Chelsea, a gifted young Kenyan surgeon undertaking her paediatric orthopaedic fellowship at CURE
The Mobile Clinic Team sees children on its waiting list, offers follow-up consultations and treats those recommended by the hosting institution. The clinics also offer an opportunity to connect with local churches, and to encourage and strengthen partnerships with institutions where trainees come from.
Recently, the Mobile Clinic Team travelled to the teaching hospital in Jimma with Tim part of a team of surgeons, nurses, physical therapists and counsellors. Together, they examined 110 patients (including six follow-ups) and admitted six new patients to the hospital for surgery.
The pastoral care team offered prayer and encouragement to those waiting to be seen and engaged with local church leaders in a ‘Theology of Disability’ workshop – crucial in a culture where deformity is often seen as a ‘curse’.
“The clinic was a good opportunity to connect with CURE staff members and it was a very formative time for the trainee surgeons we brought along. They gained clinical skills, clinical confidence and an appreciation of what the working environment is like outside of our institution,” Tim recalls.
Opportunities to serve
While speaking to Tim, it’s clear that the burden of need is as great as the hospital’s incredible work. With a waiting list of more than 5,000 patients for a first appointment, it’s unsurprising that opportunities to serve at CURE are vast.
“We’ve had healthcare workers from the UK who’ve come to facilitate training in areas like ICU and radiology, as well as operating room nurses and physiotherapists. Those people are invaluable,” stresses Tim.
At the moment, the hospital’s biggest need is occupational therapists for upper limb rehabilitation – a skill not currently available in Ethiopia.
“We treat a lot of kids with problems with contractures of their fingers, hands, wrists and upper limb, which all need a lot of exercise after surgery, including physiotherapy and in some cases, splinting. It would be a real help to us in our rehabilitation setting,” explains Tim.
Dr Tim and the team check their equipment ahead of a spine operation
CURE is also currently focusing on developing its paediatric spine services. With an aim to double the amount of major spine surgeries this year compared to last year’s 50, those with an interest and expertise in paediatric spine surgery would be of immense value to the hospital.
If Tim’s story has inspired you to serve, we’d love to hear from you.
Following a short period of language learning, workers in the opportunities shared above, would make a huge difference. Visit the CURE – Ethiopia website to find out more about how you can get involved and serve through medical ministry.
Please pray
For Tim and the rest of the training team as they undertake a complex re-licensing process for the PAACS orthopaedic training programme;
For the current Ethiopia trainee surgeons to develop skills which will let them take over the spine surgery programme in the next few years.
Photo credit: CURE Ethiopia
What do you do at SIM UK?
I’m the Health Coordinator for SIM UK. It’s a voluntary role that I’ve done since returning from a five-and-a-half-year term in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
Most of what I do is online. Once a new worker has been accepted and knows where they’ll be going and what they’ll be doing, I’m tasked with providing SIM UK Health Clearance for them. This process ensures the worker is currently fit for the role they’ve been called to, and that they’re prepared for the new risks to their health that they’ll encounter, particularly in developing and tropical countries.
The process varies depending on their destination and planned length of service and may involve referrals for health screening or a full medical, possibly a psychological assessment, and a collection of vaccinations. They also have a lot of information to absorb, helping them learn how to maintain good health in a new and possibly challenging environment.
A second aspect of my work is to help with reimbursement of healthcare costs incurred while our workers are abroad, through a SIM International cost-sharing programme called SIM-MED. Finally, I’m available to provide ad hoc healthcare advice to our workers while they’re away.
What makes you passionate about your work?
I’ve been involved in providing healthcare for many years. Maintaining good health is essential to thriving in gospel ministry in cross-cultural settings, and I want to do everything I can to help our workers achieve that.
Being able to be one small part of the whole process of sending gospel workers to reach the least reached is a great privilege, and when we hear from our workers of people coming to faith in Christ, churches growing and maturing, and people in great need being helped and supported, Christ is honoured and glorified and that makes it all worthwhile.
How can we pray for you?
for efficiency, consistency, and good time management;
that through all the busyness of life, the goal of everything I do will be for the honour and glory of the Lord Jesus Christ – that he will be the ultimate focus of it all;
that my faith will continue to be deepened, and that I’ll be able to show Christ’s love to others through my work, church, and family.
Discipleship happens in various ways and contexts in and through Serving In Mission around the world. Mission workers are coming alongside new believers to get them off to a strong start. Some are mentoring the next generation of church leaders, others walk with, and disciple children and youth from difficult backgrounds, and there are many more examples.
Mark, in Ecuador, engages in one-to-one discipleship with believers keen to grow, mentors people in ministry who want to grow in both ability and character, and runs group discipleship with leaders of local churches, who are seen to be the future pastors, evangelists, and missionaries of the church.
“It’s honestly one of the greatest joys of my ministry,” he says. “God’s given me a lot of joy through these relationships, and I’m honoured that he’s chosen to use me in this way, to see his people mature in faith and develop deep and meaningful relationships with him so they want to share with others.”
How to disciple someone
How did Jesus disciple the disciples? What other examples do we see in the Bible that can help us?
Jesus prayed before choosing the 12 apostles (Luke 6:12-13). Pray about someone to start meeting with. You could then offer to meet with them for an initial chat and see if they would be interested in meeting regularly.
He went on praying for them (see John 17). “Discipling without prayer is like running without breathing,” says Garrett Kell.
He taught them how to pray and have a relationship with him.
Jesus did life together with his disciples. They were with each other in a variety of everyday contexts. They could observe him and learn from his example. To the Philippians Paul writes, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me – put it into practice.” (Philippians 4:9). To the Corinthians he wrote, “Follow my example as I follow the example of Christ.” (1 Corinthians 11:1). That always challenges me! May we be examples worth imitating!
Paul also told the Thessalonians that, ‘We loved you so much that we were delighted to share with you not only the gospel of God but our lives as well, because you had become so dear to us.’ (1 Thess 2:7). Sharing our lives with people where they can observe our imperfect but genuine walk with God in the everyday things of life, can have a very profound impact. We found this to be true with several young people who joined us for meals, games or outings.
He intentionally taught them. Time in the Bible is a key part of making disciples, helping to ground a person in God’s truth and align themselves with the values of the kingdom. My wife Ellie spent over a year reading through Luke with a young woman new to faith in Cambodia, which was a truly transformational experience.
There were several “Wow!” moments as she grasped more of who Jesus was. They were both challenged to obey particular teachings. It helped to ground the woman’s faith, giving her confidence to read the Bible for herself.
Jesus asked good questions (e.g. Mark 8:27-38). Questions are a great way to diagnose where someone is at and help take the relationship deeper.
He also showed them how to do various forms of ministry and sent them out to get involved themselves (e.g. Luke 10).
So, what next?
How are we going to respond to Jesus’ call to make disciples and what could making disciples look like in your context?
We can be confident, as mission worker Mark writes, that, “discipleship is central to our missional calling and is a key part of being obedient to the Great Commission as Jesus calls us not only to share the gospel and baptise, but also to make disciples that obey all that he has commanded.”
Pray about someone to disciple. Some of us may need to rethink our schedules and priorities to ensure we have time for this. You could also help to encourage a culture of disciple-making in your church.
If you’re interested in exploring what it could look like for you to make disciples together with Serving In Mission, we’d love to have a chat.
What do you do at SIM UK?
I wear two ‘hats’ at SIM UK. One is being part of the Engage Team that receives and supports workers coming to the UK from other parts of the world. I walk alongside their receiving church and help them think through what receiving them well could look like.
I journey with the Engage workers during their transition to life here in the UK (which includes facilitating their orientation process), and walk closely with them for the first six months and then continuously as part of their supportive care with SIM.
The second hat is that of ‘Missions Trainer’, where I focus on the training we give both our incoming and outgoing mission workers. This looks like developing, administrating, and delivering our SIMtrain programme three times a year. I collaborate with other teams in SIM UK to make sure we’re caring for people well by providing them with materials, content, and an approach to mission that’s current and helps prepare them for crossing cultural barriers and being valuable members of teams serving around the world – hopefully!
What does your job look like day-to-day?
It depends on the day! It’s usually some combination of any of the following: Meetings, emails, researching (venues for SIMtrain, topics for teaching, etc), reading – doing some learning myself – calling Engage workers, praying for people, working on course content and PowerPoints, and more meetings!
What makes you passionate about your work?
I’ve been part of SIM as a member since 2007, so almost 20 years! I’m passionate about the fact that Jesus is for everyone, and I love being part of trying to see that realised around the world. Whether that’s by doing it directly myself (I love living cross-culturally and wrestling with the process of communicating about Jesus in a way that deeply connects with people’s hearts), helping further equip people to do so, or serving alongside the church to equip them to go out beyond their borders anywhere in the world.
I feel like that’s at the heart of what SIM does and it’s why I’ve felt ‘at home’ in this community since I was a teenager with dreams and a calling I felt compelled to follow.
How have you seen God at work?
I love the light bulb moments you see people have during SIMtrain, where suddenly something about culture or values ‘clicks’ and a whole new complex world opens up before them. I love watching the Lord at work in people’s hearts in fostering humility for the enormity of the task that lies before them, but also the excitement at the privilege it is to join him in what he’s already doing.
I also love watching the workers who come here to the UK slowly adjust and learn to thrive in this new environment and lean heavily on the Lord’s strength to do so. I love to hear about the answers to prayer that happen as our Engage workers build relationships, share Christ, and see people meet Jesus for the very first time.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
While my official role with SIM UK is with Engage and training, I’m a sent SIM worker from Canada, currently to the UK and previously to South Sudan.
I remain connected to life in the corner of South Sudan where I lived for nine years; staying connected to the team and looking for ways to support and contribute from afar (something I’m still working on doing – how to straddle life in multiple places at once), and serving on the board for SIM South Sudan. I’m still in touch with some close friends from the team and the church there and we still do some ‘big thinking’ together about culture, ministry and Jesus.
My family and I are part of our church here in the UK and we serve that community in a few different ways. Hospitality is one of the ways we like to build relationships with people and something we hope to do more of in the coming years.
How can we pray for you?
for our SIMtrains throughout the year (April, June and November) – that they’d be valuable times of depth with Jesus and development of cross-cultural understanding for our workers as they come through;
for my family: Three teenage children, all at different stages of life and faith. For wisdom for my husband, Tyler, and I as we journey with them;
that my relationship with Jesus would deepen more and more.
Once unreachable in their home countries, new believers are now being discipled in Europe and trained to take the gospel back to their communities.
Since 2014, Europe has witnessed a significant increase in the numbers of immigrants and refugees, many of whom come from regions where the gospel is difficult to access.
This has presented a unique opportunity for the church, as many of these newcomers have embraced faith in Jesus. However, the rapid growth of diaspora churches has highlighted a pressing need for effective discipleship to be tailored to the backgrounds and experiences of these new believers.
Many European churches, eager to disciple these new believers, have faced challenges. Traditional discipleship methods often reflect Western theological backgrounds, differing from those of diaspora believers. This has created a ‘discipleship gap’, requiring new approaches to nurture faith in a culturally relevant and biblically sound way.
This is where Quest Academy plays a crucial role, acting as a bridge between new believers and the local European church, equipping both sides to navigate the challenges of discipleship effectively. Its approach is comprehensive, focusing on both spiritual growth and practical skills in mission work and it recognises the importance of preparing individuals for cross-cultural missions as they can more effectively reach their communities in the West and eventually connect with those still living in their home countries.
The academy not only helps the church understand and engage with diaspora believers, but its vision is to see every diaspora believer become a disciple and a bridge to reach their people, both locally and in their home countries.
One Italian pastor, who took part in Quest’s Building Bridges training for European churches on reaching Muslims, says:
“I used to shy away from sharing the gospel with Muslims in my city. I’d see them on the streets and just walk past them. After the training, I feel equipped and encouraged to reach out without fear.”
Quest Academy takes new believers on a journey from the early stages of their faith, guiding them through the life of Jesus, personal formation, biblical knowledge, and how to live as Christians among their families. It also prepares them for the persecution they may face, especially those coming from a Muslim background.
One such example is a Kurdish man who came to Christ in Germany. He joined a local German church and became part of a Quest Academy discipleship group, both online and offline. In less than a year, his wife and brother in Iraq also became Christians.
With the support and training provided by Quest Academy, he was able to start a new discipleship group in his home in Germany, helping other new believers grow in their faith. Quest played a key role in equipping him with resources and training, enabling him to be both a disciple and a disciple-maker.
Discipling diaspora believers requires a multifaceted approach. As highlighted in Colossians 3, discipleship involves both shedding the old way of life and embracing the new. This transformation goes beyond theology; it involves addressing integrity, morality, cultural influences, servant leadership, religious baggage, forgiveness, family dynamics, identity, and the understanding of the church.
Western cultural influences can sometimes create additional challenges, making it even more crucial for discipleship efforts to be holistic and contextually informed.
The testimonies of transformed lives among the diaspora community serve as powerful encouragement to the global church. Once unreachable in their home countries, new believers are now being discipled in Europe and bringing the gospel back to their communities. This movement of faith demonstrates how Jesus is growing his church remarkably.
By equipping and empowering new believers, ministries like SIM and Quest Academy, help the gospel not only take root, but flourish within the diaspora community. As the church continues to embrace this mission, it can be part of a significant and transformative work — one that extends beyond borders and generations.
The term diaspora comes from an ancient Greek word meaning to ‘scatter about’. As a shared experience, diaspora refers to people displaced from their homes, willingly or unwillingly, as they navigate the changes and imbalance that accompany such movement.
Alex Hawke, SIM UK Director, explores what it looks like for ordinary followers of Jesus to make disciples and why it’s worth the effort.
What happened to making disciples?
It hit me while our family were serving in Cambodia that although Jesus had given his disciples the Great Commission to go and make disciples (Matthew 28:18-20), very few Christians have actually been discipled, or been taught how to disciple someone. Isn’t that a bit crazy?
Given how important making disciples was, and is to Jesus, it’s worth asking if, as individuals, churches and organisations, we’re getting on with many good activities, but are neglecting what Jesus commanded us to do?
Discipleship is about becoming more like Jesus and to disciple someone is to intentionally spend time encouraging them in their spiritual growth to be more like Jesus. It goes beyond seeing someone come to Christ, to helping them walk with him, and tobe his disciple.
Without being discipled, many who respond to the gospel don’t continue following Jesus and growing.
Making the greatest difference
Many of us talk about wanting to ‘make a difference.’ I’m convinced that the greatest difference we can make is to make disciples of Jesus. People who are seeking to live Christ-centred, Christ-like lives, that are governed by the values of the kingdom of God, who are salt and light, who spread the gospel and make more disciples.
Ordinary disciples like you and me, are potentially the best resource available to help another person grow in their relationship with God. Nothing takes the place of someone journeying with them and being an example of what it looks like to follow Jesus.
Other resources or courses are an aid to this, but programmes don’t make disciples: disciples do.
Discipling someone is a significant investment. It’s slow, small-scale work that needs a long-term vision. It will challenge our tendency to want peace, quiet and privacy, but it’s so worth it. “If we invest in people, our investment is deathless,” said E. Stanley Jones.
Mark Azzopardi, serving with SIM in Ecuador, tells of being discipled as a student by a student pastor, who invited him to meet regularly with him and help serve alongside him in the church.
Over several years, they read the Bible, prayed and discussed Mark’s questions. The man helped Mark learn how to teach the Bible and gave different opportunities where Mark could use and develop his gifts. He also helped to prepare him for mission work and remains a faithful supporter and a source of counsel.
“I’ve been very blessed,” says Mark, “to have someone who’s been so consistent in discipling me, in different ways, depending on the season of life, which has shaped me as a follower of Jesus and continues to shape my own philosophy of ministry.”
Pass it on
What we have, isn’t meant just for us. That’s true of our money and it’s true of our spiritual life. Paul told his disciple Timothy, “The things you have heard me say in the presence of many witnesses entrust to reliable men who will also be qualified to teach others.” (2 Tim 2:2). The idea is that disciples make more disciples.
There are several examples in the Bible of discipleship relationships: Moses and Joshua; Elijah and Elisha; Jesus and his disciples (including Peter, James and John, with whom Jesus seems to have invested more time); Paul and Timothy; plus, several others, including Priscilla and Aquila, who in turn, discipled Apollos. They were all concerned about the continuation of God’s mission and were passing on what God had taught them.
Paul instructs Titus to, ‘Teach the older women… then they can train the younger women.’ (Titus 2:3-4). This also illustrates that making disciples is for every ordinary Christian. You don’t have to be spectacular or have all the answers. Remember that when Jesus gave the Great Commission to the disciples, they weren’t particularly mature and had even deserted him when he was arrested.
“We disciple not because we are especially mature or competent, but because Jesus commands us to make this our priority,” writes Christine Dillon of OMF.
Teaching can transform the lives of millions of children around the globe and help to raise up the next generation of disciples.
In Biblical times, where the importance of children was often dismissed, Jesus’ countercultural command to ‘let the little children come to me’ (Matthew 19:14) surprised the disciples – and those around them.
The children of today are the voices of tomorrow and as SIM workers live and work to fulfill the vision that no one should live and die without hearing the gospel, raising up the next generation is a vital part of this.
In classrooms across the world where God is largely banished, Christ-like living can be difficult for teachers, but SIM’s Transformational Teaching programme helps them to teach in line with their core identity as Christians.
SIM’s Ministry Point Person for Transformational Teaching, Megan Patterson, who’s supported by Livingston Free Church, Scotland, frequently makes trips to train teachers around the world.
At a workshop in Benin, primary teacher Marie shared the importance of showing kindness to the troubled child, instead of only focusing on those excelling.
“That’s perhaps possible for you … with no more than 40 children in your class. If you have a big class like most of us, you can’t pay attention to individuals,” replied another teacher.
Marie’s colleague, André, rose to share his story. One boy was causing trouble in his class of 138 children. “I decided that every day I would speak to him for one minute on his own. I asked him about his breakfast, siblings, anything. As the year progressed, he settled and worked and is ready to go up to the next class when school reopens.”
At the end of the workshop, many asked for prayer that they would show God’s love to each of the learners in their care as if the learner were Jesus himself.
Teachers receiving certificates after attending the workshop in Benin
When Claire Robinson, who’s sent by Glenabbey Church, Northern Ireland, was headteacher at Mukinge Hill Academy, a primary school in north-western Zambia, she saw many children’s lives changed by the power of the gospel – like Hope’s.
As the second term at the academy began, Hope’s chair in the Grade II classroom remained empty. Her father had died suddenly a few weeks before and her mother, unable to pay the academy’s fee, registered her at the village school. Struggling to find her place in a large class, Hope often stayed home.
Her father’s colleague paid for Hope to return to Mukinge Hill Academy, but things didn’t go back to how they were. Other children wouldn’t sit or eat with her, taunting her that her nails were dirty from digging the soil on her father’s grave. But day by day, their teacher prayed for the children and taught them about Jesus’ love for them, including Hope.
The initial help for Hope, by God’s grace, grew into a scholarship programme to help vulnerable children in the community access quality Christian education. Hope completed her schooling at the academy and is not only thriving academically at secondary school, but continues to grow and depend on God.
For Lisa Wallis, her ministry goes beyond the classroom. Working in a deprived community in Jos, Nigeria, with people crammed into side streets and alleys, not every child can afford to attend school. Parents go out to earn very little money, leaving their children to bring each other up.
At a young age, they’re surrounded by negative influences including drugs and prostitution.
As part of the City Ministries team, Lisa works with these vulnerable children to help break this cycle and show them the love Jesus offers. They provide the community with an after-school club where they teach them Bible stories and play games.
“We want to create a safe space for these children to share their struggles, to laugh and experience God’s love in a practical way,” shares Lisa.
In the community, the team now runs a discipleship class for local teenagers, giving them an opportunity to deepen and grow in their faith. Some are increasingly involved in activities for younger children, such as holiday clubs and reading classes.
“We hope to build on this gradually and offer training to help the teenagers reach their own community,” says Lisa, who’s supported by Avenue Community Church, Leicester. The community outreach team also includes Third Culture Kids, which is beneficial both ways.
“Not only are they a great help, but they’re growing in faith, sharpening their gifts and learning about the culture,” says Lisa.
Please pray
For classrooms to be transformational as the Holy Spirit enables teaching and learning;
that Christian teachers will honour Jesus in their classrooms, even when they’re not allowed to mention his name;
for more teachers to serve in areas with a desperate need for new workers, particularly in mission schools.
In some of the hardest places to be a Christian, workers like Caitlin are sharing the hope of the gospel through our pioneering Faithful Witness programme.
For the past two-and-a-half years, Caitlin’s been serving as part of a multi-ethnic team team in Ayutthaya, Thailand. She currently works alongside a Thai family serving a small church plant that seeks to reach out to the local community and to disciple believers.
“The Faithful Witness initiative exists to launch multi-skilled, multi-ethnic teams in communities around the world with limited or no access to the gospel,” she explains.
Sent by Euston Church, London, where she previously served as a student ministry trainee, Caitlin is using her skills to serve in a campus ministry at a local university, engaging with students and sharing the gospel with them.
“I’ve been going onto campus on and off since we began our ministry here and trying to get to know students. It wasn’t going anywhere, partly because of language barriers, and partly because of the difficulties of trying to go in alone.”
But God’s perfect timing led to a breakthrough that helped transform the ministry. One of Caitlin’s colleagues, Kanya*, decided she wanted to get involved with supporting the campus ministry. At the same time, the Campus Crusade team from Bangkok decided to make Ayutthaya one of its outreach branches. With the help of the Bangkok team organising events like a Valentine’s Day celebration, Caitlin’s been able to continue conversations with some of the students she’d met during previous university visits.
Valentine’s Day on campus
Through these opportunities, student Mai* made the decision to put her trust in Jesus. It wasn’t an easy decision to make. While it’s not against the law to follow Jesus in Ayutthaya, it’s a cultural and social challenge. Some of Mai’s friends were taken aback that she wanted to follow Jesus and asked if she was sure and knew what she was believing in.
But previous encounters with Christians and opportunities to read the Bible together shaped Mai’s commitment in that moment, which is an encouraging reminder how God can use gospel interactions stored in people’s hearts in his perfect timing.
“We’re praising God for graciously allowing us to meet Mai at this point of her journey and pray she and Kanya will soon be able to start working through some discipleship material together,” says Caitlin.
With everyone working together, the outreach on campus has been much more effective and gained a lot more traction, and it’s an exciting area to see how God will work in the future.
Please pray
that God’s Word would increase and multiply on campus and for the hearts of many to turn back to him. Pray for more workers to make this possible, and for the administration involved;
for God to be glorified as people are brought to personally know and worship him as disciples of Jesus Christ;
for Mai, as she explores Christianity and members of the campus ministry team walk alongside her.
Interested in serving with Faithful Witness?
Gospel seeds are being planted in nine least-reached communities around the world by Faithful Witness teams of workers sent from 22 different nations. However, we still need new workers willing to follow Jesus to the hard places and cross barriers with the gospel.
My job title is Executive Assistant to the SIM UK leadership team, so I look to support the UK Director and leadership team in any way I can. My main work comes through our Head of Operations, Emma, and I also work closely with Alex, our Director.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
I work remotely based in Stockport, and I love the variety in my day-to-day: From arranging meetings and office visits, to helping organise events, like our Spiritual Life Conference and All Team days. It’s great to be able to connect for Staff Prayers with the team each day, especially when you’re working remotely, as it’s a great reminder of how God is in everything we do.
What makes you passionate about your work?
I love the work of SIM UK: Taking the gospel to areas where Christ is least known and doing everything by prayer. It’s a real privilege to be a part of that and to hear of the wonderful work happening both here in the UK and in other nations. To be able to pray for that together every day, knowing we need God to move in some really challenging situations, and then seeing answers to prayers too is amazing!
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
Outside of work, my husband Adam is a pastor, so we’re involved in so many ways in the life of the church and local community outreach. This can be anything from offering pastoral support or leading midweek groups, to volunteering in kids on a Sunday and at our community events. I love the fact that Adam and I have been able to connect with other local church leaders, who are also linked to SIM UK – that’s been really exciting to see.
How can we pray for you?
For wisdom in prioritising my work in the day-to-day, as I balance different tasks.
To grow in my role and continue to support the leadership team well.
During Steve and Mary’s 33-year service overseas, God demonstrated his perfect timing through a surprise interaction in Bolivia.
Nearby to the government hospital where Steve worked, was a barren town square. Deciding it was time to build up the plaza, the local community worked together to lay pavements, plant trees, and build a fountain as a centrepiece. Steve was given the job of finding some park benches.
The town centre where benches were to be installed
He found an artisan called Victor* to make the benches in Potosí, a three-hour drive away, and as was the custom, paid him 50 per cent upfront for the materials. It was agreed Steve would pick up the benches in a month’s time, but when he went back, they were nowhere to be found.
“Victor said, ‘Well I’ve had some setbacks’ and so forth, and the benches weren’t ready. So he put it off for another month. This went on and on, until eventually I realised Victor was an alcoholic and had drunk away the money I’d given him.”
Steve’s wife, Mary, sat on the type of bench Steve was hoping to get made
It didn’t take long before Steve wasn’t his only disgruntled client and Victor began sending his children to the door claiming he wasn’t home. After visiting month after month to try and get the benches, Steve gave up.
Ten years later, now living in Potosí, Steve decided to take a walk in the cemetery as people honoured loved ones during All Saints Day, celebrated on the first two days in November. Wanting to find out more about the customs, Steve ended up near where Victor lived.
Cemetery on All Saints Day
“I heard a voice and turned around to a young man asking, ‘Do you remember me?’. His name, Felix*, rang a vague bell in my mind but I wasn’t quite sure who he was. He said, ‘I’m the son of the man that was going to make you those benches.’
“My first thought was, ‘Oh! Did your dad finally make those benches?’ Felix said, ‘No, he never did. But I was one of those little kids that would come out and talk to you at the door, and I don’t know if you remember, but on one of your visits you left my father a Bible.’”
Steve asked whether Felix’s father had ever read the Bible, and he said no – but he had, along with his brothers and sisters! They were so excited by what they read that they found a Christian radio station and a church. In God’s perfect timing, they all became Christians.
Felix shared that he wanted to go into mission himself, but needed to improve his English. Steve took him to the English school that Mary, his wife, had started, and Felix went on to become a mission worker. Having attended medical school, his sister did a rotation at the clinic Steve worked in too.
“It was one of those things that had been extremely frustrating at the time, but it allowed me to see how God is this great networker. He can pick up all the scraps you thought had gone to waste, and make something beautiful out of them in the end.”
*Names changed
What do you do at SIM UK?
As Head of Communications and Engagement, my focus is on sharing the work that God is doing through SIM and encouraging people to be more engaged by praying and serving.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
Everyday can be different and ranges from creating videos, updating our website, designing new brochures, meeting people at events, to creating strategies and managing the communications team. Each week brings new opportunities and challenges, as well as meeting lots of people who are passionate about mission.
What makes you passionate about your work?
As we look at the world around us and the challenges there are to the spread of the gospel, we have to realise that this is a mission that can only be undertaken and achieved by prayer. This is what excites me about the role – to try and get many more people praying each day for global mission.
There are so many stories of how God is transforming lives and communities. We need to hear them to stoke the fires for more prayer, and build our faith that God can indeed work even in the most hopeless of situations.
I’ve always been impressed by how SIM is focused on the task of seeing least-reached peoples come to faith in Christ.
How have you seen God working through your job?
In the communications team you have the privilege of hearing mission workers’ stories, so we are hearing the excitement and joy they have in seeing God work in many contexts around the world. Working for a Christian Mission, we are so dependent on God for his guidance, protection and provision and I’ve seen God at work week-by-week as he leads us.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
As I’ve journeyed in my relationship with Jesus, I’ve found that one of the main areas that excites me and brings me great joy is when I’m following him and helping others to learn to do the same. I’m very involved in my local church in Portadown, Co. Armagh and serve in different ways to support the work of the church.
How can we pray for you?
One thing I would love to happen is to see groups of people springing up across the UK to pray together for global mission. Please pray that God starts stirring people to gather with others to pray in twos and threes to contend together in prayer for the world in which we live in.
Pray for us as we think of ways to provide resources and information so that people can pray in really informed ways.
Sarah with her two sons, Edson and Danny
Read how God is using teacher Sarah to help disabled children in Bolivia overcome their challenges and to support their parents.
“Thirteen- year-old Landi* has cerebral palsy and finds it hard to speak clearly, but alternative means of communication aren’t commonplace here, so he’s been left without a voice and it’s clear how frustrating he finds that. We’ve been testing out low-tech communication devices and were able to have a great 10-minute conversation for the first time ever!” says Special Education Needs teacher Sarah Allen, who’s helping disabled children and their families as she serves in Bolivia.
“Children with disabilities in Bolivia face widespread stigma and their parents often feel guilt and shame,” she explains. “Families need the help of their community the most, yet often find themselves ostracised. An ongoing issue is that kids with a diagnosis are either rejected from schools or are accepted and shunned and unsupported.”
Sarah works with Landi as she supports a centre a few says a week, called Luz y Esperanza (Light and Hope) that’s run by a Christian couple.
“I met the couple who founded the centre about a year ago, as we were all trying to start support groups for parents of kids with disabilities,” she recalls.
“They offered to give me one of their spare rooms to work with kids with disabilities and provide some academic support and early intervention to kids who otherwise would have no way to afford it. Some of these kids are in school, but others have been rejected from various ones and don’t currently attend. So far, there are about six kids coming regularly, with numbers increasing weekly!
“‘Another boy I work with is Javier* who also has cerebral palsy. He’s fully verbal, and incredibly intelligent, but has only been accepted by special schools that do little academic work, so he ends up bored and frustrated.
“We’ve been working once a week to get him more and more fluent and he’s now reading well, despite having never been in a school that saw the point in teaching him how.
“His mum has managed to find a mainstream school near their home that’s open to accepting him with an assistant and has asked if I’d come along to help train up the staff in how to teach him, so I’m excited to see how we can help him to reach his full potential.”
Sarah has also built relationships and gained the trust of parents of disabled children through the support groups she helps run. “Over time, the parents begin to ask why we’re doing it and why we care – both about them and their kids and it’s opened up conversations about Jesus and the gospel.”
Recently, Sarah has begun teaching a group of disabled children who live in the local women’s prison with their mums.
“The law in Bolivia states that children are allowed to live in prison with their incarcerated mothers until one day before their seventh birthday,” she explains. “In the women’s prison, there are about 35-40 kids, ranging from newborns up to those who are almost seven. Once old enough, they go to daycare or school, but are bussed back into the prison, where they sleep in cells with their mothers, and up to 60 other people, depending on the type of cell they can afford to rent.
“One day, the director sent me a message with a number for Loida, who’s in charge of the programme that brings the kids from the prison and out to school. She invited me to go to the prison with her to meet the mums, which I jumped at the chance to do!
“After Loida shared a devotional, the lady at my right turned to chat with me and said, ‘I need you to help me, because I lived on the streets – and I think it has affected my brain and I struggle to parent my daughter. Sometimes I just lose my temper and I don’t know how to parent her differently – but I want to because I love her so much.’
“He daughter is one of the kids I was asked to observe – a child suffering with a variety of learning issues, as well as speech and behavioural problems. Another morning, I sat with three parents of kids who are really struggling in school, including this lady, and we discussed parenting and how to help our children with all the things they’re struggling with. We talked about where we can go from here, what would be helpful, and what might work and what doesn’t.
“And as I stood in that Bolivian women’s prison and we prayed to an omnipresent God, it was so obvious that he was right there with us. I’m now planning to train and equip the teachers how best to help the kids from the prison and pray that as the mothers receive support in school – and as we try to support them in parenting – that we’d also see them start to overcome some of their struggles.”
*Names changed
Please pray:
For parents as they struggle to raise their children in a society that doesn’t value them and has few resources for them.
For the mums in prison to trust Sarah as she shares the gospel with them, and that this might then impact on how they parent their children.
For upcoming training to teach from a trauma-informed perspective to help support those with learning differences, behavioural issues and more – and that this would allow for more effective learning in the classroom.
“It’s so hard to summarise my time here – so many stories kept coming to my mind; which to pick? When I came here in 2005, I had no idea of what God would use me to do: I was just a teacher coming to work with children,” says Nicky Brand, who’s set to finish 20 years of faithful service on the field in Nigeria.
For many years, Nicky, who’s supported by Gateway Baptist Church, Sussex,served as part of the City Ministries project that works in cities across Nigeria, offering the hope and love of Christ to the marginalised.
She first worked with boys who were orphaned, or had been thrown out of home and were living on the streets, or run away from an abusive situation, and they were looked after at our Gidan Bege care home, which means House of Hope in the Hausa language.
“It’s a place where children can escape from a harsh life of begging on the streets and an endless struggle to survive. They’re provided with food, shelter, an education, and most importantly, are shown the love of Christ,” explains Nicky.
“It was a privilege to be involved in this work and to see first-hand how God can rescue hopeless situations; restoring children, who are sometimes damaged, sometimes unloved, turning them around so they can be reconciled with their families and impact their communities for good.”
Nicky helped set up more care centres throughout Nigeria, where vulnerable children are given shelter, education, and nurtured spiritually. In 2007, God worked through Nicky to start a girls ministry to equip disadvantaged girls and educate them in life skills, as well as academically and vocationally.
“God has blessed this ministry to grow from nowhere and we now have our teenage girl centre in Bassa, complete with its own secondary school,” she says. “Four of our girls have graduated with degrees from university and more are following behind them. Quite a few are now married and are mothers; others are making a difference in the communities where they live.
“Pictured here are our five graduate girls Prisca, Grace, Happiness, Jennifer and Janet, who are back from serving for five months in our other centres, giving something back to the ministry they grew up in. Two of them have been with the ministry for 13 years!
“Two are leaving to go to extended family, one has a scholarship to university, and the other two will move to our half way home to begin skills training. All their lives have been transformed because of being in our ministry and they now have hope and a future.
“It’s been a joy to train them to be Nigerian women ready to impact their societies for good. Please pray for them as they step into the world and make their way.”
Over the years, God gave Nicky new visions and the passion to carry them as she took on leadership roles, including coordinating education initiatives, training staff, and running a trauma-healing group and writing a life-skills programme.
“As I look back, I can see how God prepared me in my ‘previous life’ for the variety of ministries I’ve been involved in, and I’m amazed at what God has done in meand through me. He’s grown my faith and shown me miracle after miracle in the way he’s provided. I can only marvel at God’s faithfulness to me and how much he’s shown his love to me in so many ways.
“I’ve learnt such a lot living and working cross-culturally and for several reasons, it would be much easier to stay in Nigeria! But I know my time here is coming to an end and the ministry will continue as the structures and staff are now in place for others to be Christ’s vessels – helping those they can and shaping the next generation to shine as lights to their communities across Nigeria.
“Being in transition is never easy; there are many emotional goodbyes to come and things to think about, like how will I live back in the UK that’s changed a lot in the past 20 years? But I know that God goes before me and he’s behind me; he’s taught me that his timing is right and often differs from my own and I trust him to guide me in the days ahead.”
Please pray:
Join us in celebrating what God has done through Nicky’s faithful service in Nigeria and for a smooth transition as she returns to the UK.
That God would comfort all Nicky’s girls and the City Ministries family she’s leaving behind.
For the girls who’ve graduated and left the ministry to make good choices and stay strong in their faith.
For God to equip at least one of the new mission workers recently arrived, or soon to come, with the passion to disciple teenage girls.
For God to send an experienced teacher to be a consultant and help train teachers to maintain a high level of children’s education.
As a schoolgirl, Karen Hicks would’ve liked to have been adventurous, brave, and fearless, but was told by her teachers that she’d no sense of adventure.
“I was the only one in my class who didn’t want to live in an upturned boat on a beach!” she recalls. “However, a Bible verse that I learned at school has stayed with me ever since – as well as the boat! ‘It is the Lord who goes before you. He will be with you; he will not leave you or forsake you.’ Deut. 31.8
Karen didn’t know that years later, God would take her on an adventurous experience to serve a least-reached people group in South Asia for more than 40 years.
“After coming to faith, I told God I’d follow him anywhere – as long as I didn’t have to fly in a plane, go to Bible college, or live abroad! I wasn’t so keen on being obedient to God when it meant travelling into the unknown, but all three were to be part of my SIM adventure!” she reveals.
In September 2024, Karen retired as SIM UK’s longest-serving member, exactly 47 years since she stepped on a plane as a short-termer for a two-year assignment!
“I was on the plane, delayed and stuck on the runway, thinking it was a sign I should stay at home,” she recalls. “I wasn’t allowed off the plane and was travel sick, however, by the time we finally landed, I knew this was the place I should be.”
However her doubts resurfaced while travelling on a narrow road with 72 hairpin bends to the remote mission school, where she was due to begin her teaching ministry!
“I said to God, ‘If I’d known this school was up a mountainside, I wouldn’t have come and maybe the upturned beach boat would have been preferable!’”
Praise God that Karen’s passion for the gospel led to many years of faithful service, during which she endured constant water shortages, power cuts, freezing winters, limited heating and heavy monsoon rains.
She also survived after the old Morris Minor she was travelling in, careered over the side of the road: “God answered my short prayer of, ‘Help Lord’ as we tumbled about 100 feet and landed on a small piece of ground before a sheer drop. The good hand of the Lord was upon us.”
Karen enjoyed many happy times at the school, spent with the ‘amazing’ children and staff. She also found the mountain people friendly, generous, and remarkably resilient.
“I’d been told it would take more than 12 years to learn about the country’s rich culture, but even after living there for so long, there was still so much more to learn!”
Karen moved to the plains in 2001 to teach adult refugees and many challenging years followed after 9/11, including a terrorist attack on the mission school and her church, local bombings, and a devastating earthquake.
“We cried out to God for his mercy, healing, help and protection many times during these years and both staff and students cried together when our refugee centre had to close,” she says.
“But all the challenges never took away from the privilege of serving the Lord and the peace of knowing I was where God wanted me to be. I also learned to trust a wonderful, creative God, knowing he was with me and going before me in all situations. He’s led, forgiven, restored, picked up the pieces, and protected me.”
While serving in relief and refugee ministries Karen was evacuated back to the UK and for the past 13 years supported the South Asian leadership from afar.
“Now as I retire, I’m so thankful to Stopsley Baptist Church; SIM; friends; and family for the tremendous support and prayer I received during all the unusual, challenging and amazing situations!” she says.
“God’s ways may not have been my ways, but they were definitely the best ways.”
Please pray:
Give thanks as we celebrate Karen’s 47 years of faithful, prayerful service.
Praise God for all that he’s done in and through her life.
That God will continue to guide Karen as she continues to serve as an Active Retiree with SIM.
Jesus commanded his followers to make disciples from ‘every nation’ and for more than 130 years, SIM workers have carried the gospel to nearly every corner of the globe, travelling to far-flung places to share their faith with least-reached communities.
But the location of mission has changed and today in 21st Century Britain, there’s a growing number of people, who haven’t heard Christ’s message of salvation, on our own doorstep.
With *16%* of people born overseas, there are now Great Commission nations embedded in UK communities and churches recognise the need to become an integrated part of their multicultural neighbourhoods in order to effectively share the gospel with them.
SIM UK’s pioneering Engage programme recruits and places gospel workers from around the world in local UK churches to help them respond to this changing context, and to reach out to their multicultural communities strategically.
“The UK has become a melting pot with the emergence of a multi-ethnic society with a wide variety of people groups,” explains Engage coordinator Tim Barrow. “We can give UK churches the knowledge, skills, and confidence to help them proclaim the gospel to people who haven’t heard, by mobilising overseas workers to serve alongside them.
“God is using our cross-cultural Engage workers in powerful ways, with many opportunities for ministry and outreach to significant diaspora communities, through activities or groups like sports, language teaching, music, or discussion,” adds Tim.
Four years ago, Inspire St James Clerkenwell partnered with our Engage programme and welcomed mission worker Mary, from Ethiopia, to help communicate the gospel faithfully and relevantly within one of the world’s most diverse cities – London.
St James Inspire Clerkenwell is five minutes’ walk from Farringdon Station and serves communities where people from different ethnicities are often living next door to each other
Originally a church plant, it merged with St James Clerkenwell in 2018 to help it fulfil its vision to be outward-focused and build bridges with people from diverse and multicultural backgrounds.
“We started running free football lessons with a ‘gospel coaching corner’ that the Lord grew up,” explains Rev Mark Jackson.
“One guy who came to the very first session, wasn’t actually too interested in football, but what we were doing in his local football cage. And once trust was established, he wanted to find out more about Jesus and four years later, gave his life to Christ. One year later, his whole family started coming to church!”
Mark Jackson, who’s been vicar at Inspire St James Clerkenwell for more than 11 years, encourages everyone in the church to be missional
After the first year of planting the church, Mark and the team noticed how 20 languages were being spoken amongst the church family and this led to them offering free English lessons, which, in turn, led to an annual holiday club bringing hundreds of kids through their doors, from a wide range of backgrounds.
“I think there’s a sinful bent in the human heart to want to hang out with people like yourself and be somewhat fearful of people who are different to us, or from different backgrounds to us,” suggests Mark, “and that can be a challenge to an authentically united and diverse community.
“It’s easy to stay within your comfort zone; within your people group, within your city or within your country and of course, this is where we need the gospel – to remember that we’re made in God’s image and so there’s an inherent beauty in the different ways the Lord has made us all – and also a humility to recognise our own cultural blind spots, and so be open to learning from others.
“Ultimately it’s in Jesus that we grow together as the one body in Christ. And so the more that we have Jesus’ vision for unity and diversity, the more we’ll embrace it.
“It’s been fantastic to partner with SIM UK to help us facilitate Inspire St James’ vision to be a truly united and diverse church in one of the most diverse cities in the world.
“Mary brings such a love for the Lord and such a desire to reach people for Christ – it’s been infectious for us and the church family – she’s also helped us appreciate the richness of the Ethiopian culture!”
Mary is sent by Eastridge Church in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia
Mary says she’s seen God at work in remarkable ways since she joined Inspire St James and like our other existing Engage workers, has been able to cross cultural and linguistic barriers to respond to needs and build relationships, while sharing the gospel through different ministries.
“Mary found people in our church family who were happy to join her in a door-to-door ministry and regularly knock on doors in the nearby estates,” says Mark.
“We’ve made many great connections,” says Mary. “One lady eventually accepted an invitation to our carol service and that one event opened the door to her coming to our guest dinner and now agreeing to read Mark’s Gospel! She’s so eager to learn the Bible and even plans to bring her kids to church. It’s been incredible to witness her spiritual hunger and God’s perfect timing.”
Mary also runs life skills courses for low-income families that naturally allow for conversations about faith.
“Juli and Mani* came from a Muslim country and they both grew up in that faith although they were not practising it here in the UK,” says Mary, “We’d built a great relationship with them for eight weeks of the course, hosting them in my house as well, but they disappeared from church. After not hearing from them for two years, Juli sent me a message asking, ‘How can we be christened?’
“They were all baptised last month and now attend church regularly! Juli has even started Christianity Explored to deepen her understanding and it’s such a powerful reminder of how God continues to work in hearts even when we don’t see it.”
“Mary also came up with the idea of an International Café that’s exploded!” adds Mark.
“Last term, we had 12-18 people from all over the world attending every week and what’s even more exciting, is that in the last four weeks, up to nine people stayed for our church services!”
Mary adds: “One beautiful story is of Hannah and Persie, two college students from China, who came to the café and heard the gospel for the very first time. They started attending church, joined Bible studies, and even brought a friend along. They loved the community so much that they volunteered to help with one of our carol services and celebrated their first ever Christmas with me in my home.
“Their excitement for the church and their willingness to invite others has been so inspiring and there’s much joy and rejoicing in my heart as I see all the fruit through these ministries over the past four years.”
Can we help you find the right person to help build bridges into your multicultural communities?
To find out more about Engage and talk through how it might work for you, please email our Engage coordinator Tim Barrow ([email protected]) or call 01223 788288.
Please pray:
Give thanks for Mary and our existing Engage workers faithfully sharing the gospel cross-culturally in the UK.
Give thanks Mary is helping Inspire St James to not only reach others for Christ, but also, to bring them together into a united and diverse gospel community.
That the Lord will put Engage on the hearts of more UK churches to partner with us in 2025.
*Office for National Statistics (ONS)
*Names changed
From Glasgow to London, Engage welcomes gospel workers into the UK to bring the love and truth of Jesus Christ to their local communities.
With people right here in the UK in need of hearing the good news, our Engage programme enables workers from across the world to help evangelical churches connect with their multicultural and diverse neighbours.
Our Engage workers are experienced in sharing the gospel with multi-ethnic communities – like married couple Ram and Keshari, from South Asia, serving in Greater Manchester.
“Worshipping with the nations and studying the Bible with people from different cultures has been a taste of heaven for me,” shares Engage worker Mary.
Many of our mission workers, both Engage and further afield, use English classes as an opportunity to share the gospel. In Greater Manchester, Engage worker Ram teaches English through Bible stories. During a recent class, Sophie* came in suffering with pains in her arm and neck and was unable to move her arm.
When Ram asked to pray for her, she agreed – even after sharing that she didn’t believe in God, and claiming she was a ‘witch’. After sharing his faith, Ram began to pray for Sophie.
“I touched the hand and prayed, moving my hands from finger to shoulder, rebuking the spirit of pain to go away in the name of Jesus,” he says. “After I prayed, I asked her to move her hand, and she said: ‘Yes, I don’t have pain anymore.’ We praised the Lord.”
Not only was Ram able to show Sophie healing through faithful prayer (James 5:14-15), but it was also a wonderful opportunity to show the power of prayer to the other English class students. “While I was talking to her, all the students were watching very inquisitively,” he adds.
God’s not only been at work in English classes. Our Engage workers are seeing God move in the lives of people they meet in a range of ministries: from street evangelism to book shops and family fun days.
“SIM UK continues to see God work in remarkable ways at every level of the Engage programme, whether it be for a one-to-two-year placement for a single person, or a longer-term placement for a couple or family,” says Engage coordinator Tim Barrow.
Find out more about how God’s using our UK Engage programme at www.sim.co.uk/engage
Do you feel called to serve?
Talk to us
Email [email protected] if you’re interested in serving through our Engage programme, or if your church would like to be involved.
*Name changed
What do you do at SIM UK?
My role at SIM UK is Engage Coordinator, which involves working with the Engage team to receive gospel workers into the UK (primarily from the majority world) and placing them with a carefully selected receiving church.
Engage workers help resource the church they’re placed in, to reach out cross-culturally with God’s love and truth to local multi-ethnic communities.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
The job involves working with several entities – the UK receiving church, the potential gospel worker, the SIM global entity under which the worker’s being sent, and very often, the main sending church of the gospel worker in their home country.
My work with these entities helps to discern the compatibility of the worker to the receiving church, and then to discern the mutual call of God, so all involved are convinced that the placement of the gospel worker with the receiving church is God’s will.
This is a fundamental step that cannot be rushed and may determine whether there’s an open door to proceed. Once we’ve established the compatibility and call, work begins on the practical arrangements for the worker to come; such as support budgeting, partnership agreement, visa arrangements, orientation, housing, schooling (if receiving a family), initial objectives, and strategy.
What makes you passionate about your work?
I’m passionate about Engage because I believe first and foremost that it’s a part of God’s vision for mission – not just to send out gospel workers from the UK, but also to receive workers into the UK. The Great Commission nations are quite literally on our doorstep, and many UK churches are echoing the Macedonian call saying ‘Come over to Macedonia and help us’. Acts 16:9. At the same time, God is working in many of the majority-world partner churches, moving and maturing them to become fully-fledged sending churches.
How have you seen God working through your job?
I’ve been privileged to see God work at every level of the Engage initiative, from provision of resources to approval of visas, to the successful placement of gospel workers and to the abundant spiritual fruit of the worker’s ministry.
These aspects and many more besides, have been against the odds and seemed impossible at the time, but God has, and continues to be faithful, as we look to him in faith. It’s his work, and it’s exciting to be a part of what he’s doing.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
To use every opportunity to share and inform others of what God is doing through Engage and how they can be a part of this.
How can we pray for you?
For the active Engage workers: Ram and Keshari, Lawrence and Elizabeth, Mary, and Haroon and Mariam.
For potential Engage workers Kirubel, Andrew, and Sharon.
For SIM UK leadership to discern the Lord’s direction and leading for Engage and UK ministry, and to move hand in hand with Jesus.
Calling all the artists, carpenters, teachers, engineers, accountants, techies, nurses, or administrators! Calling singles, couples, and families. Calling everybody who loves Jesus: Bring your tools to the table and embrace whatever God has for you on a short-term mission trip with SIM UK.
“All of us have gifts, talents, resources and experience given to us by God, which we can use to glorify him and to serve others,” says SIM UK Director Alex Hawke, “and he asks us to be faithful with what we’ve got and to bring it to the table and let him put them to use!”
Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms. 1 Peter 4:10
But what do you do when you feel called to serve in cross-cultural mission but don’t know where to begin?
We’d encourage you to explore a short-term mission trip with SIM UK and let us help you find ways that God can use you. We have hundreds of placements across the world, where you can use your training and experience to meet real gospel needs, alongside experienced cross-cultural workers, and gain a new perspective on mission and what it means to serve.
Serving In Mission is passionate about reaching people anywhere and everywhere with Jesus’ message of hope and we have opportunities to make Christ known in every possible walk of life.
Currently, we’re helping 60 people enquiring about mission, and so far, 25 have been accepted to serve overseas in 2025 – some of whom plan to serve short term.
For many, a short-term placement also offers the opportunity to deepen their relationship with God as they join in what he’s doing and get a better understand of his calling for their future.
Trainee teacher Daniel says his life was radically changed after helping at a children’s camp in a North African country where it’s difficult to be a Christian.
“I found my trip challenging, yet inspiring, especially when I had a meal with two local believers and heard about their obedience to God’s call and their work in the region, amidst governmental oppression and heightened tensions,” he recalls.
“During my stay, these song lyrics rang in my head: ‘What my eyes have seen my heart can’t ignore’ and I’m no longer okay to take a back seat. Short-term missions open your eyes massively to the need around the nations and how God’s moving in ways beyond our imagination.
“My trip gave me an increasing passion to play a part in God’s worldwide mission and whetted my appetite to use my teaching skills to serve him. I’m now really excited about the future and how God will use me in the long-term, wherever that will be!”
For many people in their 20s and 30s – a season of searching and testing the passions God’s given them – it’s an ideal time to consider serving in mission before entering the workplace.
Medical student Lizzie served short-term with SIM at a mission hospital in South Asia that’s committed to showing God’s love by offering free care for those unable to pay.
“I’m deeply grateful for the opportunity I had at the end of my medical school degree to experience healthcare in an alternative setting and was very excited about the opportunity to be a part of the hospital community for seven weeks,” she says.
“The hospital is committed to showing God’s love by serving the poorest in the region and I found it very inspiring that the team relies heavily on prayer that the funds will be there for the patients and that the medical staff also contribute their pay towards this fund.
“It was very impactful for me as I experienced first-hand a close sense of God’s presence and had many prayers answered during my seven weeks there.”
Like many short-termers, Lizzie returned more committed to local and overseas missions.
“Before my trip I didn’t think exploring cross-cultural mission was something I’d want to do long-term, but now I’d definitely be open to doing long-term overseas mission,” she adds.
“I discovered that as Christians, we plant seeds and it’s God who does the main work. Mission can be very relational — showing God’s love, praying for people, and being honest when questions arise.
“I also think our mission field is wherever God has called us now, so I don’t need to wait until I reach a certain stage in my career to be a mission worker.”
SIM UK can also help if you want to combine a short-term placement with your vocation and make the most of tentmaking opportunities.
When teacher Joanne successfully applied for a two-year post to teach missionary children in Liberia, she turned to us to help her prepare for the challenges ahead: “I didn’t have any previous mission experience and SIM has decades of helping people engage in many different ministries around the world,” she explains.
“SIM helped me to prepare for this journey and to learn more about what I was getting into!
“I wouldn’t have been prepared for the new cultures, the big changes and all the practical stuff without SIM’s help.”
Joanne arrived in the summer and although her main job is teaching, the Lord is providing opportunities for her to share her faith with people she meets in the community.
“I talk with the guards every day and share the gospel with them. I’m looking forward to the day when I know the culture better and feel more able to share the wonderful news about Jesus Christ with people I meet,” she adds.
If you have a skill, experience, or an area you’re passionate about, SIM has a large network across 80 countries to help you find a place to serve.
And short-term mission isn’t just for young people. For six weeks, retired nurse Barbara, worked with an NGO team in Greece to provide support, friendship, and activities for refugees.
Many refugees on their way west, were getting “stuck” in Greece and Barbara had become passionate about their plight in response to the harrowing events that were constantly unfolding on the TV news.
“The moment I set foot in the camp, I knew I was in the right place as even though many were passing through, God was working in their lives. I saw terrible things, but the joy came from conversations with the refugees as I tried to listen, show kindness, and share the gospel whenever I could.
“I feel God used my age and experience as I couldn’t have done it when I was younger,” she admits.
Following a conversation with your church leaders, it’s time to start talking with SIM UK about how together, we can help make that happen as short-term mission isn’t a one-size-fits-all approach.
Our Forged programme draws on SIM’s vast experience and network of the countries where we operate, to find suitable placements, depending on your availability.
Once you’ve filled in an enquiry form, our team of people are experts in finding the ‘right fit’ for you, whatever your age, skill set, or gift mix.
This results in embarking on a short-term mission – that can last from a few months, up to two years – where you’ll get the chance to have a kingdom impact and get a taste of what a life serving in cross-cultural mission could look like.
“Maybe God is nudging you towards a new way of using your vocation where you are, or maybe in another part of the world,” says Alex. “Our mobilisers would love to connect with you to discover how best to use your gifts and skills in cross-cultural mission.
“Our approach is prayerful and relational, seeking Christ for where he’s leading. It might feel daunting, but please get in touch. We’ll do the journey in partnership with your church so that you’re supported and surrounded in each step you take.”
Do you feel called to go?
Go to www.sim.co.uk/forged to learn more about a short-term mission trip with SIM UK.
Talk to us
Email [email protected] to arrange a ‘no-pressure’ conversation to explore how God might want you to learn, grow, and serve, through a short-term mission.
In 1990, Ruth Guinness visited Malawi for the first time whilst studying at university. Ten years later, she arrived in Malawi with Serving In Mission and is still based in the city of Blantyre in her role as SIM’s Ministry Point Person for Theological and Missiological Education.
Since childhood, Ruth has felt God speaking to her in different ways: “He gave me a love for his Word and grew the desire in me to serve him in whatever way I could,” she says. After graduating, Ruth spent a year in Kenya as a short-term mission worker and then followed advice to complete her training and get teaching experience in the UK before going into mission long term.
“It would have been very easy to settle down in the UK, but I began to feel God was pushing me, nudging me and saying: ‘Don’t forget’. So, after much prayer and talking with my church, I went to All Nations Christian College to train in cross-cultural mission. Following that, I joined SIM and was sent to Malawi.”
Ruth has witnessed many changes during her time serving in Malawi. With the population having nearly doubled and huge rises in mobile phone usage, the opportunities to connect with people have also shifted and grown. However, “although there have been outward changes, many needs are the same as they were 25 years ago,” she adds.
Worldwide, more than 90% of pastors have had no formal theological training. “There’s a huge need for the church to grow in their depth of knowledge and understanding of God’s word; to walk with the Lord in day-to-day discipleship; and to reach out to others with God’s love – to look outward rather than inward,” Ruth explains.
Through her current role supporting theological education, Ruth was given the opportunity to help create a resource that explained the story of the whole Bible from beginning to end: from creation to new creation, suitable for the Malawi context.
“I jumped at the idea”, she recalls. “It sounded really exciting to me!”
The course is called The Story of God and His World and after spending the first few months of 2024 designing the course with a colleague, Ruth also helped run three pilot courses and gather feedback.
“Each of those groups went really well,” she says. “They were all different, but I could see that God had been at work: both in the creation of the course and in the participants themselves.”
One participant told the group about a conversation he’d had at work. Using ideas from the course, he was able to share the gospel with his colleague who’d been questioning many things following the death of a loved one.
“It was wonderful to see him putting into practice what he’d learned and being able to use it to talk to a non-Christian friend.”
Another member used what he’d learnt to share the good news with a group of doctors visiting from the UK. During their evening meal together, he gave thanks to God for the meal, and quickly realised that none of the doctors knew what he was doing.
“When asked if they were Christians, the doctors said ‘No’. This was quite surprising for my Malawian friend, who’d assumed that people from the UK were Christian,” Ruth recalls.
Having started the conversation, he was able to carry on and share the story of the Bible with them, going through the six parts of the story he’d learnt on the course.
“It’s really exciting to see that this resource has given people a tool to be able to explain the gospel to people they meet. And it’s exciting to think of the potential that it can have, especially in training church leaders.
“By giving them a better foundational knowledge of God’s story, they can then help others in the church to understand the Bible themselves and play their part in God’s mission.”
Throughout SIM there are many people serving in theological education. Our vision is to see competent and equipped disciples of Jesus bringing the gospel to communities where Christ is least known, and Christ-centred churches led by missional leaders teaching and preaching God’s word faithfully.
Please pray for:
Finalising The Story of God and His World course so it can be used by many to the glory of God.
For everyone involved in the training of pastors and church leaders.
For personal relationships and opportunities for discipling and mentoring.
Inspired by Ruth’s story and want to get involved in mission? Whatever your skill-set, availability, or where you’d like to go in the world, discover where God might be calling you on our Opportunities Search.
It’s my privilege to be SIM UK’s Prayer Coordinator. I first took on this role in May 2015, so that’s 10 years ago!
What does your job look like day-to-day?
Each day is different. As part of the communications team, I have various administrative responsibilities, but the part of my role I most love, is getting to read and pray through the letters sent by our mission workers each week.
It’s amazing to see God at work in some of the world’s least-reached communities and to play a part in that – from lamenting and longing for God to break down spiritual barriers, to rejoicing with the angels in heaven when someone we’ve been praying for embraces the gift of salvation!
What makes you passionate about working for SIM?
SIM’s motto is by prayer. I passionately believe in the power of prayer and the importance of prayer in the spiritual battle our mission workers face daily.
In 2019, SIM launched its Faithful Witness programme, focusing on taking the gospel to the least-reached parts of the globe and it’s been amazing to pray with these teams each month, and to see spiritual strongholds broken and gospel seeds planted.
There are still so many globally who’ve yet to hear the name of Jesus. I love being able to share even a small glimpse of what I read and learn with our faithful prayer supporters around the UK, hopefully encouraging them in their prayers and helping them to see all the Lord’s doing.
How have you seen God working through your job?
As a UK team we meet to pray every day. It’s immensely encouraging to pray with people all the way from when they first make contact with their Mobiliser and work through the discernment process; as they face the challenge of support-raising; as they see the Lord’s hand of provision and then, as they head out to wherever God’s called them.
We continue to pray with our workers through culture shock and language challenges and as the Lord walks with them each step of the way until they have the words to start basic conversations about Jesus with those around them. It’s an amazing privilege to journey with them and then see God at work in, and through them, as they serve, striving to make his name known.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
We’re all called to make disciples of Jesus where he’s placed us. At the moment, I feel called to be the hands and feet of Jesus to the parents and grandparents in the school queue and in my relationships with my friends, who don’t yet know Jesus. There’s so much pain and heartache in many of their lives and I do my best to point their eyes to the one who can bring them true hope, peace, and joy.
How can we pray for you?
When I first took on the role of Prayer Coordinator, the current director prayed over me that I would be like Epaphras. Pray that I would be faithful in wrestling in prayer* for God’s people serving around the world and for all those who don’t yet know him globally, and on my doorstep.
Pray I’d be a faithful servant, walking closely with the Lord, constantly listening for his still small voice, prompting, guiding, and moulding.
In the heart of London, Engage worker Mary is bringing the hope of the gospel to the streets of Islington through her work with Inspire St James Clerkenwell.
Having grown up in Ethiopia, Mary followed God’s call to move to London to bring the good news to those who’ve never heard about Jesus.
Sent via SIM’s East Africa office, Mary realised she was the answer to her new church’s prayers, as with a congregation of 60% immigrants, Inspire had been praying for new ways to connect with its local community.
“God has been at work in the past four years, first and foremost in my own personal life.” she says. “Living in Ethiopia and worshipping in my church was amazing, but being in London in a super diverse church, worshipping with the nations, and studying the Bible with people from different cultures, has been a little bit of a taste of heaven for me. Seeing how they love Jesus in their own way, hearing them praise God and interpreting the gospel … has grown me so much.”
Mary’s main ministry is estate outreach, where she meets people from many ethnic and religious backgrounds.
“As an African and as an immigrant myself has been amazing! God has redeemed my background and who I am, because people are able to relate to me.”
This common ground helps Mary to develop friendships as part of her ministry, she’s knocked on 1,000 doors and had hundreds of gospel conversations. As a result, many have come to church and attended different evangelistic events, such as Christianity Explored.
Through teaching English, Mary sees around 20 different people each week – two of whom have since given their life to Christ.
Her third area of ministry, Life Skills with CAP, has run six times with 100 people taking part. The church is now excited to be baptising its first three people who came to Christ through the life skills group.
“In heaven there is great joy over one sinner repenting. There is much joy and rejoicing in my heart seeing all the fruit through these ministries in the past four years” adds Mary.
Our Engage programme places gifted cross-cultural workers from overseas into UK churches. There are many opportunities to reach significant diaspora communities, through outreach ministries, activities, or groups, such as sports, language teaching, music or discussion. Find out more about Engage.
What do you do at SIM UK?
I am Lead Mobiliser and Safeguarding Lead, and I’ve been with the Mobilisation team for about five-and-a-half years.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
I line-manage two of the mobilisers, which involves overseeing their workload, supporting them, and answering any questions they have. I also support Hannah Boxall however she needs.
As a Mobiliser, I’ll answer enquiries from anyone interested in serving with SIM UK, meet with them and invite them to apply if we want to go ahead. Then, I’ll research placements, help the applicants through the process and keep in touch with them once they’re sent out.
When the mission workers come back, we’ll debrief together, making sure everything went well. I’ll attend to any issues, such as sending them for health checks in case they picked anything up. If it’s been a stressful time, I’ll help them process that.
As Safeguarding Lead, if any safeguarding issues come up, I’m the first port of call and I’ll look into the situation.
There’s no normal day!
What makes you passionate about your role?
I love mission. I want to see people come to know the Lord, people to go deeper with the Lord and for them to experience the Lord in new ways. I used to be a mission worker – I spent five years in Spain doing evangelism and church planting, and then 12 ½ years in Costa Rica doing biblical counselling – so helping people and getting to still be part of that is what motivates me.
How have you seen God working through your job?
When I first started with SIM, and I joined a meeting with a couple, who’d come back from Liberia. The husband was a dentist, and he said to me: ‘How many dentists are in Liberia?‘
Liberia has a population of five million, and there were five or six dentists, so you can imagine the patients’ problems he’d dealt with: not the extractions or fillings, but serious health issues like tumours, because they hadn’t had regular check-ups to catch problems early.
You couldn’t even train to be a dentist in Liberia, they didn’t have anything. But in the past couple of years, the couple received funding that enabled them to establish a dental school, with a course that’s recognised by a university in the UK. Having people able to train to be dentists there is making a huge difference in Liberia.
Another story where I’ve seen God at work is about a young lady who went to Ghana to live in a place where many people can’t read or write. So, she brought the gospel to them in a new way.
Through her love for art, this gifted mission worker depicted the story of grief in the Bible and displayed the pictures around her house. She then invited people to come to her house and explained what emotions were represented in each picture and inviting them to come to God with these emotions. It was incredible how she took this idea and thought, ‘How do I help these people?’
She brought the gospel to people – not in a traditional way like a sit-down Bible study – but by explaining about how Jesus is the one who can heal this sorrow, grief, sadness and anger in their hearts.
How can we pray for you?
For more people in Scotland to respond to the Lord’s call – I would love to see more people come through longer term.
That I continue to serve the people I look after well and equip them well so they are able to see others come to know the Lord.
Training coaches is an integral and expanding part of SIM’s Sports Friends ministry and now hundreds of coaches across the globe can be trained at the click of a button.
More than 20 years ago, Serving In Mission knew that in most countries they served, populations were very young, and they didn’t have many youth-focused ministries; nor did their local church partners.
SIM needed to develop ideas that worked on the ground, and God provided the answer in the shape of two men, from opposite corners of the world. He gave them the vision to start a global movement of churches using sport to make disciples of Jesus Christ.
Sports Friends began in Ethiopia in 2002 and today, more than 14,000 godly volunteer coaches from 11,000 churches are ministering to 280,000 young people in 20 countries.
In some places where Sports Friends works, churches and coaches are frequently threatened, cheated, or attacked. Yet, despite this persecution, God’s church is growing and our teams in these areas draw strength from God’s faithfulness and from knowing other Christians are praying for them and standing with them from afar.
Here in the UK, SIM workers Somchai and Cat Tongkao – who are sent by Holcombe Brook Methodist Church, Bury – are training and equipping churches across Manchester to replicate the Sports Friends model in their local communities.
One of those is Bridge Community Church in Radcliffe – a town grappling with the weight of fractured families, poverty, and crime. As their pastor, Tom King, observes, “Jesus shared life with people where they are. And if you want to know where people are in Manchester, they’re in sport; they’re in football.”
When asked what they loved most about the church’s football coaching the kids responded: “Some adults can be a bit mad and scream at you when you do something wrong, but Tom tells you in a really kind way.”
“I like that Somchai is always in a happy mood and is very welcoming. When people start messing around, he just tells them, ‘Come on, let’s keep going’ and they just do it.”
“Every time when we’re playing football and we do training, we always have a talk and Tom tells us about Jesus.”
“I’m really grateful they spend all their free time with us being kind when they could be on their phones or laptops.”
In 2024, the ministry launched a new online training programme to help coaches as they invest in their team technically, physically, socially, psychologically, and spiritually.
Communications Intern DK Roy, shares her conversation with SIM UK’s Ben Wildman, who works to enhance the training and equipping of Sports Friends coaches…
Ben Wildman is full of energy, an insightful communicator, and a bold bringer of new ideas. I had the chance to chat with him about how he’s implementing innovation in the training of Sports Friends’ coaches – what he calls the “bread and butter” of the ministry.
Innovation is starting with something you already have and improving it. For more than 20 years, coaches from local churches have been trained to use sports as the platform to share the gospel with young people in their communities.
In his role as Sports Friends Director of Training, Ben is using new technology to take this to the next level. What was previously done through manuals is now communicated online and available to coaches anywhere in the world.
The online training platform has various levels and types of training: Level One is all about the coach and how to start a church-centred sports ministry and the new Level Two is directed toward the player, with a deeper focus on ministry.
Ben, who is sent by Holy Trinity Jesmond Church in Newcastle Upon Tyne, is hoping to initiate Level Three that will focus on the community and the local church.
One positive of this plunge deeper into the digital world is that language becomes less of a barrier. Ben shares that at a recent global conference, a Sports Friend’s worker told him, “Because of this online translation option, you have saved me nine months of translation work!” and he can now share this training with coaches in their heart language.
While Ben reminds me that face-to-face training will always play a vital part in the Sports Friends ministry, he says it must also make the most of the online tools and platforms at its disposal.
“We’re excited about what the future holds. The world is ever-changing with AI and various other developments. We’re open to seeing how we can, through the leading of the Holy Spirit, leverage the ever-changing world of technology to continue to make disciples and advance God’s kingdom.” he adds.
Please pray
Praise God for how he has moved powerfully through the Sports Friends ministry for the last 23 years.
Pray God will continue to open doors for Sports Friends to move into new areas that are least reached with the gospel.
Pray for coaches where sharing the gospel message could mean putting their lives, homes, and families at risk.
The digital space is not only a means of enabling exploitation, it’s also an effective tool to protect the world’s most vulnerable people and create a space where the gospel can be heard and Christ can be known.
Today, tens of millions of people are trapped in human trafficking and exploitation in every country of the world. In response, SIM established For Freedom, its anti-trafficking and exploitation ministry.
Serving In Mission workers are currently serving in more than 70 countries and many are in communities where people are vulnerable to trafficking and exploitation.
For Freedom offers training and resources to equip our mission workers so they can conduct their ministries to address some of the risks vulnerable people face and to care for them holistically.
The latest *global report on human trafficking reports that child trafficking; trafficking for forced labour; and forced criminality; are all on the rise as poverty, conflict, and climate change leave more people vulnerable to exploitation,
The number of men, women and children, who are exploited for labour, services, and commercial sex, is increasing: partly due to rapid advances in digital technology that make it much easier for traffickers to find and exploit their victims.
Sarah Scott Webb, Serving In Mission’s For Freedom ministry co-lead says traffickers have become adept at using internet platforms, including social media channels, to amplify the reach, scale, and speed of their exploitation of victims.
She recently attended a Global Summit on Technology and Exploitation in the USA, where more than 600 movement leaders and advocates from 15 countries, gathered to learn more about Artificial Intelligence (AI), emerging technology and its impact on exploitation.
At the summit, Sarah heard disturbing accounts of how traffickers are using popular online platforms to groom and exploit new victims.
“It was shocking to hear that most trafficking is now occurring on social media — especially on Instagram, Snapchat, and Facebook,” she says, “and it’s teenage boys who are being targeted the most.”
Sarah advocates some simple tips for keeping safe on social media and building a ‘healthy cynicism’ when online: “Make sure your privacy settings are always on, and location is always turned off — and don’t ‘engage’ with, ‘like’, or comment on anyone’s posts unless you know them in real life.”
Sarah adds: “We heard many examples of tech companies that are developing new platforms and protections to keep us safe online. This reinforces the need to teach our young people how to be aware of the dangers online, and how to use technology safely.”
While speakers at the summit discussed the dangers of new technologies, they also concluded that it’s also our greatest weapon to fight exploitation and restore dignity to survivors. Today, social messaging apps can be used by For Freedom workers and partners to prevent trafficking from happening in their communities.
During the opening months of the Ukraine war, For Freedom partners used social media channels, websites, and WhatsApp groups to share information and help many displaced people avoid traffickers and find safe passage.
For Freedom workers in Zimbabwe are also using WhatsApp groups to learn about local trafficking trends and to teach others what to watch out for. They belong to a local WhatsApp group that regularly posts stories of people who’ve been trafficked.
“This WhatsApp group is a powerful way that people are keeping safe from traffickers,” says Sarah. “People hear about where traffickers are operating and how they’re trying to trick them with false job offers. With this knowledge, they can keep safe.”
Making people aware of online dangers and sharing how to use technology safely are important ways of protecting the vulnerable and preventing trafficking and exploitation.
“Because SIM is serving in so many communities — in many practical ministries, including health, sports, church planting and education to name a few — we’re in a prime position to share this information, put some practical protective measures in place and keep our communities safe,” she adds.
“Sharing God’s love in this practical way opens doors to be able to share the good news of Jesus.”
For Freedom ministry co-lead Karine Woldhuis became aware of a trafficking case in Loja, Ecuador, where she was serving with her family. Despite the whole town immediately responding and searching for a young girl who’d been taken, sadly she was killed by her traffickers.
“I could see the need for us as Serving In Mission to grapple with the issue, whether it was in southern Ecuador, or somewhere in Africa or Asia,” she shares.
“Everywhere we work, we can be responding to people at risk of being trafficked as part of our mission call.
“Since For Freedom began, there’s been a steady increase of understanding of how modern slavery exists in the places where we serve and we have an opportunity to take simple, yet effective measures, to prevent human trafficking across many different ministries.”
*2024 United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) Global Report on Trafficking in Persons
Please pray
Please pray that Sarah and Karen may know the Lord’s direction and leading as they finalise a new five-year For Freedom strategic plan.
Pray the Lord will reveal himself to the millions of human trafficking victims in the midst of their suffering.
For the Lord to give SIM workers wisdom about how to keep vulnerable and desperate people safe in the communities they serve.
Living in a rural area of Ghana where it’s common for people to farm for their year’s food, Yvonne worked faithfully to change the idea that work was a curse. Centred around Genesis 3, it’s common to think that because the ground is cursed, the workers must be also.
But throughout her many years serving in Ghana, Yvonne saw the exciting change that can result from sharing more about God and his love for them. She collaborated with a growing team of Ghanaians in a local Bible school and in surrounding churches, to teach pastors and church leaders what the Bible says about business, money, and work.
“Amongst all the things we teach them about business, we teach them that God was the first farmer. When he put Adam in the garden in Genesis 2 v 15 the garden was already flourishing and all Adam had to do was pick the fruit.
“When farmers realise that what they’re doing is an honourable business and the same as what God did, it just changes them! They want to work, and they want to follow God.”
Alongside her teaching ministry, Yvonne set up a social enterprise with a pastor – which they hope will one day be a profitable business. Buying the land from people who knew little about God gave her amazing opportunities to discuss the Bible and pray for them as they work together on the land.
The connections Yvonne built over the years are ones she still values today and something that goes two ways. Forming close relationships with local women in Ghana is not something she found happened quickly, but Yvonne says being accepted by the women she was living close to was highly valuable to her.
“It can be years before they think ‘Yes I can trust this person and I will tell them things close to me’ … so that’s greatly rewarding when it happens.”
Whilst living in Tamale, Yvonne lived in a Muslim community, which always visited when passing through.
“I visited the men outside the mosque, I visited the women in their houses, the children came to play… and said to me: ‘Yvonne, you have never forgotten us. You always come and visit us.”
Continuing to build these connections gave Yvonne the time to share the gospel message with them, even if she didn’t always know how initial conversations would turn to talking about Jesus. But God worked through her and gave her the opening she needed to share about why Christ died on the cross for them. “These guys heard the whole gospel … and asked me lots of questions.”
Yvonne is now back in the UK, but continues to support the work in Ghana and would love to see new people join the team. SIM Ghana needs a treasurer and the social enterprise needs a food production manager – find out more about opportunities in Ghana.
Enquire here if you would like to find out more about the production manager opportunity, mentioning Yvonne Mildred and the Zuru project.
What do you do at SIM UK?
I’m the Families Adviser for SIM UK, which is part of the People Care team. My role involves resourcing and supporting parents in educational issues and offering pastoral care as they serve overseas. I also connect with TCKs (Third Culture Kids) to help them navigate the joys and challenges of growing up between different cultures.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
No day is the same, and it varies, depending on the time of the year. During the summer months, many families return on Home Assignment and so I’m much busier doing debriefs with the children and checking in on families, with time to chat through any concerns they might have and to try and support them in whatever way they need. There’s a lot of preparation involved as I create bespoke material for each family’s needs in order to support them in the best way possible.
Throughout the rest of the year, my time is spent checking in on families via email, or Zoom, and answering questions they might have about education, or anything else they need help with. I’ll also send them any resources that might be helpful.
Tell us more about your time overseas and how it impacted your current job?
Before joining the team as the Families Adviser, I served with SIM overseas with my family short-term. After this, it was clear God was leading us to serve him long term. We felt that SIM was an organisation we could get on board with and felt like a family where we’d be supported well.
When we came back from serving overseas, it never felt right to cut ties with our SIM ‘family’ that we’d been a part of since 1994! The transition back to the UK wasn’t an easy one for us, and because it was a rocky re-entry for my own children, I ended up doing a lot of reading and research into what it meant for them to have left the country they grew up in and return to their ‘passport country’, alongside considering the impact all on TCKs and this sense of longing and identity. As I did this, I became passionate about sharing what I’d learnt and wanted to ensure other families also had this understanding and information.
How have you seen God working through your job?
I’m sure there are times when we all wonder whether what we do makes a difference to those we’re serving or working with, and I’ve definitely wondered that sometimes! So, it’s really encouraging when families have been in touch with comments such as, ‘We didn’t know we needed you until we spent time with you. And because of you, we’re able to remain where we are.‘ That’s a huge encouragement and spurs me on in my role.
Having the opportunity to meet with TCKs and to see God working in their own life and in their family’s lives is really encouraging to see.
How can we pray for you?
For the families that serve with SIM: that I’m able to serve them well. For wisdom in knowing how to interact well with them, and for me to support them in the best way I can.
For our TCKs as they live a life that’s incredibly different from their peers in this country. For God to work in them, and for opportunities for them to go on and to serve him later in their own lives.
On a sunny afternoon in September, mission workers Steve and Mary visited the SIM UK office and encouraged the team with stories of God at work during 33 years of overseas mission work.
After completing a short-term assignment in Bolivia during his university studies, Steve felt led back to the country to serve long-term. Serving for so many years allowed them to see a shift in mission work:
“The most exciting thing to see is a country that’s received missionaries for a century, now starting to send their own missionaries. … There are now Bolivian missionaries serving in Kenya, Indonesia and a number of places that are not as open to granting visas to Western countries – but Bolivians can go.”
The Hawthornes used the skills God has given them in medicine and education to further his kingdom. Steve worked 15 years in a rural hospital and Mary used her gifts in education to do Sunday school training. Both were also involved in leadership development among the Quechua churches.
In 2012, they faced new opportunities and challenges after relocating to Potosí, in Bolivia, where there’s a need to share Christ’s love with the mining communities. As one of the highest cities in the world – at 4,090 metres (13,420 ft) above sea level – Potosí was once the largest and richest city on the planet. The sprawling Cerro Rico (literally ‘Rich Mountain’) towers over the city and has been mined for silver for 500 years.
The miners of Potosí work in some of the darkest places on earth, physically and spiritually, and most have never heard God’s good news of salvation.
“Because of the work they do underground, the miners feel like they’re working in the devil’s territory and so make sacrifices to an image of the devil at the entrance to every mine. … If anyone didn’t participate in the offerings to the devil, the miners thought they could bring bad luck to the whole crew.”
Image by SeetoPhotography
Getting access into the mines to share the gospel wasn’t going to be easy, but God used Steve and Mary to shine his light through the darkness.
Every week, a lady would bring her children to the local church the Hawthornes attended. Her husband, Luis*, who had been a miner since his teenage years, didn’t join them. One day, while working in the tunnels far underground, Luis was unaware that NOx, a colourless, odourless gas, which forms after the explosion of dynamite, had collected. Overcome with fumes, he fell backwards and broke his neck.
Luis spent two months in the hospital, with his neck immobilised. One afternoon, a woman from another local church made her regular visit to local patients.
“He still remembers seeing her enter his ward sort of silhouetted – there was a window with the sun setting behind her, lighting her up where her profile was dark but there was this glow around her. She came over and shared the gospel with him, and that’s how he became a Christian.”
This gave Steve the opening he needed to get inside the mines, and he became an occupational health and safety worker for the mining company. Luis, now recovered, invited the Hawthornes and other miners to his house for Bible study, and Steve and Mary were able to help them understand the Scriptures and to help them share the gospel message.
Work with miners in Potosí (made by SIM)
In 2022, Steve and Mary relocated to the States and continue their mission work as part SIM’s Health Ministries Team. They recruit, prepare and journey with healthcare workers, helping them flourish as they make disciples of Jesus Christ in communities where he is least known.
The connections made after many years of faithful service are continuing to bear fruit. Steve and Mary’s background working in South America have enabled them to link Esther, a dentist from Bolivia, with an SIM family in Peru who make trips out into the countryside to give dental treatment in Quechua villages. As a native Quechua speaker and with a heart to use her profession for mission work, Esther will make a valuable addition to the trips.
“That’s what I like about my job – being able to network people that we’ve known, people that we’ve discipled in the past in Bolivia with people who are using their vocation in healthcare ministries to make disciples of Jesus Christ. Join them up to see even more fruit from what they do.”
Pray for Steve and Mary
As Steve shifts from working overseas to an office-based role supporting those going on mission.
For the set of guidelines the Health Ministries team are creating for how to do Healthcare Ministries well – that field testing goes well, and these can be implemented soon.
That the document will be useful to those working in many countries around the world.
*pseudonym used. Featured image: by SeetoPhotography
Serving short-term with SIM turned into a life-changing journey for friends Lizzie and Katie.
“My faith is the cornerstone of my life, and my desire is to use the skills I’ve gained through my medical degree to serve Jesus,” says Lizzie, who went on a six week placement with SIM in South Asia.
Lizzie was able to share the joys and challenges of navigating unfamiliar and unexpected situations with her great friend Katie, whom she first met at university: “We met through various Christian freshers events and ended up going to the same church and living on the same road… and here we are five years later!” she says.
“We both wanted to explore mission abroad and go with another person, so it was a perfect fit!” she adds.
“We didn’t feel called anywhere in particular,” recalls Katie,” our general approach was to explore options and pray and see which doors God closed, and then to pursue the ones which were open.
“It was interesting as we never felt a particularly strong calling to South Asia, however, after being there, we can definitely see how that was exactly where God wanted us to be!”
The medical students served at a mission hospital committed to showing God’s love by offering free care for those unable to pay.
“It gave us such a perspective about the purpose and importance of the hospital and seeing the love and care for each individual patient and staff member. To see people following God’s calling on their lives, and the joys, triumphs, and challenges in that was also really encouraging,” says Katie.
Although their plans often didn’t go the way they expected, the pair say God was always in control and worked things out, particularly when they faced their first challenge early on.
“Lizzie was turned away at the airport due to a damaged passport (which she had had checked and was told was fine to fly with), so I flew alone,” recalls Katie. “Once landing, I had to spend a few days alone before travelling into the hospital and so was grateful for the contacts I had with SIM.
“But God was very gracious and kind to both of us in those days we were separated. We were also so grateful for all our church family, friends and family praying and that Lizzie got a new passport quickly and joined me at the hospital only one day later than planned!”
During their mission trip, both students say they grew in their faith, as they developed a greater appreciation for global health challenges and enhanced their medical skills in a resource-poor environment.
“We were sad to leave the hospital and the community. Six weeks is so short, and some connections felt like they were just starting to form and flourish. The country, lifestyle, community etc, were so beautiful and we miss it!” admits Katie, “but we also acknowledged our need to progress in our training and that we couldn’t stay any longer.”
Lizzie recalls: “I developed the habit of turning to God in prayer in all circumstances — big or small — rejoicing when things don’t go to my plan, and confidence in my identity as a child of God. I gained a love and appreciation of God as a good father who provides, and awe at the fact that he is the God of all nations, and yet he cares about me personally.”
Now they are back in the UK, the young medics say they’re grateful for the relationships formed, the lessons learned, and the ways in which this experience has shaped their perspective on medicine and mission. And while their futures remain quite open and they don’t know what God has in store for them, they’re prayerfully consider all their options.
“Out trip has given me more appreciation of skills that I can develop over the next few years that would be helpful in overseas medical work, and how living abroad could look like. I’m not sure if God has/will call me to overseas mission, so we’ll have to see!” says Katie.
However, Lizzie is typical of many who go on short-term mission and invariably return more committed to local and world mission.
“Before our trip I didn’t think exploring cross-cultural mission was something I’d want to do long-term, but now I’d definitely be open to doing long term overseas mission,” she says.
“I’ve discovered that as Christians we plant seeds and it’s God who does the main work. Mission can be very relational — showing God’s love, praying for people, and being honest when questions arise. I’ve learned that this can be hugely impactful, even though it isn’t overtly sharing the gospel. I also think there’s a need in many places, and our mission field is wherever God has called us now, so I don’t need to wait until I reach a certain stage in my career to be a mission worker.”
Let ourForgedprogramme help you explore how your skills and experience connects with opportunities and needs across the world.
What do you do at SIM UK?
I am a Mobiliser and I have been part of the mobilisation team for the past eight years.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
A lot of my role is connected to people who want to work overseas: walking with them through the application process, finding them placements, making sure they’re doing well on the field as well as when they return back. Coming back brings its own challenges, so I try and make sure they have what they need by doing debriefs to help them readjust to life back in the UK.
I’m also part of a team of people from different mission organisations that go into universities and speak to groups of students throughout the year.
What makes you enthusiastic about your work?
Having gone overseas for 15 years out of conviction that it was where the Lord was leading us, then it becomes part of who you are and you recognise that the gospel isn’t just for us – it’s for every person on the planet. Taking the transforming gospel to the corners of the earth is so important and motivates me in all I do.
How have you seen God working through your job?
It can be hard to define the fruits in ministry sometimes because we don’t always see how God moves, we just know that he does. Sometimes, you see things lining up so well when people go and serve. Other times, it can be supporting people who’ve crashed and you’re helping build them up again so they continue to serve. Or, it’s answered prayer on numerous occasions.
How have you been involved in mission in the past?
My family and I served overseas for 15 years. From 2000-2015 we worked in West Africa, first doing church planting among the Fulani people, then in the last five years, we were involved in theological education, training Fulani-speaking Christians in ministry.
How can we pray for you?
For wisdom – when people come to SIM exploring, it’s not only seeing if the Lord is leading them into mission, but finding the right placement for them.
Helping enquirers to discern whether this is where the Lord is leading them, and what shape their ministry will take.
Liffy Gorton has previously served in West Africa, where she taught English and worked with street women. This summer, she returned to her birth country to work with a project called Talitha Cumi, which aims to teach vulnerable girls in rural Zimbabwe about the Lord Jesus and to provide funds so they can complete their schooling. Here she shares how the Talitha Cumi project began:
In 2011, Violet Myambo, a teacher at a Zimbabwe mission high school, was approached by two young sisters whose father had died and whose mother was unable to work.
They were left with responsibility for their two smaller siblings and needed help. Violet’s friendship with the two girls led to practical and financial support for them to continue at school and eventually find work.
This was the start of Talitha Cumi and it later became one of SIM Zimbabwe’s ministries.
There are many more girls in need of help, such as Rosemary, Vimbai, and Brunette, who were kidnapped and abused by a man pretending to be a businessman, who offered them shopkeeper jobs.
Eventually, they all escaped and were helped by Talitha Cumi and their story has a happy ending: Rosemary learned how to cut and design clothes; Vimbai started a vegetable business and Brunette found a proper job.
Today, Violet continues to give practical help and to be a strong advocate for young girls who through poverty, bereavement, abuse, child marriage or a host of other reasons are trapped in circumstances not of their own making.
Talitha Cumi teaches the Bible to help girls discover their value in Christ and their worth to family and society.
As well as enabling them to stay in school, they develop vocational and life skills so that they can make good life choices. Today, 25 young girls are currently receiving support: seven girls are in higher education, 15 are in secondary school and three are in primary school.
An extension of the Talitha Cumi work is helping women to start small businesses in order to provide an income that help them to send their girls to school and to care for them better.
Violet says, “I desire that these girls and women may know Christ and his power to change their lives.”
Talitha Cumi needs your help to raise funds, and support more young girls, expanding their impact in the community. Here are specific things your gift can help with, so these girls can keep learning:
A gift of £25 will buy a school uniform and provide personal hygiene items.
A gift of £50 will pay for a girl’s education for one term at a primary school. £150 will pay for a full year.
A gift of £100 will pay for a girl’s education for one term at a high school. £300 will pay for a full year.
A gift of £616 will pay for a girl’s education for one semester at a university. £1,232 will pay for a full year.
A gift of £200 will give a micro-loan so a mother can set up a business to support her children.
Please go to sim.co.uk/respond/ if you would like to support Talitha Cumi, and mark your gift Overseas Project 96397.
Please pray
Pray that God will continue to encourage and protect the girls supported by the Talitha Cumi ministry that they may mature and become the young women God created them to be.
Pray that the Talitha Cumi ministry will receive the support needed to continue rescuing young girls from vulnerable situations.
Pray for Liffy’s work on a manual to help the girls have a better biblical perspective of their place in the world and their value in Christ.
What’s your role at SIM UK?
I’m SIM UK’s Engagement Officer, based in Cambridge. It’s a new role at SIM that I started in 2024.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
Day-to-day, I create social media posts, write newsletters, update our website and anything else that helps engage people with our work.
A key part of my job is building relationships with our supporters, donors, mission workers, and staff, to help connect them into the SIM community. I work closely with the rest of the communications team to help share the amazing work God is doing through SIM.
What makes you enthusiastic about your work?
I love that my work allows me to be so creative. Seeing ideas come to life and playing a part in shaping the direction of them is an exciting process to be a part of. The fact that I can use the skills God’s given me to further his kingdom — particularly through sharing amazing stories from our mission workers — is wonderful.
How have you seen God working through your job?
Even though I only started at SIM in June, I’ve already seen God at work so much. Getting to join a team God has clearly placed together is such a privilege. Not only is God at work through those serving in different countries, but he’s at work through all the behind-the-scenes work too – in the prayer meetings, the calls with supporters, and even in the spreadsheets!
How do you continue your ministry outside work?
I’m involved in serving at my church on the communications team, youth team, and serving on a Sunday morning. I love any opportunity to have conversations about Jesus with people who are curious to know more, and I’m always up for reading the Bible with them too.
I’ve been involved in youth work at my church for the past six years, because I think investing in young people is important. I lead on youth camps twice a year, and seeing young people’s hunger to know Jesus and desire to put him at the centre of their lives is so inspiring. I definitely learn a lot from them!
How can we pray for you?
Please pray that I can build good relationships with everyone in the SIM UK community and communicate well with them.
Pray for a deeper knowledge of God’s love and his good plans for me.
After five years living in a remote Central Africa community, Sam Knight spoke to SIM UK’s Engagement Officer, Hannah Penwright, about why he’s now serving in a new role to help strengthen the church in France.
After previously serving in Africa, Sam Knight continues to follow God’s call to mission as the Head of Mobilisation at SIM France Belgium. When asked how his new ministry came about, Sam shares:
“My wife Katie and I felt God was leading us to be part of a change that needs to happen in the church in France. Having received great blessings, it now has the opportunity to be a great blessing to others and the rest of the world.”
Sam was recently invited to meet a group of young Christians excited to pray about opportunities for their generation to get involved in mission.
“Young people are both an important part of the church of today and the church of tomorrow and it was so encouraging to see how God is working through them. I can’t convince people to be involved in mission in my own strength, but God can bring people into something that will allow them to serve people in other places.”
Throughout our interview, Sam’s passion for building up and equipping churches for mission shone through. When asked what he finds most rewarding and challenging about mission work, he says:
“One of the most rewarding things is being able to see God working in people’s lives and communities transformed. Being de-rooted from our lives can bring challenges, but it can also bring rewards.
While it’s hard being far away from family and friends, and not having a home in any particular place, it means we can invest and build our lives in a new place which can be incredibly rewarding – and it’s so good to see God at work!”
There are two French teams currently looking to expand their ministries: In Strasbourg, where SIM workers are sharing the gospel with international students, particularly those from a Muslim background; and in Toulouse, where SIM France is sharing the good news with refugees and immigrants.
If you have a heart for working with international students or refugees and immigrants and are interested in finding out more, enquire about serving.
Pray for Sam
As he supports pastors and individuals who want to see more people have a heart for mission in their churches.
For a new era of mission workers sent from churches across France.
That there would be people praying and supporting those sent out as mission workers.
After almost 30 years of serving God in south-west Africa, the highs, lows, and stories of ways God is working in Paul and Hilary’s lives are humbling to hear.
Paul and Hilary Gunnings’ many faithful years in Namibia have allowed them to walk alongside young people growing up in Namibia — like Tom*, who didn’t let having to canoe over a crocodile-infested river stop him from attending school, which he finished in seven years.
His education didn’t stop here either. Tom then went on to attend NETS, a Namibian Bible seminary set up to train pastors and church workers — and where Paul works.
As long-term mission workers, Paul and Hilary were able to witness Tom grow up, as he chose to follow the Bible rather than conform to his culture and paved the way for others after him. Stories like this echoed Hilary’s words: “The longer you’re there, the more you see it: long-term plans that you look back on and say: ‘Wow! God’s amazing.’”
Paul and Hilary not only shared stories about the lives of individuals, but also about how they have seen Namibia change as a country.
As a teacher at St Paul’s College, a Catholic school for children from Reception age through to sixth-form, Hilary has been able to walk with the children through significant changes. St Paul’s was the first school in Namibia to accept black students before independence, resulting in being banned by the government from taking part in school activities and sports. When Namibia became independent however, the school band was invited to march down independence as part of the celebrations, as a picture of an integrated society.
When asked what they find rewarding about mission work, Paul shared:
As a theological educator, I enjoy seeing students wrestling with the Bible and culture, as they not only understand the Bible better but also address cultural issues with biblical truths. They have to be critical of their cultures, asking: ‘As a Bible-believing Christian what can we keep from our culture? What in our culture do we have to stop doing and rule out?’ Seeing students go through this battle is an amazing process. I see it year after year, and it’s fascinating as God challenges people’s beliefs and cultures.
The opportunities to do mission in Namibia are currently focused on two key areas: discipleship and youth/children’s work.
For discipleship, mission workers are helping Christians grow in the way the gospel challenges their way of life, following God’s will for their lives and becoming more like Christ. NETS plays a key role in this, as it disciples students who, in turn, become pastors and church leaders and disciple others.
There is also a need for youth and children’s workers, as mission workers help churches with their youth and Sunday school programmes and show them the value in building up children and young people.
Pray for Paul and Hilary:
For growth in the Namibian SIM team. With six overseas mission workers, and a similar number of Namibians associated with SIM, we pray for some younger members and short-term workers to join the team.
For energy as they work in hands-on roles.
For support to continue.
*Pseudonym used
What do you do at SIM UK?
I am the Irish Mission Mobiliser at SIM UK, working in Belfast, Northern Ireland.
What does your job look like day-to-day?
It can look different day-to-day, which I love. Every day I’m in contact with somebody, whether that’s a missionary helping them sort things out, or an enquirer who wants to go out and serve short term. Or I could be in contact with a church, chatting through things with them.
What makes you enthusiastic about your work?
Getting to play a part in somebody serving short term, and what it looks like for them to fulfil the call that God’s put on their life. Also, the privilege that I get to stand alongside long-term mission workers who’ve decided: ‘I’m going to give my whole life to this.’
I love working for SIM because I love the fact that it’s sharing the good news of Jesus with those who are yet to hear it, which is a really important thing and something which we need to focus on.
How have you seen God working through your job?
In the past two-and-a-half years, I’ve seen the next generation of mission workers coming through and God stirring their hearts to go on to the mission field. This is definitely not a dying thing – God is still sending and using people. I haven’t necessarily had to do anything: I haven’t had to go to lots of youth events or conferences, but instead God keeps sending them, which is really exciting.
I got to see one of the young people that I led leave for a mission trip recently, and it’s amazing seeing how God is still speaking to people and using people in mission.
How have you been involved in mission in the past?
When I was 16, I was at a conference, and I felt like God was asking me to go to China. There’s no way I could go when I was 16, but it wasn’t something that I just threw away, it was something that I held very close to my heart. I consulted my youth leaders and pastors at the time, and they helped me work through it. I had the opportunity to go to China in my gap year, during which I worked with vulnerable women and trafficking.
In what ways do you continue your ministry in life outside of work?
Outside of work, I’m involved in youth ministry. I think it’s really important to talk to young people about mission from an early age and making it normal that people are being sent onto the mission field. I recently went to France with a church mission team and I took four young people with me. The youngest was 16, which shows the younger ones in church that this isn’t a far-off concept for them either.
How can we pray for you?
For balancing work and life outside of work, involving youth and church. To know that God is sustaining me.
To rely on the wisdom of God in situations and areas that I’ve never been in before.
Tell us a little about your background
I grew up partly in Sweden (I’m half Swedish) but mostly in northwest London with loving Christian parents and my older brother. I can’t remember a time I didn’t believe in Jesus. Though I gave my life to him as a child, as a teenager I didn’t really live out my faith.
Going to university had a huge impact on my journey with God and my commitment and passion grew massively when I joined the Christian Union and then became its Outreach Coordinator. I have been involved in some form of ministry or leadership ever since.
It was at university that I felt a calling to world mission and to serve the poor and broken-hearted and I participated in short-term mission in Peru, Mozambique, and Romania.
My first job was leading a personal development programme for young homeless men with the YMCA in Norfolk.
Tell us a little about your family
The other very important thing that happened at university was falling in love with Ellie! After getting married, we embarked on an amazing journey together of living by faith and seeking to make Jesus known.
Along the way, our wonderful sons, Isaac and Joshua were born; now aged 15 and 13. Since moving back to the UK, we’ve been based in Ipswich, Suffolk. Ellie works part time as a teaching assistant for children newly arrived into the UK and has been teaching English to refugees and asylum seekers through our church.
How did God lead you into SIM?
It has been a long road, and, in many ways, it feels like my life up to this point has prepared me for joining SIM and serving in this role. This includes serving as a mission worker in West Africa, Mozambique, and Cambodia; leadership experience, including being Country Team Leader for Interserve in Cambodia; and church leadership in the UK; along with Bible college and other training.
After more than 20 years of either being overseas or in between overseas assignments, we felt led to return to the UK in summer 2022 for family reasons. God opened a door for me to work with CAP (Christians Against Poverty) as their Mission, Evangelism and Discipleship Lead and alongside that, I kept up my concern for world mission.
I have known and respected SIM for many years and when I heard the role of Country Director was vacant and saw the job description, I felt stirred in my spirit and really hoped to get the role! I resonate deeply with SIM’s vision, mission and values.
What are you looking forward to in your role as Country Director?
Getting to know our mission workers, hearing their stories, encouraging them in the challenges of mission and ministry, and celebrating what God is doing around the world.
Serving alongside the gifted and passionate team that God has brought together to lead SIM UK as we look ahead and participate in God’s plans and purposes.
Fostering a strong sense of community and helping to keep our eyes fixed on Jesus, depending on him to lead us and sustain us.
Developing our friendships and partnerships in the UK church and doing what I can to enthuse, inspire and challenge the church about making disciples and to engage in cross cultural mission.
Helping us build on the work we are already doing to create more opportunities for gospel collaborations with churches and helping to mobilise and equip ordinary Christians to participate in the challenges of local and global mission.
Enjoying fellowship with, listening to, and learning from, brothers and sisters from around the world.
What do you do when you’re not working?
Outside of work, you’ll find me having a bash on the drums, being a taxi driver for our boys (who have a busier social life than us), fixing things, keeping up with tennis but not playing as much as I’d like, enjoying the Suffolk countryside and keeping in touch with friends around the world. I also love good music, summer evenings, dark chocolate, and mangoes!
Has following Jesus been easy and what supports you when life gets difficult?
Following Jesus is not the easiest or safest option! There are definitely some tough experiences that I could have avoided if I weren’t following Jesus.
Many others have suffered far more than I have following Jesus, but Ellie and I have experienced bombs, the loss of colleagues and friends, a serious bout of malaria and other difficult health issues, the heartache of sharing in other’s pain, along with disappointments and discouragement.
Of course, God and his Word are my strongest support. I have also come to hugely appreciate the family of God and the support we bring each other. Ellie has been a massive source of encouragement and help in hard times and I have been blessed with very supportive and caring parents and parents-in-law and a few close friends I can be real with.
What inspires you from Scripture as you follow Jesus?
I have often found encouragement to persevere in following Jesus from Hebrews 12:1-3 where we find both stunning reasons to keep running our race and some ways to do that. It has been fuel for my journey, as among other things, we see that Jesus is worthy and that Jesus understands what it means to live and suffer here and we’re exhorted to throw off sin and whatever hinders us, fix our eyes on Jesus, and keep an eternal perspective.
Also, we’re to run with perseverance, indicating that this is a marathon, not a sprint and we’re to run together as shown by the references to ‘we,’‘us’ and ‘our.’
How can we pray for you and your family?
That I will grow in love for God. That I will listen well. For wisdom and insight and to be like the men of Issachar who understood the times.
For our family, as we mourn the loss of my mum, who passed away in June. Also, that we live as a family on mission where we are, be bold witnesses, and bear much fruit.
Happy for us to track your visit using Google Analytics (they may set tracking cookies), purely to understand how you use the site and improve it for future visitors?
If you agree, we will allow Google Analytics to track your visit to this site on our behalf, recording things like which pages you visited, what buttons you clicked, which browser you were using, and how long you stayed. This information will be collected and stored according to Google's privacy policy, and we will have access to statistics based on it, which we will use to see how the website is working and make changes to make it work better for you. Google will set cookies which they use to collect the tracking data, and these cookies might also link your visit with personal data you have previously given Google on this or other websites.
Thank you for allowing us to track your visit and make our website better!
Withdraw consent
