This past July, at the USMB Gathering in Omaha, Nebraska, delegates were introduced to two new Multiply workers who are preparing to serve long-term in the Middle East. Both are from the United States (Colorado and Washington) but have come to Multiply from outside of the USMB context. The following interview gives glimpses into their journeys of following Jesus into mission service and of joining Multiply. Due to safety and security concerns in their region of service, these workers will be known in our publications by their pseudonyms, Jan and Charles.
Mark: How did you hear God’s call into mission service?
Charles: I came to faith in Jesus while attending college in Kansas in 2019, and I knew right away that I wanted to serve God with my whole life. I was headed toward a career in Christian Counseling, but a short-term mission trip to West Africa in the spring of 2021 changed that. My eyes were opened to the global Church, and I realized that encountering God on cross-cultural mission helped me grow as a believer. Through that experience, God showed me that he wanted me to be a part of his global mission.
Jan: My journey into mission work began with a short-term trip with my church in 2017 at the end of a nine-month discipleship program. I was a teacher at the time, but I eventually took a leave of absence from my job to explore other mission opportunities. The more I got involved, the more I felt like I came alive in cross-cultural settings, that I was somehow most fully who God had created me to be when I was in those settings. I felt my heart being stirred especially toward the people of the Middle East. I started learning Arabic, going on more trips, and gaining knowledge about the Muslim world through others. Eventually, I left teaching and began to volunteer with a ministry of Multiply called River of Life that was connected to a vast network of national church leaders in the Middle East and North Africa. I began to spend more and more time in that part of the world and, despite walking through some intense grief in that season of my life, I seemed to thrive as I served in mission. Overall, I would say my calling has unfolded over time. I have learned how to follow the Lord’s leading step by step, surrendering and trusting him to lead me, even through challenging curveballs, holding my plans loosely, knowing how quickly things can change. I feel a clarity of calling to the people of the Middle East, yet what it looks like to live out that calling seems to evolve in different seasons according to his leading.
Mark: What do you love most about serving God in mission?
Charles: I love the relationships made along the way on this journey, both with those of like-minded faith and with those from opposing worldviews. In this, God has granted me an ability to be more hospitable and accepting of people from various backgrounds, making sure the love of Christ is real and noticeable in all of my relationships.
Jan: I also love how relational my work is. It’s such a joy and privilege to get to know and walk alongside my friends who are open and curious or seeking, as well as those who are part of the body of Christ. I love the people that God has brought into my life and the relationships I have built along the way. And it’s such a joy to see the hearts of loved ones soften toward the Lord.
Mark: What is most challenging about serving God in mission?
Charles: While I’m serving in regions where there is not a strong church presence, there can be a sense of loneliness and disconnect from the vast church community that I have back home. This is challenging because I believe the Church is at her best when she has many members with unique giftings working together in unison. At the current time, we are asking God to build his Church in the Middle East and provide a stronger presence throughout the region.
Jan: There is a real cost to living a missional life. As I seek to be obedient to what God is asking of me, it often means forsaking some of the comforts and security of a more traditional path. It also often requires stepping out in faith, even when it might seem crazy in a worldly sense. Those things can feel especially challenging as a single person, to not have someone I’m doing all of this with.
Mark: What does it mean to you to be obedient to the Great Commandment and Commission?
Charles: Being obedient to the Great Commandment means posturing myself in a lowly manner so that others may be encouraged upwards into a place of honor with God. Being obedient to the Great Commission means making the love of Christ visible to others, leaning into my identity as the light of the world for others to see, experience, and be invited into God’s love through belief in Christ’s sacrifice for us.
Jan: We are all called to surrender our lives to Jesus, and then to go and make disciples. What that looks like may vary from person to person, but we should all be seeking the Lord’s leading for how he would have us join him in bringing people to himself.
Mark: How did you hear about Multiply?
Charles: I came to faith in Jesus while I was a student at Tabor College in Kansas. Within a month after that experience, I met some people who worked with Multiply. They had a joy on their faces that I wanted to experience! They invited me to a three-day mission training event called Arise where I learned about God’s mission in today’s world.
Jan: I first heard about Multiply because my friend was helping to facilitate peace camps in the Middle East. She was serving with Multiply, which was actively involved in supporting the camps. At the time, I had never even heard of the Mennonite Brethren. Through participation in those peace camps, I met some great people serving with Multiply. As I journeyed through life with some of them, I got connected with Nasser al’Qahtani and the River of Life network. Multiply just became the natural choice for me to partner with as a sending organization.
Mark: How can we pray for you and your ministry?
Charles: You can pray for my encouragement that Jesus is worth giving up every single thing even when the call may be daunting in a hard region. Pray for those who don’t yet believe in Jesus in my region, that they would be receptive to the way that God is revealing himself to them through dreams and visions. Pray for the Church in the Middle East, that they would be unified and see themselves having a role in walking out the Great Commission to those in their communities, not letting fear suppress the need for their neighbors to hear the saving hope in Christ Jesus our Lord and Savior.
Jan: Please pray for the seeds of the Gospel to be watered and cultivated within the hearts of my Muslim friends, and for the Lord to give them dreams and visions of himself. Pray for the believers of the underground church in the region, many of whom lose so much when they choose to follow Jesus. Pray that they would experience rich fellowship, protection, encouragement, and growth. Please also pray that people and churches would be led to partner with me in prayer and financially, in order to sustain me in this work.
PRAY & GIVE
Please pray for Jan and Charles as they prepare for service in the Middle East. Pray also for a strong network of individuals and churches to get behind them and provide the necessary prayer and financial support for their ministry. Pray about becoming a part of that team yourself.
