International Christians:  7 Global Saints

“Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you.” (Matthew 28:19-20a)  This is the “Great Commission” which Jesus instituted for all of us.  Here is a look at 7 people/families who are doing God’s work all over the world.

Mike Wallace – Preacher/Church Planter in Mexico

Mike Wallace has an amazing story.  His wife was treated for a rare and deadly form of cancer and he also suffered an infection that could have been fatal.  “With these trials behind us, we realized the brevity of life and the need to reach others with the gospel before they die, especially on the foreign field where the need is so great.” (http://mexico-missionaries.com/mike-wallace-call/)  He has traveled through many countries and while in Mexico he felt a burden for the souls there.  Since August of 2007, he and his family have been doing the Lord’s work in Mexico City, focusing on the areas where the gospel needs to be shined the most.  His main goal is to start as many churches as he can.  He is doing this by evangelizing, bus outreach ministries, school and prison ministries and much more.

Justin and Abbey Valiquette – Church Planters/Evangelists in Italy

Justin and Abbey work in Salerno, Italy.  Their focus is on planting a church in the center of Salerno.  They also work at a university in Fisciano, which has 40,000 students that attend it.  They are working with them in hopes that they can be the next leaders to promote Christ in Italy.

Adam Young and Family – Missionaries to Russia

Adam and his family live in Samara, Russia, which is home to 1.3 million people.  Their ministry focuses are on soul winning, church planting, discipleship, printing materials, building ministries and football ministry.  Yes they help coach a football team!  This is a great way to evangelize to teens.  They are building a church there that will sit just under 100 people.  Adam is currently witnessing to a man named Oleg over the phone.  Oleg is in prison and has now made a profession of faith in Christ!  You can read this story @ http://theyoungs2russia.org/Update.html.

Yvon and Jeanette Geoffrion – Church Planters/Bible Translators in Quebec Canada

These two wonderful missionaries have a big heart for the Lord.  Yvon has planted 5 churches and is currently working on transcribing an accurate Bible in French.  There are French Bibles, but none are exact compared to the Greek and Hebrew translations.  I can only imagine how time consuming and tedious this can be sometimes.  This will be an amazing impact for the Kingdom when the Bible is translated correctly in French!

Danny and Rachel Jones – Preacher/Teacher in Thailand

The Jones family has been working in Thailand since 2002.  They are involved with Thailand Missions which is involved with church planting, training of pastors and teachers and evangelism.  Rachel also has a degree to teach English as a second language which is a great tool for her to use for God’s glory in Thailand.  Danny has been a preacher for 17 years and is using his gifts to spread the gospel in Thailand.

Sonny and Debbie Dix – Missionaries to the Philippines

Sonny and Debbie have impacted the kingdom greatly.  They are involved in church planting.  They started a Bible college that has since had its graduates pastor the churches that they have started.  They started the Lamb Center Orphanage that provides food, shelter, clothing and love to orphans there.  They travel into the villages 6 days a week to evangelize to the people who live there.  This family is being the feet of Jesus.

Mitch and Debbie Martinez – Missionaries to the Dominican Republic

Mitch and Debbie are doing wonderful things in the Dominican Republic.  They have planted 3 churches there and they work in the schools and media ministry.  They are also involved in training ministers.  They host many short term missions groups from the U.S.  This involves many activities from building churches to leading conferences and seminars.  Their influence has been a driving force for the kingdom.

Conclusion

The work of all of these men and women has reached countless numbers of people around the world.  As believers we need to be in prayer for our missionaries around the world.  They are giving everything they have to God as they not only witness to people, but also as they fight against sickness and diseases.  These are only 7 of the different people/families that are out there spreading the “good news” and we can all learn much from their character and hard work.

“How beautiful upon the mountains are the feet of him who brings good news, who publishes peace, who brings good news of happiness, who publishes salvation, who says to Zion, ‘Your God reigns.” (Isaiah 52:7)

Resources:

Resources- The Holy Bible, English Standard Version“Scripture quotations are from The Holy Bible, English Standard Version® (ESV®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.”,photo credit: archer10 (Dennis) via photopin cc