Blog Archives

Late on Independence Day, I returned home to Texas from my 19th mission trip during 21 years of service as a missionary for Christian Outreach International (COI). This summer’s COI trip was my first domestic mission (Orlando) that was not disaster relief. I had been warned by an experienced missionary that domestic mission trips that are not disaster relief are “a little boring.” (more…)

I’m so very appreciative of the prayer and support for the Christian Outreach International, inaugural full week mission project in Orlando last month. So blessed by the Lord’s strong presence on all!

The team from Robinson, IL, Porterville Missions, led by Brenda Cowdrey, is a 15 year COI alumni team!  God bless Brenda and her teams’ mission efforts!  This team had five first time missionaries. They shared at the debriefing that their lives were dramatically, and forever changed by the Lord! (more…)

Yesterday was our church’s kid’s Sunday school day. The kids had invited their neighboring kids and from other churches to hear the gospel through poems from the bible, scriptural verses and dramas and the theme of the day was LOVE. Each age group was taking 15 minutes. (more…)

My wife and I have led mission trips for many years.  In fact, it had become our passion.  We enjoyed doing different types of trips every year, so that a teenager who went annually would have had a variety of life-changing experiences in ministry as they entered adulthood.  We were awestruck by the things we saw and by the great impact they had on our youth. (more…)

I really enjoy ministry at COI DR! We were excited the last time we went. I had been to the DR before with COI and knew that the staff, housing and ministry were excellent. We were not disappointed at all. We had an incredible week of ministry. (more…)

We all know the theoretical answer to this question, but I believe there is another way to answer the question.

Is a missionary a be-er or a do-er?  Anyone seeking God’s will in his own life is in a sense a missionary. Our purpose in life is to know Him. This is not a small task, I guess that is because God is big. Knowing Him is a life long task.  Spending time in His presence and word is the way we get to know Him.  Being open to His leading, guiding and changes in our hearts is how we grow in Him.  As we understand Him and know Him better and learn to listen to His voice, we then begin to understand His heart, and through that understanding of His heart for us, His people, and the lost. (more…)

Sometimes deciding to go on a mission trip is not the biggest challenge to getting to the field, it’s actually overcoming the obstacles that come up once you or your group decide to go. I see this over and over again..if the enemy can’t stop you from going, he will throw everything at you to hinder you getting there. (more…)

Years ago, I was called to a church as Director of Christian Education, and I worked with the youth.  Other Bible teaching churches in our community had big gymnasiums and youth centers and fantastic, established youth programs.  We couldn’t compete, so I decided not to try.  I began working with our teenagers by encouraging them to go to the great programs at our sister churches and enjoy what they had to offer.  Then, bring their friends back to their home church, because we were going to do something totally new, something unique.  We were going to teach them to serve. We knew how to equip them for service in the name of Christ. (more…)

Out of our experience with orphans in Sunrise ministry (HIV Program), the mission is not ours but God’s. Mission is in the heart of God and He is the one who does the work us. Human beings are only agents or facilitators of the work of God.

Please, let me share a story of one of the boys seen above.

This boy is now 4 years old and is in 1st grade. His mom fell in a river and died when he was two months old and was left with his step grand-mother. In fact, I am the one who officiated his mom’s funeral because she was our church member. He has one brother who is also living with him. He has some mental challenges which we are yet to know from a doctor. (more…)