Going Above and Beyond

As I explained the vision of HOPE61, One Mission Society’s human trafficking prevention ministry, to my new friend Amanda, she looked at me thoughtfully. We were paired together to practice support presentations with one another, but God had a bigger purpose for our meeting. When I finished my presentation, she said, “I think that our two ministries might be well-suited to work together. Do you have someone here in Tampa who could come and do your HOPE61 training with our staff?” Um, no. Nor do we have someone in Florida who could do the training. Amanda was surprised when I told her, “If we can work out a training opportunity, I will come from Indiana to do it.”

As a homeland missionary with OMS … a missionary who works at the OMS World Headquarters … I have developed this work ethic, this understanding that we do what God is calling us to do to get the job done. And if that means I travel 1,000 miles to conduct training, then I do it.

For 16 years, I have assisted, worked with, and been helped by homeland missionaries in Finance, International Ministries, Human Resources, and my former department, Communications, just to name a few. Every day, I see ministry happening as homeland missionaries email and talk with field missionaries, helping them with a situation or a problem, or just getting them the resources they need to do ministry. I see missionaries working hard every day, going above and beyond what their job description states, to see the Gospel move forward throughout the world.

I have often heard field missionaries, in town while on home ministry assignment, speak in chapel, sincerely thanking the homeland missionaries for all the hours we work, the time and effort we spend so that they have what they need on the field. And that humbles me. We are all called and equipped by God. It just so happens that some of us work outside of our home countries and some of us work at the home office.

For this reason, when someone asks me where I work or what I do, I always respond, “I’m a missionary at One Mission Society.”

By Lori McFall, Trainer, HOPE61