A Pastor's Perspective: How the Global Missions Conference Shaped My Life's Direction
In November of 2002 I attended the PCA Global Missions Conference (GMC). As a student at Covenant College, I was initially lured by the promise of two days away from the dorm and cafeteria. But God graciously redirected me toward something far better: the adventure of two months on the mission field.
Through its times of worship, helpful seminars, and relational tapestry, the GMC nourished a seed that God had planted in my heart two years earlier when John Piper preached at my home church in Dallas, Park Cities Presbyterian Church (PCPC). Following a series of powerful sermons on missions, Piper extended a “missions altar call,” where he invited people in the congregation to come forward if they believed God was calling them to give a month or more of their lives to missions. I went forward that night, but was unsure how I might fulfill that calling until I attended the GMC.
At the GMC, I learned about MTW’s summer internships, which allow young adults to go live and serve with full-time MTW missionaries for an extended time. Through PCPC’s high school ministry, I had been on several trips to Peru; so the summer internship in Cusco piqued my interest. Better still, I was able to meet with some of the MTW missionaries serving in Cusco, and by the time the weekend was over I had written a letter to my parents telling them the good news: I was not planning on coming home the next summer!
My participation in the GMC not only shaped two months of my life, but also led to indelible changes in how I think about the world, the Church, the gospel, and my own faith and dependence on Jesus Christ. It deepened my belief that while I am sinful on my own, even I can be graciously counted righteous in Jesus Christ (Romans 4:5). And it broadened my understanding that while I am insignificant on my own, I am called to world-shaping work as a witness of Jesus Christ (Acts 1:8). Ultimately, the truth and joy of those convictions led me to seminary, to pastoral ministry, and, in a surreal work of grace, back to PCPC where I now serve as an assistant pastor.
I am thrilled that PCPC has the privilege of welcoming and equipping a new generation of missionaries, college students, and many others to the GMC in Dallas this November. I am eager to see how God will continue using this event in my life, and in the lives of so many others in our denomination as we seek to be obedient to the Great Commission.
Join us Nov. 10–12 at the 2017 Global Missions Conference in Dallas! Visit mtw.org/gmc.
Matt Fray is an assistant pastor at Park Cities Presbyterian Church in Dallas, Texas.
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Give thanks for faithful servants who have lived a life of service to Christ, and in death leave a legacy of hope. Precious in the sight of the Lord is the death of his saints (Ps. 116:15).
Please pray for the Crates for Ukraine 3.0 effort, and for the med kits, tourniquets, vitamins, winter wear, and other critical supplies to meet the physical needs of Ukrainians in the areas that need it most.
Pray for those who are considering missions to begin taking steps that will equip them for ahead of time.
Pray for MTW's ministries in Sydney, including Harbour City Church, City Sanctum, and Student Outreach to the World, as well as the Pacific Islands Island to Island Partnership.
Pray for City Sanctum, a ministry to businessmen and women in Sydney, Australia that helps believers live out their faith in the workplace, and welcomes non-believers exploring their faith.
Pray for God to burden the Church with the importance of our global missions mandate.
Pray for missionary parents in the unique challenges of raising kids on the mission field.
Pray for God to move among the Pacific Island nations of Vanuatu, Fiji, Samoa, American Samoa, and Tonga through the Island to Island Gospel Fellowship.
Give thanks and glory to God for seeing MTW through 50 years of missions, for the many global churches He has planted, and the countless souls He has drawn to Himself through the ministry.
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