Then he said to them all: “Whoever wants to be my disciple must deny themselves and take up their cross daily and follow me. For whoever wants to save their life will lose it, but whoever loses their life for me will save it. What good is it for someone to gain the whole world, and yet lose or forfeit their very self? Whoever is ashamed of me and my words, the Son of Man will be ashamed of them when he comes in his glory and in the glory of the Father and of the holy angels. – Luke 9: 23-26

Like many others, my time at college was a “make or break” time in my journey. Often in our youth, we want a taste of the world and find that there’s still nothing better than God. God mercifully used a crisis of faith to challenge me and I remember telling God that if He showed Himself to be real, I would give my entire life to Him, but if not, I would never enter a church again. 

God answered my prayers and specifically brought me back to a relationship with Him. I was hungry to learn and attended many courses both at bible college and those organised by other ministries. That was when I was exposed to global missions.

Michael Jaffarian, the ED of SCGM (then known as SCEM), introduced a course at the bible college : “Perspectives on the World Christian Movement”. In that course, every week, a mission leader would speak and challenged us. I attended many prayer meetings, short courses on tentmaking, including leadership courses by Leighton Ford and Bobby Clinton. Paul Smith, speaker at a missions rally challenged us to commit ourselves to praying, giving or going. I committed myself to be a tentmaker because I was drawn to the challenge of Creative Access Nations (CANs).

I went on to complete my degree as God answered my prayers very specifically, right down to the course of study at the university. After graduation, I had a short stint at a mission agency before obtaining professional credentials and experience in the marketplace. God reminded me of my commitment and I resigned, to embark on my tentmaking assignment. 

To cut a long story short, I started on a journey which I thought would be 2 years and is now more than 20 years. Today, as a missions leader, I am challenging others to serve. Due to global trends and disruptions, many will have to be bi-vocational, so I know He has prepared me also for such a time as this.

What has kept me going in obedience and sacrifice is the theme passage which spoke to me when I first set out, viz., Luke 9:23-26. It inspired me to step out in faith and obey. For those especially at the crossroads, consider what Jesus said to His disciples, not just for the Great Commission, but also what it means to be His disciples.