For the past three years , my family and I have served with One Mission Society ( OMS ) in Sicily , Italy , sharing the Gospel and making disciples among African refugees .
Here is a story that illustrates why I am excited about my new role of mobilizing others into missions . In Sicily , I discipled G *, a Nigerian man , for many months . G came out of a difficult situation in Nigeria , later was persecuted in Libya — almost to the point of death — for his faith in Christ , and then had a harrowing boat trip on the Mediterranean Sea just to arrive in Italy . Now , he struggles with day-to-day life , getting legal documents , and finding a job . I told him that I could not begin to fathom what he experienced and felt unworthy to disciple him . He said to me , “ I praise God for his grace and protection in my life . But think about what you did ! You and your family came all the way from America to disciple me and my African brothers so we can better share the Gospel and make disciples ! For that , I am grateful , Brother Paul .”
At OMS , “ We believe the power of the Gospel in the hands of disciple-makers will transform all nations .” I ’ ve seen this prove true in Sicily because now , G and his friends are starting a church and are reaching out to others . As I ’ ve had the incredible privilege of serving as a disciple-maker and seeing lives changed for Christ , my fervent desire is to send more missionaries and disciple-makers into all the world to make many more reproducible disciples .
I begin as director of Mobilization at an interesting time . The current Mobilization team is rebuilding , and we are navigating through a pandemic . However , I feel that with prayer , patience , and teamwork , we will see God move in our mobilization efforts .
OMS has a rich heritage of prayer and intercession for the nations . Jesus said in Luke 10:2 , “ The harvest is plentiful , but the laborers are few . Therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest .” We want to be obedient to this by praying individually and corporately , contributing an extraordinary amount of prayer for more missionaries and disciple-makers .
We also want to be patient . With COVID still happening around us , missionary sending has slowed down . However , this will not last forever , and I ’ m optimistic that during this lull , people are contemplating their lives and what it means to live in the light of Jesus ’ Great Commission . We stand ready to listen , to share , and mobilize any and all , whether they are college students , Gen Z , Millennials , Gen X , Baby Boomers , from current OMS church partners , or part of new groups and places we haven ’ t been before . We trust God during these lean days and prepare for the time when we will mobilize and send many .
We will best mobilize more missionaries into the fields as a collaborative group . Would you pray for our Mobilization team of Margo Concepcion , Megan Hendon , Hannah Kummerfeldt , and me ? We are a new team , and I look forward to working together . I am also eager to partner closely with OMS regional directors and OMS signatories around the globe to better recruit and align our mobilization strategies . Everyone has a role to play in mobilizing missionaries .
As I step into this role , will you join with me and others in Jesus ’ prayer of Luke 10:2 every day at 10:02 ? Let us ask God for more workers and disciple-makers . Let us pray that many more men and women will be discipled so that they can disciple others , all for the glory of God .
* Name withheld for security reasons .
The Keller Family
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