his has been an exciting week in the life of MissionLab! In June, a group from LifeWay contacted us to help them with logistical issues for a trip that they were planning to New Orleans in the fall. On July 5th, they contacted us and regretfully said that they would have to cancel their trip. Just 24 hours later, they called to tell us that after praying, they decided God was clearly telling them to go ahead. They were not coming to do construction, they were connecting with local congregation Metairie Road Baptist Church to assist in evangelism and outreach efforts.

They arrived on Saturday afternoon, September 23, and after checking in, they put on their new MissionLab t-shirts and off they went. By the time we saw them Monday, the reports of people being won to Christ were already flowing in to our offices. NOBTS students who go to the church they connected with were giving praise testimonies in their classes. This small group of willing people were such an encouragement to the local church that they came to connect with. On Thursday, we shared with them the vision of our seminary and they too had the opportunity to share with us.

Jim, a LifeWay group member, shared about the reason for the trip and gave the history of LifeWay and how it played a role in their missions trip. Dr. Draper, former LifeWay president, wanted to change the face of LifeWay. He wanted the people there to do evangelism, believing that you didn’t have to pray for the harvest, but for the workers, because the harvest was ready. He established a policy for employees to be able to take one week evangelism trips with LifeWay paying the way. They started with a trip to Kenya, and now they have seen tens of thousands come to know the Lord through personal evangelism. Every church that they have worked with is still active and their goal is to connect the new convert to the church for discipleship. Always looking for Divine Appointments, Jim had everyone laughing when he shared that one time he was presenting the four spiritual laws, got to number two, and the man wanted to accept Christ. Jim thought to himself, “you can’t do that, I am not finished yet!” He ended by simply stating, “we do evangelism.”

Another one of the LifeWay team members named Art said that they started with a vision, that in the midst of destruction, sharing Christ had to be intentional. He said, “People need to hear about Christ, 54% of churches through out the land have no intentional program. Only 1% of the growth of our churches is through sharing of the Gospel. All other growth is a natural inner growth.” Teams like this show what a few people who are willing to answer the call can do. Not only have they made an impact in New Orleans, LifeWay has been impacted.

One lady added, “someone asked me if I was going to do construction, and I told them that I wasn’t going with a hammer, I was going with seeds of hope.” Another gentleman said, “I am single and I am sold out to Jesus and I want others to know.” Cindy, Art’s wife, said that she wanted evangelism to be so much a part of her life that no matter what she is talking about or doing, in some way, she can work in praise about Jesus and share His love.