By Jonathan Montgomery, Director of Missionary Care

This past year has been a great one for Missionary Care, and anticipated plans for 2024 look as if the coming year will be another blessed one in ministry.

The highlight of 2023 was the Global Care Conference held in April following the BMAA National Meeting. Most of our global missionaries and North American church planters could join us for this time of rest and restoration. We worshiped together. Missionary families fellowshipped with one another. They were able to offer mutual encouragement as they shared their successes and struggles. And our care team had the opportunity to listen and become aware of additional ways to serve our missionary families better. Not enough words can describe what a blessing this global gathering was for our missionaries.

In August, a team from BMA Global, Lifeword, and individuals from BMA churches accompanied Larry and Tammy Wood to Poland for a care conference for our Ukrainian ChangeMakers and their families. Our goal was to provide a time of respite from their year of war and struggles and offer an opportunity for them to be encouraged. Our team listened to how they adapted their ministries to share their hope in Christ with displaced families, orphans, and soldiers. One special moment of this conference was surprising their children with a birthday party. We shared gifts with each kid and enjoyed pizza and party games. After the time in Poland, we traveled to the Czech Republic to spend time with our ChangeMaker missionaries there.

Our care team’s focus during the fall was helping four missionary kids, or Third Culture Kids (TCKs), as they started college in Conway. Transitioning from their ministry countries and families to the United States without immediate family can be challenging for the students and their parents, so we spent intentional time with each student individually, created opportunities for them to get together with one another, and connected them with other TCKs who helped to advise and encourage them with their own stories of similarly transitioning. A goal of Missionary Care is to continue developing new tools to care for all our TCKs serving with their families.

As our ministry offerings have grown over this last year, our missionaries are more readily using our services in care, counseling, coaching, and conferences. Our team continues to assist each family with needs during their stateside assignment (furlough). We regularly check on missionary families to see how they are doing and to offer encouragement and support. Missionary Care works hard to serve our missionaries so they can more effectively serve others.

This last year, I have had more opportunities to share with churches and groups about the ministry of Missionary Care. This has allowed us to increase awareness of what our ministry is doing to serve BMA Global missionaries and church planters. New partnerships with churches and individuals began in 2023, and we hope to grow this support in 2024. One final thing that started this past year is selling the BMA Global Christmas keepsake ornament to raise additional funds for Missionary Care.

As a new year starts, Missionary Care is excited about upcoming plans to expand our ministry to offer continued encouragement for former missionary families. We will work with Larry Barker and his team to train additional coaches so that every missionary can receive individualized coaching. Missionary Care is partnering with Angela Rice and Short-term Missions to create care trips to allow pastors and individuals an opportunity to encourage our missionaries and church planters on the field. We also hope to start planning more regional conferences.

The greatest need in 2024 for this ministry of care and encouragement is more monthly supporters. Just as our missionaries raise their support, Missionary Care follows this same support-raising model. Most donations to our ministry have helped with specific projects like those mentioned from this past year, but as our ministry continues to grow and develop, we have seen an increase in monthly expenses. Having a base of regular and recurrent donations will allow Missionary Care to maintain what we are already doing for our missionary families while also planning new services. Please pray with us about this need. And if you have questions, feel free to email me at jonathan@bmaglobal.org.

Missionary Care is making a difference in the lives of our missionaries. We will always serve our missionary families so they can better serve in God’s global mission. Reflecting on this last year of blessings for our ministry makes our care team even more hopeful for bigger things to come in 2024.