Let us provide a pastor
during the interim.
Without
a Pastor?
WE COME ALONGSIDE TO
SHEPHERD THE FLOCK
PREACH THE WORD
ASSIST THE PULPIT COMMITTEE
Churches without pastors are vulnerable. GFA can point you to
seasoned pastors who are willing to help your church in transition.
Want to learn more about GFA’s Interim Pastor Ministry? LET’S TALK
Marshall Fant • (864) 609-5500 • gfamissions.org
LEGACY GIVING
1. BEQUESTS MADE THROUGH YOUR
WILL OR YOUR ESTATE CAN INCLUDE:
• Gifts of Real Estate
• Gifts of Stocks and Bonds
• Gifts of Retirement Assets
• Gifts of Cash
2. IRA CHARITABLE ROLLOVER
• If you are over 70 1/2, you can make
a gift directly to GFA from your IRA
and reduce your taxable income.
You can create a lasting legacy in missions through
planned giving to GFA’s Missionary Care Endowment.
Make an Impact for Eternity
Please contact GFA if you have questions
about legacy giving. We will be glad to
assist you as you seek to steward the
resources the Lord has given to you.
864.609.5500
BY MICHAEL BERBIN
Have you ever prayed for the safety of
a missionary? If so, from what did you
ask the Lord to protect him? Possibly,
you asked God to keep him from acci-
dents or illnesses that would harm
him bodily. Or perhaps missionaries
in countries politically and religiously
opposed to the Gospel were blessed
by your request to deliver them from
“unreasonable men” as Paul requested
in 2 Thessalonians 3:2.1
We have all been created with an
instinct to protect our lives, and
certainly Scriptures indicate care for
the temple of Christ to be a righteous
action. This instinct was highlighted
during one of the armed robberies
I experienced in Papua New Guinea
(PNG). During this holdup, in which
my entire family and several cowork-
ers were involved, a young man put a
knife to my throat demanding money.
After we were robbed and left the
scene, my coworker reflected that
when she heard my voice rise in pitch,
she knew this was serious. I was cer-
tainly afraid of having my throat cut.
So yes, praying for physical safety is
a legitimate and much appreciated
ministry for men and women pro-
claiming Christ throughout the world.
However, is bodily injury or death
really the greatest threat? Or is there
a more sinister danger to which those
in gospel ministry are exposed? Christ
relegated bodily death to a lesser
danger when he taught His disciples
in Luke 12:4, “Be not afraid of them
that kill the body, and after that have
no more that they can do.” It is a lesser
consideration because these people
were limited to killing the body and
could do no more. So He gave the
command, don’t fear these people
who can kill only the body, but do
fear this One who has eternal power
to destroy body and soul in hell (see
Matthew 10:28).
Why did the Lord need to warn His
disciples about fear regarding danger
to the physical body? This was partly
due to the sense of preservation
ingrained in every life which is prone
to produce an instinctive, fearful
reaction. However, if we consider the
true source of fear, we can get at the
greater danger to which both our mis-
sionaries and every true believer are
exposed many, many times—unbelief!
Hebrews describes amazing deliver-
ances through faith. “Who through
faith subdued kingdoms, wrought
righteousness, obtained prom-
ises, stopped the mouths of lions,
quenched the violence of fire, escaped
the edge of the sword, out of weak-
ness were made strong, waxed valiant
in fight, turned to flight the armies
of the aliens” (Hebrews 11:33–34).
But also through faith “had trial of
cruel mockings and scourgings, yea,
moreover of bonds and imprison-
ment: They were stoned, they were
sawn asunder, were tempted, were
slain with the sword: they wandered
about in sheepskins and goatskins;
being destitute, afflicted, tormented”
(Hebrews 11:36–37). These believers
exalted God and had victory in spite
of being “slain by the sword.”
What I as a missionary in the crime-
plagued country of PNG need, what
your missionary friend in the elegant
city of Vienna needs, what you as a
believer need is protection from our
absolute faith in God being eroded or
“failing” as Christ phrased it. Unbelief
produces paralyzing fear. Unbelief
closes the mouth of the gospel herald.
Unbelief displaces peace and joy in
the midst of physical danger and
ordeal. Do pray for protection from
accident and illness. Do implore God
to spare and protect the physical lives
of missionaries around the world. But
above all, pray that God will build and
protect our complete and unwaver-
ing faith in Himself. In faith we are
eternally safe as well as joyful and
at peace.
PRAYING
FOR GREATER
MISSIONARY SAFETY
1. All Scripture quotations in this article are taken from the KJV, The King James Version of The Holy Bible, public domain.