At the beginning of 2023, President Jason Allen announced a new institutional initiative, Midwestern Seminary’s Missions Moonshot. Specifically, the seminary aims to produce 100 new missionaries annually in the years ahead. In light of this new initiative, we want to introduce two of these missionaries to you—Heath and Jessica McClure. The McClure’s graduated from Midwestern Seminary in 2022 with their Master of Divinity degrees and are now being sent by their church to Poland to serve as missionaries with the International Mission Board in the Journeyman Program.
Mbts: Can you briefly share how the Lord called you to the mission field? What does everyday life look like as a missionary?
Jessica: I went overseas for the first time as a
sophomore in high school. I was able to see the church in another language, context, and culture for the first time, and I became enthralled by the fact that God is the God of the nations. I became burdened for the peoples and places that have never heard the name of Jesus. Every time I found myself in another country, I just felt a sense of peace in knowing this is what the Lord has called me to do. Overseas, we’ll be working mostly with university students. Our days will consist of language learning, building relationships with students, and helping the local church with ministry opportunities. Life will look like doing ordinary things each day with the hope of building relationships with students that they might know Jesus.
Heath: Growing up, I never really thought about missions and only saw mission trips as something that other people did. However, when I started dating Jessica, she encouraged me to go on a trip to Nepal. Doing so exposed me to lostness like never before. The Lord got a hold of my heart through the For The Church National Conference in 2019. I heard J.D. Greear speak of the need for people to go to the nations and to give up just 2 years of their lives through the Journeyman Program. Danny Akin spoke in chapel a few weeks later and echoed the same idea that we should consider giving 2 years of our lives to missions. The Holy Spirit used these two men to make me ask myself the question, “Why would I not go?”
Mbts: What’s one thing you would want everyone to know about the task of missions?
Jessica: I want everyone to know that the task of missions is for everyone. God has not just called some to the task of missions, but all of us as the Church. We all are called in some way to partake in what God is doing among the nations. We are called to missions because God is worthy of the praise of every tribe and tongue.
Heath: Whether you’re in Poland or Kansas City, the missionary task is for every believer and the Great Commission applies in every context. The Lord Jesus Christ has directed each of us to make disciples and play our part in planting churches. Since lostness remains the pressing problem of our day, we have much work to do in seeing the Great Commission realized.
Mbts: How did your time at Midwestern Seminary help prepare you for the mission field?
Jessica: Midwestern Seminary helped prepare me through deepening my love of God and love of Scripture. I grew to see just how precious the gospel is, making it a worthwhile calling to serve overseas, and how essential Scripture is in all things. The community at Midwestern also helped prepare us. We were so supported and encouraged by those around us at every step of the process. To be for the Church is to be for the nations. The Church is the vehicle through which God has chosen to expand His Kingdom, and my time at Midwestern Seminary helped me to cherish the Church whether it is in Kansas City or another country.
Heath: Midwestern Seminary prepared me for the mission field in a variety of ways. I learned to love the local church through Midwestern’s vision for the Church. I learned to appreciate the work of the Church and to always love it, support it, and pray for it, as it is God’s global plan to reach the lost. Midwestern also prepared me by giving me a framework for understanding and worshipping our God as He has revealed Himself in His Word. The community that exists at Midwestern engages in routine dialogue around our lost neighbors and friends. I had countless conversations on how I was sharing the gospel and praying for the lost around me.
Mbts: What advice would you give to current students who have a heart for the nations?
Jessica: My advice would be to go! Life just gets more complicated as time goes on, so do whatever you can to step out in obedience if you know the Lord has called you. A big question we kept asking was, “Why not us?” to which we simply did not have a good answer. I would challenge anyone with a heart for the nations to ask what would keep him or her from taking a step in obedience.
Heath: I would encourage anyone with a heart for the nations to seek out opportunities to live missionally now. At your church, if there are evangelism groups, jump in; if there are mission trips, do it; if there is an avenue to share the gospel, take part. If your heart is for the nations, find the nations around you. Our Lord has commanded all of us to make disciples and has called some of us to specifically go to the nations. If that’s you, don’t wait—push on whatever door necessary to make it happen!
