What do well-drilling, youth ministry, medical ministry have in common? They’re all ways in which the Holy Spirit is powerfully moving across the world. In this article, Reed Hoppe of The Mission Society shares the testimonies of 7 different missionary families doing sharing in inspiring kingdom stories around the world.

—

I work for The Mission Society, a Christian non-profit that recruits, trains, and supports more than 225 missionaries in 37 countries around the globe. One of the great joys of my job is getting to write the stories of how Jesus is transforming lives worldwide.

I interviewed Mission Society missionaries serving in various locations to discover firsthand what the Holy Spirit is doing in their ministries. These missionaries serve in a variety of ministries including well-drilling, local church pastoring, children’s and youth ministry, medical ministry, and discipleship.

I asked them, “What are you observing about the working of the Holy Spirit in your present context?”

Here is what they had to say.

Faint Light in a Dark Place

Judy serves in a least-reached area of northern India (pseudonym used for security purposes):

Working alongside national doctors and nurses in one of the darkest and most difficult areas in India has been a new challenge for me. The “presence of evil” advanced from a mostly intellectual understanding to a very tangible awareness. The spiritual, emotional, and even physical attacks are constant, and disunity is almost always the goal.

Our light seems so faint in this dark place, but occasionally God gives us a glimpse of His reality. Recently, the owner of a large private hospital, a wealthy high caste Hindu, visited our hospital.

After a tour, he was asked what impressed him the most. He was impressed with how kind our staff was to their patients. He wanted to send nurses to us so we could train them to treat patients like our staff! Knowing we are Christians, he said he didn’t care what we taught them if they could learn to behave like our staff.

God showed us that day that our light might be weak and faltering, but that His Spirit is still shining bright in this dark place, and we are not to get discouraged or give up. He is at work in ways we do not see!

Outpouring of the Spirit among Children

Lynn and Sharon Fogleman, both physicians, serve in South Sudan through medical ministry. Click here for profile.

Quite honestly, we need a fresh appearance of the Holy Spirit right now here in South Sudan. There is disunity among tribes and even among Christian organizations, unrest, and violence across the country. So we keep praying for an out pouring of the Holy Spirit in this place, as evil abounds.

At the same time, we see and hear miracles as the Holy Spirit is healing diseases. One child who was deaf can now hear! And the children’s home in our area is experiencing an outpouring of the Spirit as the children crave worship daily, not just on Sundays!

Immigrants Serve as Church Leaders in Great Reversal


Laurie Drum and her family, who previously served in Peru, now serve immigrants in Spain. Click here for profile.

In Spain, we see immigrants, who are “the least of these” in this country, becoming the movers and shakers in the evangelical churches. We see their desire to know more, go deeper, and step out in service  and so become an example for the local church. They have a passion for learning, discipleship, and mission. That is exciting to me!

It is almost as if we are seeing things come full circle in the history of Spain. Spain spread Christianity to the New World (most of our immigrant friends are from South America), and now that Spain is having a period of decline in the Church, New World immigrants are coming here with revival. That is beautiful!

When the Gospel Spreads like Wildfire

Mary Kay Jackson is a civil engineer serving in Ghana to bring potable water to the rural poor. Click here for profile.

I remember studying the Book of Acts when we lived in the US and wishing that I could see the church spread in the excited, engaged manner I read about. In Ghana, I have seen it time and time again.

Jesus is always doing something miraculous—whether it is bringing water to a village, healing a person, bringing peace to a community, or bringing the good news to a few members of a previously unreached people group. Then the Holy Spirit runs with it—the good news spreads like wildfire, and Ghanaians turn to Jesus. I am blessed to be able to be a witness to the Acts of the Holy Spirit, just like in the Bible!

Students Learning about the Way of Jesus

Chris and Dora Barbee serve the Thai people in Roi Et, Thailand. Click here for profile.

We are seeing the Holy Spirit draw our students deeper into His heart and to a thirst for more of His presence. For the first three years of our life and ministry here in Thailand, we prayed that God would draw a group of Thai students, most of whom had no previous experience with Christ, to our house weekly for fellowship, worship, and conversations about Jesus. God finally answered our prayer, and a group of 20-35 students has been coming regularly to our home each week.

The Holy Spirit is really encouraging our faith through the real-life queries of our students as they learn about a God who loves the Thai people deeply!

Preschoolers Getting Personal with the Bible

Sharon Nichols serves in Ecuador, primarily through children’s ministry. Click here for profile.

We see the Holy Spirit shaping so many lives, including ours, into His life. He is enlightening even the youngest of children we serve within the body of the church and surrounding communities.

In one of my Sunday school classes of preschoolers, I hear every Sunday morning, “What are you going to teach [me] today in the Bible?” The kids see the Bible as “personally” written to them.

These children, who struggle just to survive, are looking to God for the hope that is only found in Scripture and in knowing Him. His faithfulness to them, these “least of these,” fills my cup to overflowing with the desire to please Him more in all He has given me to do for heaven.

Praying for Fresh Revival in Germany

Nicole Sims pastors a church in Hamburg, Germany. Click here for profile.

Europe has seen amazing movements of the Holy Spirit as this is the continent that produced the likes of John Wesley and Martin Luther to bring revival to the church. Yet, in recent generations, steep declines in church attendance have swept across the land while secularism has been on the rise. Indeed Europe now holds a generation of people who are largely unengaged with the glorious good news of Jesus Christ.

However, I am encouraged by meeting committed Christian leaders who are sensing a burden to seek the Lord for a new move of God. Please join with us in praying over the millions in Europe, “Lord I have heard of your fame; I stand in awe of your deeds O Lord. Renew them in our day, in our time make them known; in wrath remember mercy.”  (Habakkuk 3:2)