Ninety persons who heard the call to missions currently serve, not in another country, not in another state, but right here in Kentucky. Most times when we think of someone being “called to missions” our thought is to some remote area in Africa, China, or to international missions. God’s call however, may be in the U.S. or, many times, right in a person’s own home state.
Time and again we hear testimonies from Kentucky missionaries saying they thought God would call them to serve “overseas”, or at least in another state, when His call was to serve right at home, to reach the thousands in Kentucky who do not have a saving faith in Christ.
Kentucky missionaries, or Kentucky Mission Support Catalyst (KY-MSC) as they are called, serve in a wide range of positions, including food and clothing ministries, pregnancy care centers, equestrian ministries, jail and prison ministries, disaster relief, all types of outreach ministries, and ministries to all age groups. The positions engage in or directly support missions, church planting, collegiate ministry, or evangelism, in cooperative partnership with a Kentucky Baptist Convention church, association, or organization.
To become a Kentucky missionary, candidates must be baptized Christ followers who are 18 years of age or older, be called by God, and be an active member of a local Kentucky Baptist Church. They complete a KY-MSC application and commit to the KBC missionary conduct pledge. The missionaries serve a minimum of 20 hours per week for the duration of their assignment, and commit to serve from 9 months to 3 years, which can be renewed.
Kentucky Mission Support Catalysts are self-funded. Although a person can serve without becoming a Kentucky missionary, there are many advantages. Two main advantages are prayer support, as people all over the state pray for them through interSEED (www.kybaptist.org/interseed), and networking with other missionaries. The missionaries can be adopted by a church (http://www.kybaptist.org/adopt-a-missionary,1477), and they participate in orientation and a commissioning service.
Becoming a missionary opens the door for opportunities to share about their ministry and have teams come to serve with them in ministry. The Kentucky Baptist Convention, as well as the Kentucky Woman’s Missionary Union, helps to promote their ministries and share their stories, offers opportunities for the missionaries to speak and/or display at events, and offers an annual missionary retreat. Grants are also available for the missionaries through both the KBC and KY WMU.
Perhaps you have felt a call to local missions and would like to learn more about KY-MSC. Or, you may already be serving 20 hours in a ministry and would like to apply to serve as a Kentucky missionary. Please click on the following link for more information and to download the application – http://www.kybaptist.org/kentucky-mission-support-catalyst,1635. Or, feel free to contact us. We would love to help you discover where God may be leading you to serve.
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