April 25, 2012

Heart to Serve: Tessa Findley


"Not only has God made the accomplishment of his global purposes of salvation hang on the preaching of the Word; he has also made the success of the preaching of the Word hang on prayer."
 -John Piper

Meet Tessa Findley. Currently serving as Prayer Coordinator for School to the Nations, Tessa has a heart not only for intercession but specifically for intercession for the nations. She has served faithfully in many different areas including mobilization, intercession, and has been with us on the field traveling to West Africa with an outreach in 2011.  She has also traveled to Cambodia and Uganda in the past. 

Tessa attends Harvest in Branson, MO and has her degree from Missouri State University in Communications. For those that have visited our STN campus in Ozark, you may be familiar with our Unreached People's Prayer Trail. The trail takes you around the STN campus, and has 12 unreached people groups featured along the way, highlighting prayer needs and information about each specific group of people. Tessa was a key player in the creation of this prayer trail, and we are so grateful for her heart to serve and to pray for unreached people. 

We are thankful for Tessa's obedience to God's call in being a part of His global kingdom, and spending her life serving in order to advance the gospel to those who have never heard. Thank you for your heart to serve Tessa! In the words of Christ, "Well done, good and faithful servant..." (Matt. 25:21)

To read great article by John Piper on the role of Prayer in Missions click HERE

Each of our Heart to Serve featured staff members/volunteers will receive a free 16oz. frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf in Nixa, MO. We are happy to partner with the wonderful people at Orange Leaf to honor these special people who are using their gifts to change the world!!


April 11, 2012

Heart to Serve: Maureen Copeland


"She senses the worth of her work, 
is in no hurry to call it quits for the day. 
She's skilled in the crafts of home and 
hearth, diligent in homemaking. 
She's quick to assist anyone in need, 
reaches out to help the poor.
-from Proverbs 31

      Do you know Maureen? Or maybe you know her as "Mo" as many call her (a few special girls even call her GrandMo). Either way, if you have had the blessing of meeting Maureen, or even more have the blessing of calling her a friend, you know her heart is a heart to serve. Co-founder of School to the Nations with her husband, Randy, Maureen has a heart for the nations and desires to be a part of planting churches globally as His Kingdom advances.
   
As for the day-to-day business, she is the Financial Secretary and Treasurer for STN and serves to keep the books in order for our ministry. She is well-seasoned in frontier work having traveled numerous times to Africa, as well as Japan, Greece, Brazil, and Mexico (to name a few). Her heart is a heart of hospitality seen clearly in the way she opens her house to family, friends, and even a few strangers now and then. Her warm personality is welcoming, along with her desire to see young people grow in the Lord, she has mentored many young people that have crossed her path over the years. She is a member of Ridgecrest Baptist Church, where she sings on the worship team
    As help-mate to Randy, she serves cheerfully as he follows the call and leads School to the Nations as the Lord leads him. For 32 years of marriage she has stood by him faithfully even to the point of "being dragged across the world" as the two of them have discovered this wonderful gift given to them, School to the Nations.

Thank you for your heart to serve Maureen! In the words of Christ, "Well done, good and faithful servant..." (Matt. 25:21)

Each of our Heart to Serve featured staff members/volunteers will receive a free 16oz. frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf in Nixa, MO. We are happy to partner with the wonderful people at Orange Leaf to honor these special people who are using their gifts to change the world!!


April 2, 2012

Pray for Mali

Many of you are aware of the crisis occurring in Mali right now. On March 21st, a coup of soldiers attacked the capital city, primarily to oust the President, who in their opinion did not support their efforts in protecting the north from Tuareg rebels. West African (Ivory Coastneighbors have closed down borders to trade and access to bank accounts giving the coup leaders until today to step down or the country will experience an economic blockade.

School to the Nations has a deep connection with many different people in Mali and our hearts are burdened for their safety and continuing spiritual growth throughout this crisis. We are asking you to lift up the country of Mali and pray for peace.

If you would commit to joining us in prayer, here are prayer points to help guide your prayers:

--- that God will provide a peaceful resolution to the conflict, sparing further fighting and potential loss of life


-- for wisdom among world leaders as they attempt to diffuse the situation

-- for special protection for women and children in Mali as they are often targets of violence and abuse during periods of unrest

-- that God will use the situation to open opportunities for the Gospel to provide hope to Malians who do not know Christ


--for protection of our new church plants and new believers in the villages STN has invested in


--for relief from the ongoing drought which adds to the hardship during crisis

--for missionaries currently serving in Mali, protection and safety for their families 

 --for the future of Malian missions, that the door will continue to stay open to the Gospel 


To read more about what is happening click here for an article explaining more. 

 LORD, you alone are my portion and my cup; you make my lot secure. The boundary lines have fallen for me in pleasant places; surely I have a delightful inheritance. I will praise the LORD, who counsels me; even at night my heart instructs me. I keep my eyes always on the LORD. With him at my right hand, I will not be shaken.
 Psalm 16:5-8

(Photos by: James Copeland)



Heart to Serve: Joe & Linda Andrews

Few people know about a special couple that live on our US Home-Base Campus. Few people know of the hundreds of hours this couple has spent over the past three years serving School to the Nations by taking care of our grounds and maintenance. We want to introduce you to a Joe & Linda Andrews, who are making a global impact by using their gifts to serve in any way they can.

Joe, a Vietnam Veteran, and his wife Linda are the epitome of servanthood. Currently the Andrews live in an RV behind our office building, and wouldn't have it any other way! They sold their house to serve full-time with Campers on Mission (COM) a branch of the North American Mission Board. Over the past three years they have been involved in many projects serving as volunteers; anything from mowing, to gardening, to painting, to caring for the animals in our Africa Training Village, Joe and Linda have the gift of serving and that is apparent.

They are also involved in a local church in Ozark, Hopedale Baptist Church. We are blessed by Joe & Linda's hearts to serve and count it joy to be partnering with them in penetrating the final frontiers for Jesus.





Thank you, Joe and Linda, for serving! In the words of Christ, "Well done, good and faithful servant..." (Matt. 25:21)


Each of our Heart to Serve featured staff members/volunteers will receive a free 16oz. frozen yogurt from Orange Leaf in Nixa, MO. We are happy to partner with the wonderful people at Orange Leaf to honor these special people who are using their gifts to change the world!!