Therefore, since we are surrounded by so great a cloud of witnesses, let us also lay aside every weight, and sin which clings so closely, and let us run with endurance the race that is set before us,  looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our aith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God. - Hebrews 12:1-2

Is there such a thing as a senior missionary? We reckon it’s so as we’ve reached an age - when, how we’ve been able to strive, and where we’ve been able to thrive in the past has become increasingly problematic - though our passion and desire to trust and obey all Jesus commanded remains! 

As God’s adopted children, we love God, we love God’s family, and we love the whosoever’s He is calling to Himself. And as missionaries with e3 Partners Ministry since the late 1990's, we love serving Christ’s church, albeit, in deeply varied ways.

Initially, late 1990’s onwards, for almost ten (10) years our primary church planting ministry focus was both in South America (mainly Costa Rica) and in Russia. Later, as focus within the e3 Partners ministry began to change and evolve, e3 church planting missionaries (like ourselves) were encouraged to both facilitate “kingdom growth” beyond our taking short-term mission teams internationally and simple church planting (addition methodology). E3 Partners’ leadership began exhorting us to seek “in country” partnerships with our training and short-term teams modeling what Jesus modeled when on earth (MAWL) towards the hope that GOD-sized church planting movements begin indigenously (multiplicative methodology).

Look to Jesus! Follow Jesus! Rely upon the Holy Spirit! Go to where “God’s kingdom is not”, training and teaching those mission teams we lead to also train and teach by modeling, assisting, watching, lettering back (MAWL) what we’ve seen Jesus teach and model! In our souls we now deemed it most important to do the needful in reaching the hard to reach, the unengaged, the unreconciled, the troubled … peoples and tribes of the world with the gospel of Jesus Christ. In this, God now led us to primarily focus exclusively upon two (2) areas of the world: the "Horn of Africa" and the Asian sub-continent called “India".

The Horn of Africa, for us, meant focusing our church planting efforts in troubled Rwanda, a country torn apart by tribal genocide. Oh, how GOD worked in Rwanda! He invited us to join Him as He then favored our ministry there - 2005 to 2016 - as we saw 100’s, even 10’s of 100’s, of new churches planted … with Rwandans from every tribe making professions of faith before we sensed our church planting ministry there was completed; in that by 2016, God had raised up both incredibly gifted Rwandan Christian leaders and an impassioned e3 Community Transformation leadership team to carry on in Rwanda. 

India's mission went differently for us.  We heard and considered an e3 India Strategy Leader’s invitation to minister there beginning in 2004-2005. As we prayed, we learned India had over 5000 people groups or tribes, unreached and/or unengaged - almost one (1) billion people - a billion men, women, and children who’d never heard the name of Jesus!  Now traveling to India and experiencing this unimaginable lostness ... chaos seemingly everywhere ... we heard from the Lord to begin working there with the Banjara church (located in south central India) in hopes of reaching an unreached tribal group of 40 million people called the Banjara Gypsy. The next few years, while splitting our efforts between Rwanda, Africa and India, ministry to the Banjara tribal group led to a series of “run, stop, run, step back, walk, caution, …” all glory to God yet “traction” never quite realized.  

In 2011 God redirected (?!?) and ministry plans changed! A series of events led to our first assisting another e3 expedition team who’d canceled their plans to travel in another country now considered “too dangerous”. Needing a new location, they asked us if anyone could help them which led to our offering them a location we’d already prepared to receive our own e3 team … but later in the year. Now scrambling to find a site for our own team (expedition), we were offered a new ministry location which we subsequently accepted in the India state of Maharashtra with entirely different unreached people groups and an entirely different network of churches.

God, ever faithful, now orchestrated we now be introduced to a small church network of 14 churches comprised of about 1500 men and women who dreamed of reaching their surrounding villages and beyond with the gospel of Jesus Christ. Fervent prayer warriors, blessed with biblical vision and faithfulness, these men and women were open to receiving, what was for them, new methodologies and trainings on how they might expand God’s kingdom. Together, we evangelized and discipled new believers according to what the Bible commanded and an e3 Partners' India strategy of multiplying churches through building coalitions. Over the next few years, it was evident that our LORD God had birthed a God-sized, church planting movement - to God be all the glory!

And the fruitful work in this part of India (now called the MSR) continues today but in 9 states rather than one. The strategy remains very much the same although e3 USA strategy leadership has changed so let’s update what’s gone on since late 2020 … what mission’s ministry looks like for Mary and I in 2023 … 

Since late 2020, I’ve (Mike) stepped away from fulltime MSR strategy and trip leadership; albeit, continuing to serve the MSR church planting movement in a number of small ways. Additionally, I have served as an occasional participant/trainer on 2021-23 virtual mission trips and am currently signed up to travel and participate on two (2) trips to India this November. Moreover, in 2020 I became actively involved with another e3 Partners Ministry (briefly mentioned earlier) mission called I Am Second (IAS).

Working a reduced work schedule, I minister as a voluntary coach for IAS as a responder, a discipleship facilitator, and as an IAS New Testament distributor. As a responder, this consists of my being asked to respond to those who request (through the I Am Second website) someone to talk to regarding their relationship (or lack of relationship) with Jesus Christ, their lack of discipleship, their lack of someone to talk to about Jesus, and/or their desire for fellowship with other Christians. This role often leads one to form and facilitate new I Am Second bible fellowships (or add inquirers to existing zoom and live fellowships) using discipleship methods used while on the field in discipleship themes such as Stories of Hope, Commands of Christ, studying through a gospel together, etc. Finally, as a distributor, I’ve been tasked to emphasize the “IAS discipleship opportunity” via the distribution of free IAS NTs (QR tagged) by installing and replenishing IAS New Testaments displays at varying distribution points in North Alabama.

During this period, Mary has actually increased her e3 mission activities! With the MSR strategy remaining very much the same, the e3 USA strategy leadership has changed. Today Mary Wagner oversees the North American e3 work in the MSR as one of two MSR e3 Strategy Coordinators working alongside our Indian partners to reach their population of over 500 million men, women, and children of 1000+ unreached and unengaged people groups. This she does while doing all she has always done!!! And in addition to her e3 MSR activities, Mary also serves as an IAS Second coach fielding I Am Second (IAS) gender specific requests for discipleship.

Thank you for the countless ways you have come alongside us for so many years! We move forward in faith, trusting the Lord to sustain us until we are called home!

 Mike and Mary