In recent years, some church leaders have noticed a trend they’re concerned about — not as many young people seem to be answering the call to ministry.
But that’s not Tre Williams’ experience. In recent years, he began wondering if God might be calling him to youth ministry. And then he went to serve for a summer at WorldSong Missions Place, the camp owned and operated by Alabama WMU.
“My now fiancé, then girlfriend, was a camper there when she was growing up — this was her 10th year at WorldSong,” Williams said. “She had already served on staff there, and when she realized I was interested in youth ministry, she encouraged me to apply.”
So he did, and then went back to serve again this past summer as a cabin leader and lifeguard.
And he said it “100% confirmed that I was meant to be in youth ministry.”
“Through that first summer, I saw a lot of growth in my ability to present the gospel and share biblical understanding,” Williams said.
He saw even more growth this year.
“I saw myself step up in a lot of leadership ways that before camp I would’ve never expected,” Williams said.
God working
Suzanna Brothers said WorldSong did something similar for her. She grew up going to camp there, then worked there two summers as a staffer.
Through the years, as Brothers heard stories from the missionaries who came to camp, she was “in awe of the stuff God was doing.”
She said that time of “seeing what the Lord can do through people who give their life to Him” was what encouraged her to apply to go to Chile this past summer.
“The teaching they give to the campers at WorldSong is so missions centered and focused on the Great Commission,” Brothers said. “Everything they teach in some form or fashion goes back to ‘we have this good news, we need to go share it.’ It’s what Jesus told us to do, and we get the privilege and joy of sharing that with other people.”
She said her time as a staffer also prepared her for her time in Chile.
“Having that experience of two straight summers sharing the gospel constantly made me feel equipped in my boldness,” Brothers said.
Sacrificial giving
Candace McIntosh, executive director of Alabama WMU, said Missions Adventure Camp at WorldSong has always been intentional, not just for the camper but for the staff as well.
She said it’s an “incubator for them to deepen their walk with the Lord and also explore a greater calling.”
The camp is supported by the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering. In addition to supporting Alabama WMU, the offering also assists disaster relief, church planting, church revitalization and partnership missions. These ministries are also undergirded by prayer support provided during the Week of Prayer for State Missions.
This year’s Week of Prayer is Sept. 8–15, with an offering goal of $1.2 million. WorldSong is featured on Day 8 through the story of Sonali Albus, who also felt a call to missions there.
Since the offering’s inception in 2016, giving has surpassed $10 million. The two namesakes are spiritual giants from the state — Kathleen Mallory and Dr. Martha Myers.
Mallory — who served as leader of Alabama WMU from 1909 to 1912 and then head of national WMU for 36 years — lived a humble lifestyle so she could give as much money as possible to missions.
Myers, who grew up in an Alabama Baptist church, went on to serve 25 years as a medical missionary in Yemen before being killed by an extremist there in 2002.
“Martha Myers is the Great Commission literally lived out on two feet,” said Rick Lance, executive director of the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions. “She personifies sacrificial giving. She took the gospel and her ministry to the people who were underserved and unreached, and in that way she is a sterling example of what it means to give sacrificially for the cause of Christ.”
Legacy
The offering honors their legacy by continuing to fund missions and ministry in the state and around the world, and Lance said Alabama Baptists have been “so faithful” to give.
“God has blessed the Great Commission ministry efforts supported by this important offering,” he said. “We have seen outstanding progress in our church revitalization endeavors across the state. Also, our church planting ministries are stronger now than ever before. These two Great Commission ministry efforts are vital to reaching people for Christ.”
Global missions involvement also remains strong, disaster relief ministries continue to be pacesetters and WMU continues to be “a mainstay in missions efforts across our state and beyond,” Lance said.
“The Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering supports all of these valuable ministries among Alabama Baptists,” he said. “Through this offering and the continued giving through the Cooperative Program, Alabama Baptists continue to be difference makers for Christ.”
For more information about and downloadable resources for the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering, visit myers-mallory.org.
Day 1 — Making a difference
The Week of Prayer, coupled with the Myers-Mallory State Missions Offering, provides Alabama Baptists with an opportunity to unite our hearts in a spirit of giving and prayer to reach a lost and dying world.
Day 2 — Ready, willing and able
When a tornado-devastated Mississippi city had an urgent need for a team to serve 3,200 meals a day, it highlighted the value of Alabama’s trained and committed disaster relief volunteers.
Day 3 — Christmas Backpacks
Through the Christmas Backpacks project, Alabama Baptists packed 15,000 backpacks for children in high-need areas. This “tangible expression of the love of God” provides open doors to share the gospel.
Day 4 — The Church at Old Town
FBC Helena was experiencing a “slow bleed” and wanted to turn things around. So the congregation partnered with Valleydale Church to replant the church as The Church at Old Town. Now they’re “a community church that is blessing the community.”
Day 5 — A change in perspective
After a group of African-American pastors traveled to visit an African-American missionary in Central Asia, they said the experience impacted they way they encouraged their church toward international missions.
Day 6 — Camden Baptist Church
A group of women at Camden Baptist Church prayed for God to fill their nursery again. After going through a revitalization process, they saw that prayer answered.
Day 7 — Incident Management Trailer
As Alabama Baptist Disaster Relief volunteers deploy in the immediate aftermath of disasters, a new incident management trailer will make it easier for them to serve people well during times of great need.
Day 8 — Missions Calling at WorldSong
After spending her summers at WorldSong Missions Place, Sonali Albus knew God was calling her to missions — and she knew He had given her everything she needed to do it.
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