John and Suzanne Crocker thought they would be on the missions field for life.
After an unexpected opportunity brought them back to the United States from Africa after 10 years in Togo, they are as certain as ever of their calling.
The only difference is that they are now based in Huntsville instead of West Africa.
The Crockers returned to north Alabama upon the retirement of Dick Thomassian, longtime minister of missions at Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, in Madison Baptist Association.
John Crocker now fills the minister of missions position at Whitesburg Baptist.
He knew as a college student that he was called to the missions field.
"I fell in love with missions on my first trip with Dick Thomassian to the U.S. Virgin Islands in the late 1980s," John Crocker said. "It was in Israel [as a summer missionary] that God confirmed that His calling on my life was international missions."
Suzanne Crocker, on the other hand, experienced missions from an early age, growing up as a missionary kid in Guatemala.
"I had wanted to be missionary since I was 3," she recalled.
The Crockers met as students at Samford University in Birmingham. They became friends and stayed in touch while serving as summer missionaries on different missions fields — John in Israel and Suzanne in Africa. Upon their return to school, romance blossomed.
They married and began their first assignment with the International Mission Board a few months afterward.
It was October 1989 and the couple was assigned to the Kabiye people in the village of Lassa Bas in Togo. He worked as a church planter, while his wife, a registered nurse, worked with medical missions.
Seven months later, they returned to the United States to attend seminary.
While home, they adopted the first two of their four children, Sarah Joy and Rebekah.
On a later stateside assignment, they adopted son Christopher.
When the Crockers returned to Africa, they lived in Kara, Togo, and worked with the Ditammari people.
They partnered with Whitesburg and Thomassian’s T.I.M.E. ministries (Training in Mission Evangelism) — a missions organization he founded — to establish Natitingou Baptist Church.
"It was an evangelistic and medical outreach, and then Whitesburg donated a gift to build a sanctuary for the church," John Crocker said.
Suzanne Crocker added, "So many times, volunteer groups will visit and they have a great time while they are there, but they always say, ‘Was there any lasting fruit?’ They can go back and see that church building where people are meeting and the medical ministry."
Four years ago, Sarah Joy approached her mother about adopting another child.
Suzanne Crocker gently explained that they would not be returning to the United States for more than three years so adopting a baby just was not an option.
Undeterred, Sarah Joy announced that she would pray for a baby brother.
Within a few weeks, Suzanne Crocker became ill and was hospitalized for dehydration. The diagnosis — pregnancy.
At 25 weeks, she began having contractions so the family was sent home to Huntsville to be near good medical treatment. Benjamin was born healthy at 36 weeks.
While the family was packing to return to Africa with its new baby, old friend and mentor Thomassian approached John Crocker about the possibility of replacing him when he retired.
"I had worked with John and Suzanne in Benin and Togo. I saw their commitment, saw their heart for missions and church planting," Thomassian said. "When I began to think about retiring, [Pastor Jimmy Jackson] asked if I had any ideas about a replacement."
With this opportunity in mind, the Crockers went back to the missions field, praying about the idea of returning stateside.
In December 2005, following Thomassian’s retirement, the family once again made the trip back to Huntsville — this time permanently.
Suzanne Crocker has had a book, "Pig in a Taxi," published about their experiences on the missions field. It is selling well in the United States and Europe and is set to be translated into Swedish. She is now working on a second book.
She also speaks at women’s conferences, using the chronological Bible storying techniques she used on the missions field to relate the Scriptures to women’s lives.
As minister of missions, John Crocker works to recruit volunteers for the missions projects he plans and organizes.
His goal is to involve all 6,700 members at Whitesburg in missions in one way or another, and he has established a Global Missions Center for recruitment and to equip members through training and prayer for the missionary journeys he has planned.
His advice for those considering missions work, either as a career or a volunteer, is simple.
"My advice is to boldly seek to walk through doors of opportunity until God closes the door. If He does not close the door, I would encourage you to walk through as many open doors of opportunity as possible," he said.
"Missions is not reserved for super-Christians but normal Christians like you and me."
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