Missions-minded McDaniels named Alabama Baptist Volunteers of the Year

Missions-minded McDaniels named Alabama Baptist Volunteers of the Year

Brenda McDaniel always finds herself caught in the trap of sin. She enjoys the many avenues of life that can tempt and corrupt her — drugs, money, alcohol. Her husband, Ray, continuously uses his devilish personality to lead her astray.
Complete with a red cape and red horns, Ray takes pleasure in capturing Brenda in the “sin” box.
   
An unusual marriage? Not really. The McDaniels act out this scene many times a year as part of their volunteer missions efforts. The scene continues with an entrance by Jesus Christ (played by Dick Thomassian, an Alabama Baptist leader in missions and evangelism, usually block parties). Christ delivers Brenda from sin and removes her from the “sin box,” a stage prop used to illustrate sin’s entrapment.
   
Ray and Brenda have re-enacted this scene countless times on missions trips within the state, across the nation and around the world. Following the dramatization, the McDaniels tell all who will listen about the saving grace of Jesus Christ. Their 20-plus years of tireless dedication to missions garnered the McDaniels the 2003 Alabama Baptist Volunteers of the Year award.
   
The McDaniels were recognized by Reggie Quimby, director the office of global partnerships and volunteers in missions for the Alabama Baptist State Board of Missions, during the Alabama Baptist State Convention annual meeting in Mobile Nov. 18.
   
Members of Whitesburg Baptist Church, Huntsville, the McDaniels are not only missionaries overseas, said Jimmy Jackson, pastor of Whitesburg. “They are missionaries while they are here. They are true blue and stay with the program all the time,” Jackson said.
   
Thomassian, who serves as minister of missions at Whitesburg, said the McDaniels maintain a “missions mentality.”
   
“They have been locally, nationally and internationally in multiple Baptist missions encounters,” Thomassian noted. “They give of themselves unselfishly,” he said. “Both are bold in their witness for Christ and have shared the gospel of Christ with multitudes of people across America and the world.”
   
“It is a blessing to see people come to know Jesus as their personal Lord and Savior,” said Ray McDaniel. “I get to see hundreds and thousands saved. This is a great reflection of God’s faithfulness,” he noted. “I can’t ever get over seeing God in action.”
   
Brenda McDaniel added that “it is almost an overwhelming experience that the Lord allows me the opportunity to go and share the gospel all over the world.
   
Thomas Spain, a member of Whitesburg, nominated the McDaniels for the award.
   
“Ray and Brenda McDaniel influenced my life the most in the areas of personal witnessing, missions involvement and missions giving,” Spain said. “Ray McDaniel is a tireless soldier for Christ, … and Brenda, more affectionately known to many as MamaMac, is one of the sweetest servants I have ever known,” Spain said in his letter of nomination.
   
“To the McDaniels, the urgency of missions is not something they read and hear about,” Spain said. “It is woven so tightly into the everyday aspects of their lives that there is no distinction.”