ActionSummer2021

Vol. 65
ACTION
MAGAZINE
SUMMER 2021
The official publication of Men for Missions
Do What
God Asks
You to Do

Table of Contents
Volume
ACTION
MAGAZINE
65 No. 2/2021
3 What Does God Want Me
to Do
By Bill Heubner
Managing Editor, ACTION
4 Leaving a Lasting Legacy
By Warren Hardig
MFM Global Ambassador
5 Those Men
By Bruce & Mabel Callender
OMS Missionaries to Ecuador and
Mozambique
6 My Hero: Stanley Tam
By Warren Hardig
MFM Global Ambassador
7 Stanley Tam In His Own
Words
By Stanley Tam
MFM Layman
2021 World
Ministry Teams
Due to the ever-changing nature of travel during the Covid-19
pandemic, you can find our updated team list at
www.menformisssions.org
o Please send info about Team to ____________ Dates__________
o My Gift for ACTION budget: $_____________ (Proj. #444520)
o Please send ACTION to the names and addresses enclosed.
o Please remove my name from the ACTION mailing list.
Name_________________________________________________________
Address_______________________________________________________
City____________________________
10 The Mysterious Plan of
God
By Larry Seawell
12 My Testimony
By Gene Pollic
South Central MFM
Regional Representative
13 Doing Real Mission Work
By Mykaela Alvey
MFM Communications Specialist
14 What We Get
By Steve Cushman
15 Mission Drift
By Bill Evans
MFM-USA National Director
16 Here We Go!
By Doug & Cindy Tankersley
MFM Regional Directors-Latin America
State/Prov______________________
ACTION magazine is a unique missions-focused
publication that tells the story of Men for Missions.
As our people share their experiences, you can
better grasp the magnitude of God’s use of laymen
throughout the world and also keep informed of
major events, which impact OMS, MFM, and the
Great Commission.
Executive Editor | Kent Eller
Office Editor | Mykaela Alvey
Managing Editor | Bill Heubner
Graphics | Seth Grandidge
Consultant | Gene Bertolet
Founder | Dr. Dwight Ferguson
Cover | MFM Team Member in Lake Charles, Louisiana
INTERNATIONAL
Executive Director | Kent Eller
Global Ambassador | Warren Hardig
Director of Business Development | Steve Rehner
Latin America Regional Director | Doug Tankersley
CABINET PRESIDENTS
Canada | Keith Burns
United Kingdom | Alan Russell
United States | Grant Zerbe
NATIONAL DIRECTORS AND OFFICES
U.K. National Director | Alan Russell
30 Longhries Road, Newtownards Co. Down N Ireland
Canada | Marlowe Janke
101, 120 Country Hills Landing NW, Calgary, Alberta,
Canada T3K 5P3
Canadian Office Administrator | Charlotte Kroes
Box 265, Mount Forest, ON N0G 2L0
Cuba | Allen Quesada
Liberia | George Ville
Medellin, Colombia | Jonathan Tobón
United States | Bill Evans
P.O. Box A, Greenwood, IN
Director of Ministry Teams | Keith Smith
Director of Follow Up | Keith Smith
REGIONAL DIRECTORS
South Central | Gene Pollic
Southeast | Paul Chance
Northwest | Mike Miner
Northeast | Carl Poynter
Great Plaines | Al Gaines
Carolinas | Garth Cartledge
If you would like the E-Mail address of an OMS
missionary, direct your inquiry to the U.S. MFM office at
mfm@onemissionsociety.org
Follow us on:
facebook, pinterest, instagram - @menformissions
linkedin.com/company/men-for-missions-interntl
Zip or Postal Code________________ Country__________________________
Phone___________________ E-Mail_____________________________
2 Please | make MFM checks ACTION payable to Men for Missions and mail to the office in your country.
ACTION (ISSN 07440375) is published three times annually by Men for
Missions, a ministry of One Mission Society (OMS), 941 Fry Road, P.O.
Box A, Greenwood, IN 46142-6599, USA. All correspondence and
changes of address (please include old address label) should be sent to
the Greenwood address above.

WHAT DOES GOD
WANT ME TO DO?
By Bill Heubner
Managing Editor, ACTION
I
have always loved these
verses from King David to
his son, Solomon. David is
at the end of his reign as king
and is passing on the mantle
of leadership to Solomon. The
main task that David has left for
Solomon is to build the temple.
Not only would Solomon be in
charge of the nation of Israel, but
he would be tasked with building
the centerpiece of spiritual life
for the entire nation. What an
awesome responsibility to have
bestowed upon you at the start
of your time in leadership!
What does God want me
to do? The answer to that
question can be found in these
two verses. David challenges
Solomon to do three things
before he can go out and do
the work he is tasked with
completing. First, Solomon is to
know God. So many of us know
of God, but have we taken the
time to learn to know him in a
personal loving relationship? The
second challenge for Solomon
is to seek God. We seek out
those things that we desire. May
we always desire to find God in
new and exciting ways. The third
challenge is to find God. When
we truly know God and seek
after him, we will find him in all
areas of our lives. Knowing God,
seeking God, and finding God
is the answer to the question of
what God wants me to do.
And Solomon, my son, learn to
know the God of your ancestors
intimately. Worship and serve him
with your whole heart and a willing
mind. For the Lord sees every heart
and knows every plan and thought.
If you seek him, you will find him.
But if you forsake him, he will reject
you forever. So take this seriously.
The Lord has chosen you to build
a Temple as his sanctuary. Be
strong, and do the work.
Throughout these pages,
you will find stories of people
who, through different mission
experiences, have learned to
know, seek, and find God. From
stories of ministry interrupted
and changed by a worldwide
pandemic, to the life of Stanley
Tam, and a focus on future
ministry by Men for Missions,
you will find amazing examples
of how God has worked to make
his plans come to fruition.
1 Chronicles 28:9-10 (NLT)
The very last statement of
1 Chronicle 28:10 says to “be
strong and do the work.” When
you know God, seek God, and
find God, He will empower you
to do the work that is before you.
May you find the encouragement
you need in the following pages
to continue your life-changing
journey of doing what God
would have you do at home and
worldwide.
DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO
MFM ACTION |
3

Leaving a Lasting Legacy
By Warren Hardig
MFM Global Ambassador
MFM LEGACY
L
eaving a lasting legacy is more than leaving
an estate in a will. Discipleship is more than
memorizing Scripture. Both disciplines are
good and should be part of our lives. However, it is
more important to live our lives for Christ daily with
our families and pour into them the witness that
Christ will give us; strength, courage, wisdom, and
hope for life’s daily challenges. Investing so that
others might come to faith in Christ at home and
worldwide while being a faithful, credible witness
for Christ is the legacy we should desire.
I recently received a picture of Don Smith, his
daughter, Mikeala, and grandson, Nieum, who
are also making their marks on history. They are
part of the legacy of Gideon and Viola Schlecht,
farmers from North Dakota who had a daughter
and granddaughter serving as missionaries. That
granddaughter is Jenna Guerrier (Schlecht), who
ended up faithfully serving at our MFM office for
nine years. During her time here, she worked with
our ministry teams and had a huge part in sending
thousands of people on their life-changing journey.
She served in Ecuador, Israel, and Haiti on shortterm
trips. Her faithfulness to respond to the Lord’s
call on her life resulted in a continued legacy.
The whole family has served the Lord in different
capacities, unnoticed by much of the world.
for ministry. Megan has been to both Spain and
Ukraine on her own.
The chapters of legacy continue to be written.
Don, a close friend to many of the staff, serves
on the U.S. Cabinet of Men for Missions giving
spiritually solid counsel and advice.
Back to the picture, Don Smith, Gideon’s sonin-law,
with his wife and family are involved with
spreading the Gospel every day. Don holds a bank
that he used so donors could place cash into it
and sponsor solar-powered fixed-tuned radios in
Haiti for Radio 4VEH. His daughter, Mikaela, has a
second-generation bank featuring Sonny Solar to
raise funds for Radio 4VEH. Nieum learned from
his parents and grandparents and made a glass jar
into a bank where donors can place money to buy
Bibles for Cuba. The Men for Missions network
leaves a lasting legacy through their children,
grandchildren, and great-grandchildren. May He
find us ever faithful.
The Smiths and other MFM families around the
world are building a lasting legacy. I have no doubt
that Grandpa Gideon and Grandma Viola are
looking over the banister of Heaven and cheering
them on with tears of joy in their eyes.
Don and Maureen Smith are living legends with
their legacy still under construction. One chapter
began in 1983 when Don felt the Lord’s prompting
to help the OMS team in Spain. He made two
solo trips in 1983 and 1984. Wanting to share
the fulfillment of his previous experiences, Don
returned to Spain the following year with Maureen.
In 1995, Don went to Cap Haitian with Kent
Eller and four men from Langdon, North Dakota,
on a work team. Don and Maureen fell in love with
the people of Haiti and began taking the whole
family to the tiny island in the Caribbean. Again
and again, they returned to Haiti. Then, their sonin-law
Olnick and grandchildren went to Haiti. On
other occasions, different combinations of two
or three returned to Haiti at least five times. Don
and his daughter, Megan, traveled to Ecuador
Raising money for MFM projects around the world has
spanned three generations of the the Smith family.
4 | MFM ACTION

THOSE MEN
DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO
By Bruce & Mabel Callender
OMS Missionaries to Ecuador and Mozambique
I
n the spring of 1967, I had
been a Christian for just a
few months. My mother,
sister, and I attended the evening
service at the church I had just
joined (Christ’s Church World
Missionary Vision, now Open
Arms Church). Just before the
service, four men arrived and
were asked to share a word
from the Lord. The first man
who spoke was Dr. Dwight
Ferguson. He had just returned
from ministering in Great Britain.
I’ve never forgotten his opening
words: “Great Britain is still
great!” He went on to speak of
the establishment of Men for
Missions in various parts of the
world. As I was driving home, my
mother said, “Those men know
what they are talking about!”
I soon joined Men for
Missions in Morrow County,
Ohio. I still have two MFM
badges! These are excellent
reminders of the importance of
Men for Missions in OMS work.
In 1979, our family was living
and working at the Sinai Bible
Institute in Carboncillo, Ecuador.
Men for Missions was doing
much construction work with
teams from Canada and the
United States. One evening,
I left the time of testimony to
check on the generator. In
the darkness, I found a man
carrying a mattress. I asked him
about the mattress. He said,
“A few months ago when you
challenged the Men for Missions
meeting in Kansas to come and
build a house for a missionary
teacher, I had just undergone
a serious spinal operation. I
told the Lord I would go if at all
possible. This extra mattress will
help me to sleep better because
I am still healing.” God allowed
that man to work on the project
thanks to an extra mattress.
Some years later, we were
working in the Christian Bible
Church in Guayaquil. There was
much construction done by
teams from Canada, the USA,
and Great Britain. The men
and women who came made a
If you love me, you will keep my commandments.
John 14:15
Bruce and Mabel Callender hosted many MFM teams during their years in
Ecuador and Mozambique.
significant contribution to the
work of evangelism and church
planting. Buildings are important!
After we left Ecuador, we
found ourselves with a small
group of missionaries starting a
new work in Mozambique. The
first MFM teams were prayer
teams led by Max and Dixie
Edwards and included pastoral
couples like Jack and Ruthanne
Key and Birt and Mildred
Scott. These teams traveled by
chartered bus up and down the
streets of Maputo praying. They
even made a prayer trip as far
north as Xai-Xai, which opened
productive relationships among
OMS, the Wesleyans, and the
Nazarenes.
When I think back across the
years, I can echo my mother’s
words, “Those men know what
they are talking about!” Mabel
and I have known hundreds of
men and women through the
work of Men for Missions, and
we say, “Thank you for your
obedience to Christ!”
MFM ACTION |
5

My Hero
Stanley Tam
By Warren Hardig
MFM Global Ambassador
DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO
S
tanley Tam is a giant of
a man who has spoken
to multitudes of people in more
than 30 countries around the
world. He has been responsible
for giving away several fortunes
to various ministries that support
the Lord’s work. Many times
Stanley has been introduced
with the opening line, “It is my
privilege to introduce a man who
needs no introduction,” and they
tell of all the countries where
Stanley has served in ministry.
A few years ago, I flew into
Dallas and boarded another
flight to Houston. Seated beside
me was Stanley, who was
coming in from a different flight.
What a delightful surprise! We
shook hands and fastened our
seatbelts. The cabin attendant
offered us a beverage, and in
just a few seconds, Stanley
had shared the Gospel with
her. Here was a man who speaks
to thousands of people and yet
will make every effort to lead a
service person to Christ in less
than three minutes – with no
microphone and no audience.
imagine being sent a check out
of the blue from a company
you do business with? That can
make an incredible impression
on people and let them know
what your integrity is like, and
surely sets you apart. Yet Stanley
was only being obedient. God
honored Stanley’s honesty and
blessed his business.
The customers would have
never known about the refunds,
but Stanley Tam is the kind of
man who seeks God’s voice and
responds in faith and integrity.
Stanley gave the refunds
because in the quietness of
the midnight hour, he resolved
to obey God, even though it
would cost him money. That’s
my hero, Stanley Tam.
At the age of 105, Stanley still
prays and reads his Bible
more than four
hours a
day.
He continues to reach out to
anyone he meets to introduce
them to the God, who has been
his constant companion.
That’s my hero, Stanley Tam.
I’m thrilled to share these pages
with him, and I have asked him
to share with you in his own
words . . .
At a family gathering on
New Year’s Eve when everyone
was retiring for the day, Stanley
decided to stay up to pray and
see if there was anything God
wanted to say to him. God told
Stanley, “You have money that
doesn’t belong to you.” Upon
returning home, Stanley did
research and found he had an
overage of about $5,000 – so
he sent out refund checks to
several customers. Can you
Warren Hardig, MFM Global Ambassador, and Stanley Tam have left lasting legacies for MFM
6 | MFM ACTION

STANLEY TAM IN HIS
OWN WORDS
By Stanley Tam
MFM Layman
Over a Century Ago
DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO
I
was born in California in 1915, so I am 105
years old as of this writing. I don’t know why
the Lord has kept me around this long, but
as long as He sees fit to give me breath, I will
continue my daily disciplines of praying for four
hours and spending another hour in the Word
of God.
Before I had turned a year old, our family
moved to Detroit for a few months and then
settled in Lima,
Ohio, where
they had
visited
for a
vacation
and One Mission Society.
and decided to stay. Dad and Mom bought a
170-acre farm where my two siblings – older sister
Evelyn and younger sister Mildred – and I grew up.
We helped harvest 2,000 bushels of potatoes and
1,000 bushels of beans each year. We also grew
raspberries and strawberries, which I sold door-todoor
in Lima.
My childhood was less than idyllic, with the
home atmosphere frequently punctuated by
quarreling and strife. However, my pride and joy
was a pet pig I raised as a 4-H project, and many
evenings I fled the cacophony in our farmhouse
and quietly curled up with my four-legged friend
for the night.
I attended McBeth School in Shawnee
Township and graduated in a class of 50 students
in 1933. For about a year, I had a job with
Montgomery Ward in Defiance, Ohio, working
in the garage putting tires on customers’ cars. I
also received all truck shipments and signed the
delivery slips. One time I signed for three furniture
shipments, but my boss said we had received only
one, and he fired me on the spot.
Other than that incident, I
was generally successful in
my commercial ventures. I
was the first young lad in
our neighborhood to buy a
Model T Ford, the first of
three I would own over the
years. Driving that prized
possession bolstered my ego
and expanded my business
opportunities. I loved to
cruise the roads, fully aware
I was turning heads with my
status symbol.
MFM ACTION |
7

Hunger, From Beginning to Fulfillment
One of my childhood chores was milking the
cows, usually after a long day of other labor.
I had to round them up from the pasture and usher
them into the barn. One night when I was ten years
old, after dark had descended upon the farm, I
walked the cows toward the barn.
I glanced up at the big, full moon rising in the
clear sky and stopped in my tracks, transfixed by
the beauty and wonder of the celestial theater. Like
Adam, Moses, the Psalmist, and countless others
throughout the millennia, my thoughts turned to
Someone out there. I instinctively whispered, “Who
are you, God?” and followed that with a tentative
commitment, “I would like to know you.”
It was barely classified as a prayer, but it was
the first time I had vocalized any evidence of
spiritual hunger in my soul. I didn’t overtly change
my lifestyle for many years, but God heard that
feeble petition and has worked in countless
unseen ways in my life from that day forward.
God carved the path from me to Him through
the living room of Mrs. Long. I worked as a
traveling salesman for Zanol, which distributed
household products, and stopped at her
farmhouse. I gave my pitch, and she agreed to
purchase a couple of items. Then she turned the
tables on me and gave me a sales pitch I ultimately
could not resist.
She started with, “You are a talented young
man, but no matter how successful
you become, you’ll never be satisfied
until you settle the most important of
all questions in life – your relationship
to God.”
She kindly and without
intimidation answered my stammered
questions and objections for two
hours and told me how Jesus had
changed her life. The import of that
conversation eventually led me to
respond to an altar call at the church
my cousin Bud and I attended. That
was when God answered my spiritual
hunger pangs. Not only that, but
He has allowed me to feast at His
banquet table ever since.
Working With Dad and God
W
hen I was fired from
Montgomery Ward, Dad
asked me to help him in his business.
He received used x-rays from
studios, and medical laboratories
then sold them for the silver content,
which was extracted for recycled
use. He asked me to be a driver,
collecting x-ray film in 30 states. We
collected about 13 tons of silver a
year until they stopped using silver in
x-ray film in 1958.
Stanley Tam outside his business headquarters.
Dad switched to selling used
plastic items and was doing $1
million in sales a year, much of the
8 | MFM ACTION

usiness being done in South America. He would
spend time preaching in South America when he
went there for business, and I eventually took over
both the commercial and ministerial aspects of the
business. It was mine to do with as I wished.
One time, in the middle of a sermon I was
preaching in South America, I heard God tell
me, “Stanley, I want the whole business.” So
three weeks later, I turned the entire multimillion
enterprise over to Him. That turned out to be
a great move because now, even after I retired
in 1990, the business does $77 million a year. I
continued to work making furniture for several
years because I enjoyed it and retired from all
business ventures in 1998.
My business has donated $6 million a year to
OMS, where I served on the board of directors for
many years. OMS reaches 1.8 million souls every
year, and I am honored to be a part of that.
Today, on the business headquarters building
is posted a large sign, “Christ Is the Answer.” That
simple message has caused passersby to pull their
cars into the lot and ask what those words mean,
and we lead them to the Lord.
My New Business
F
or the past 20-plus years, winning souls
has been my main business. It is where my
heart is.
I have preached three weekends a
month in about 30 countries on six
continents. My favorite nation is
Korea, which I have visited six times.
With 30 percent of the population
being born again, it is, in my
opinion, the most spiritual
country in the world. Up to
150 people would come to
the altar after a sermon, and
sometimes every person
in the congregation would
step forward for prayer. I
have also been to Japan
four times and many other
countries several times.
I don’t start churches; I
get the people to come into the
church to get saved. I trust the
Holy Spirit, and He brings the people to the altar to
receive Jesus as their Lord and Savior.
In 1938 I married a pretty, born-again girl I met
in Rockford, Illinois. For about three years, we
traveled the United States in a trailer, preaching,
praising the Lord, and selling products. When the
selling took too much time from our ministry and
family life (we had four girls, two of which have
since passed on; the other two are 72 and 74
years old), we conducted all our business by mail.
During my decades in ministry, I have
personally witnessed over 400 thousand souls won
to the Lord through meetings, sermons, altar calls,
and one-on-one conversations.
The Simplicity of Making the Sale
Many people want to know Jesus but don’t
know how to meet Him. I have found that it is very
simple to introduce them to Him. I just tell them
how the Lord saved me and invite them to turn
their lives over to Jesus Christ. It is that simple for
anyone who wants to win souls. Tell others how
your life has been changed by God, share how to
receive Jesus (confess your sins and accept Jesus
as your only Savior), and lead them through the
sinner’s prayer.
Fair warning: You’ll have to give up some
worldly pleasures to be fruitful in personal
evangelism. I was born 15 years before the
invention of television and a quarter-century
before the first commercial TV broadcast.
I have always loathed television – and
I still do. I consider it one of the
“besetting weights” mentioned in
the Bible. It steals Christians’ time
– time they should be serving
the Lord instead of being
distracted with silly programs.
At worst, TV is a killer,
destroying the sensitivity of
the conscience and making
sin look attractive. How
many more souls could be
won if Christians turned off
the TV set and spent time
in prayer, read their Bible,
and witnessed to others
about the loving Father and
the saving grace of Jesus
Christ?
MFM ACTION |
9

The Mysterious
Plan of God By Larry Seawell
DO WHAT GOD ASKS YOU TO DO
W
e completed our applications, raised our
funds, prepared the team, and everyone
was praying. But God had other plans. We were
staying home. Our team of four MFM veterans and
four rookies were disappointed as we learned that
COVID had closed the Colombian border.
Our experience is nothing new. In Acts 16, we
find that the Holy Spirit prevented Paul and Silas
from preaching in Asia. Paul tried again, and a
second time the Spirit of Christ said “No.” Reading
further, we learn that this closed-door did not
discourage these missionaries. Paul saw a vision
of a man from Macedonia, and they had heard
a call to go in a different direction. They landed
in Philippi instead of Asia. It was there that God
opened the heart of Lydia, and she believed. In
Philippi, the city jailer asked his famous question,
“What must I do to be saved?”
It is crucial to catch the rest of the story. Ten
years later, Paul writes a missionary thank you
letter to the church at Philippi. The story of this
mature, joyful church began with Paul and Silas
being blocked by God from going to Asia. Paul
was rejoicing in the battle stories he shared
with the Philippians. This church, which started
after a door was closed by God, was the church
that contributed finances to Paul for his second
journey.
My first short-term trip was to Haiti and came
about after a friend was blocked from going by
his wife’s health and diagnosis. The door that had
closed for my friend was opened to me. He would
give his trip to me if I could get a plane ticket the
next day. Oddly, my calendar had many entries
the week before and the week after, but there was
nothing to reschedule if I accepted his gift. So,
I bought a plane ticket. That trip led to another,
where I saw God reach down into a mountain
village and save a teenage girl as she said, “Yes,”
to Jesus. It was a brand-new experience for me.
Haiti led to trips into Colombia and then Cuba.
Each time someone returns from a trip, others
hear real stories. Many from my home church
decided to go when they heard what God was
doing in far-away places. These trips have become
part of the ethos of our church. In particular, on
one Medellin trip, we prayed late into the night
over the city from our hotel balcony as we watched
the activity on the city streets. That week we
watched as hundreds of people experienced new
birth, and we began to wonder why God could not
do something like this where we live. One night,
our little missions team prayed
earnestly under the Colombian
night sky for people back home.
Team Lighthouse on first weekend in Alliance. Sixteen people came to faith on
this Saturday!
It is hard to unsee the
miraculous work of God’s grace.
It is impossible to forget what it
feels like when a person hears
the gospel and responds by
faith. God uses Christians like
you and me to do his work in
this fallen world! And he changes
our hearts as we see his grace
in action. What if God wanted
to use us to do something
remarkable at home?
10 | MFM ACTION

After our trips were canceled, my friend Michael
asked, “Why do we need to wait for Colombia
to re-open?” Would it be possible to take teams
into neighborhoods in Ohio? Conversation with
our pastor led to a new idea. What if people from
Findlay joined a church in Alliance, Ohio, who
had heard the call to take the gospel to their
neighborhoods? About 25 from Findlay made the
trip over two weekends, and 28 people came to
faith on those Saturdays as we worked together
with this church in their neighborhoods. We
learned that offering to pray for people often opens
the door to share the gospel. People in Ohio were
open to strangers offering hope, just like people in
Haiti, Colombia, and Cuba!
Fast forward to this spring, and people from
that Alliance church came with friends from
Columbus and Toledo to help Lighthouse by
going out into our neighborhoods. We prayed with
about 80 people, presented the gospel to most of
them, and saw 12 express new faith. Some from
our Lighthouse congregation prayed for others or
shared the gospel for the first time in their lives.
Seeing God work in far-away places has
been part of the motivation that caused The
Findlay Evangelical Free Church to re-write our
constitution to become a family of collaborating
churches focused on the 50,000 who are lost
and far away from God in our county. FEFC
launched Lighthouse Community four years ago,
and Lighthouse is helping to launch the Bluffton
Community. We know that our county is full of
people in desperate need of the gospel, and we
know that effective New Testament churches are
the equipping ground for believers as they engage
their faith.
Please pray for Lighthouse as
we are purchasing land and
planning for a permanent
building with adequate space for
what God has called us to do.
Please pray for Bluffton as God
is moving in the hearts of many,
and they transition into a larger
space next month. Please pray
for the seven young girls who
recently said, “Yes” to Jesus at
a kid’s group, led by a couple of
ladies at Lighthouse. Please pray
for three kids who have said,
“Yes” to Jesus at the Crocker
Street Kids ministry, started by
Yes, I am the vine; you are
the branches. Those who
remain in me, and I in
them, will produce much
fruit. For apart from me
you can do nothing.
a Lighthouse couple in their neighborhood during
the COVID shutdown. Please pray for the lady from
Georgia who came to faith after hearing the gospel
on our live-stream services, made necessary by
COVID. Please pray for the 30 people baptized
across our small family of churches in the last
three months.
We stand in awe as we see the Holy Spirit
moving in so many ways, using so many different
people in this place at this time. A friend recently
reminded me that he could not go to places like
Colombia due to his family circumstance, but
he feels called to be a missionary here at home.
Perhaps when doors to far-away places are
closed, it is just an open door in our backyard.
We remain grateful for OMS and the
opportunities to travel to places where God
is working. It is just not possible to unsee the
remarkable grace of God as He saves those who
call upon His name in genuine faith. We are busy
doing what God has called us to do today in this
place, but many of us are secretly looking forward
to the next trip far away. We are blessed to be part
of the OMS family!
Bluffton Community church plant sponsored by Lighthouse.
John 15:5
MFM ACTION |
11

My Testimony
By Gene Pollic
South Central MFM Regional Representative
TESTIMONY
S
oon after receiving Christ as my Savior, my
good friend Phil Mangas introduced me to
One Mission Society and Men for Missions.
I traveled with Phil to several MFM Counsels
in Indiana and Ohio, sometimes sharing my
testimony. Sometimes our wives
Joyce and Shelba went with us.
My own Life-Changing
Journey started in July of 1979
when I traveled to Haiti with Jim
Murray as team leader.
New Message
a minute during my time and service with One
Mission Society and Men for Missions.
We love our work and will prayerfully continue
to DO, GO, and GIVE until we meet Jesus one day.
To: MFM Action Magazine Recipients
ACTION Magazine Delivered To Your Inbox
1
Life has never been the
same since. First, we gave more
and more of our time to work
as Associate Staff for MFM,
eventually figuring out that we
were giving more of our time to
MFM than to my job. Then we
said, “What if . . . we might go
full time?”
Graciously, in 2002 Warren
Hardig accepted us into the fold
of MFMI (now MFMG), and so
much has taken place over the
past 20-plus years, more than
could be adequately described
in a few words. We have been
on so many teams to so many
countries, and we have made
so many new friends in Christ
all over the world. My dear wife,
Shelba, has been there at my
side encouraging and helping
since the beginning. We still
enjoy it very much.
For years, working my
secular job filled me with
discouragement and boredom,
but I have never felt that for
We are happy to provide an opportunity for you to receive
ACTION Magazine digitally. This digital format includes all
the stories and photos included in the print edition and is
delivered directly to your email inbox. If you would like to
receive ACTION in this new format, please email us at
mfm@onemissionsociety.org, subject line: Digital ACTION.
Check out the redesigned Men for Missions
website at: www.menformissions.org
Follow Men for Missions on the
following social media platforms:
@menformissions
@menformissions
linkedin.com/company/men-for-missions-internt/
Men for Missions
941 Fry Road,
Greenwood, IN 46142
www.menformissions.org
Office--317-300-9526
Cell—317-696-6703
12 | MFM ACTION

A NEW MISSION
MINDSET
I
remember handing in my application in early
2020, for an Evangelism team to Cartagena,
Colombia. I was nervous but excited. I had
never been overseas, and I had never been on a
team with MFM. I couldn’t wait!
Cue the COVID-19 pandemic. The teams were
canceled, and the world essentially shut down. We
weren’t going anywhere. I was so disappointed. I
just wanted to serve the Lord, and I wanted to do
it overseas.
Fast-forward to a year later, and I finally got
the opportunity to go on my first team with MFM!
Where was I going? Lake Charles, Louisiana. Not
exactly where I had expected to be traveling when
I first signed up for that team to Colombia. But, I
was still excited, and I still wanted to do it.
As I prepared for this trip, a small voice in the
back of my mind kept saying, “This trip will be
MFM team at the Gulf of Mexico.
Team with one of the homeowners, Mr. Jimmy.
MFM USA
By Mykaela Alvey
MFM Communications Specialist
good, but it won’t be the same as going overseas.”
Weirdly enough, that little voice was right. It wasn’t
the same as going overseas. In many ways, it was
far more impactful. I should know by now that the
Lord has a purpose in everything He does, so I
shouldn’t have been surprised at the overwhelming
impact this team in Louisiana would have on me.
It broke me to interact with the people we were
helping, not because of their sadness but actually
because of their joy. These people had been
through so much, more than just the hurricanes,
yet joy radiated from every ounce of them. It was
beautiful, and it was humbling.
For years, my focus and desire was to do God’s
work overseas and do His Kingdom work in other
countries. I didn’t view U.S. missions as really
doing mission work.
But because I did GO . . . to Louisiana, my
heart has been significantly changed. Ministry still
can and does happen overseas, but it also occurs
in our backyards. God revealed that to me while I
was in Louisiana, and he permanently changed the
way I view missions moving forward.
At Men for Missions, we tell people that
participating in these teams will result in a lifechanging
journey, but until you truly experience
it, that’s
challenging
to adequately
explain. But
truly, it’s lifechanging.
I
come back
with a humble
heart, and
I want to
encourage
everyone to
step out of
their own little
Team member, Amber, painting. world and go
give back.
MFM ACTION |
13

WHAT WE GET
By Steve Cushman
O
ver the years, I have been on several
short-term mission trips, but my time at the
Hebron Addiction Recovery Program was
by far my favorite. I knew when the opportunity at
Hebron presented itself that I wanted to go. After
spending 39 years in law enforcement, I had regularly
dealt with people of similar backgrounds to
these guys. But, that was just it. They are people.
They are human beings, just like you and me. They
have taken the bait that Satan
offered them, but you and I are
no different. We have the same
capacity to make mistakes that
they do, and many make the
same mistakes. And, even as
I felt drawn to this team, I was
slightly concerned. As a retired
cop, I worried that I would be the
last person they would want to
interact with each day. But, that
couldn’t have been further from
the truth.
As our team got ready to head into lunch
on that first day, I stopped and challenged all
of us not simply to go in and sit together at the
same table. Instead, I knew we should split up
and interact with the guys. We needed to push
ourselves and see what would happen. So, we
split up. Wow, what a difference it made! We were
laughing with them, fellowshipping with them, and
just generally enjoying each other. That’s what truly
blessed the week.
of our trip, I focused on relationships and what a
wonderful thing that was. I made friendships with
some spectacular men, both students and staff. It
is such a blessing to go on a trip and walk away
receiving more than you gave.
This trip was so much more than what I thought
it would be, and I was hoping I wasn’t the only
one feeling this way. Thankfully, I wasn’t the only
one who was touched. Many
on our team felt the desire
to continue helping and stay
connected. Our goal now is
to continue going back every
quarter to help with whatever
projects need completed, but
most importantly, to connect,
fellowship, and talk with the
Hebron guys and the staff.
MFM team at Hebron Addiction
Recovery Center.
MFM USA
MFM challenges us to Do,
Go, and Give whatever God
asks of us. I’ve added my own
fourth word: get. Because when we give of our
time, talents, resources, what we get in return is so
much more than what we could have ever given.
I realized during this trip that I was caught up
in my part of the mission. I wanted to make sure
I could accomplish all that I had planned to help
the residents. But soon after attending a training
session with them, I realized I was supposed to
slow down, hear these guys, and understand the
difficulties of their lives up to that point and how
turning to the Lord had changed their lives. So
rather than concentrating on the construction part
Making connections with people is at the heart of every
MFM team.
14 | MFM ACTION

Mission Drift
What is it, and how
O
ur staff and U.S. Cabinet
recently read through a
book called Mission Drift: The
Unspoken Crisis Facing Leaders,
Charities, and Churches by Peter
Greer and Chris Horst. I was
encouraged by a U.S. Cabinet
member to read the book, and
I quickly realized that it was
something our entire staff needed.
I bought numerous copies
from missiondrift.com, distributed
them to our staff and U.S.
cabinet, and coordinated structured
meetings for us to discuss
and determine any necessary
action steps. Meaningful dialogue
and encouragement filled
the meetings. We are developing
an ongoing evaluation of each
area of the book that relates to
our ministry to maintain a Mission
True status.
A Mission True organization
knows why they exist and takes
preventive measures to protect
their core at all cost. They define
their values and purposes.
To remain Mission True is to
adapt and grow without altering
the core identity. Our learning
included the understanding that
we will inevitably drift from our
founding mission without careful
attention.
Dwight Ferguson received the
vision from God to start MFM
using laymen. In 1954, Ferguson
and others set out to establish
MFM as a layman’s ministry
that would challenge men to the
Lordship of Jesus Christ at home
and worldwide. MFM asks men
to DO, GO and GIVE whatever
God asks of them. MFM wants
men (and their families) to be
disciples of Jesus who share
their talents and testimony to
help all know the great love of
the Father.
We believe that the Gospel is
all we have to offer to a lost and
hurting world. If we ever lose
that primary focus, then Mission
Drift will be the outcome.
Mission True organizations know
the DNA of their founders and
replicate and reinforce that DNA
within their organizations.
We believe that WHY should
be our first question and driving
principle. WHY do we exist, and
WHY should anyone care? After
WHY comes HOW. HOW do we
intend to accomplish our WHY?
And finally, WHAT does that look
like? We believe that everything
flows out of our WHY. This takes
us right back to our mission and
vision statements.
We read how our Cabinet is
the “Guardian of the Mission.”
The careful recruitment of
Cabinet members is of utmost
importance. The Cabinet is
responsible for the policies and
safeguards of the mission. They
hold us accountable for staying
Mission True.
We have to teach all staff
who we are and why we do
what we do. We are immersing
staff in the founding mission
and vision to develop complete
By Bill Evans
MFM-USA National Director
has it affected Men for Missions?
Doug Tankersley, MFM
Director Latin America, leads a
discussion during a recent
staff gathering.
MFM USA
agreement and alignment with
the organization. These things
cannot be assumed to be
captured over time or by some
form of osmosis. Additionally,
who we are in our daily activities
is more important than any
strategies we put in place. Our
methods have to be firmly rooted
in who we are as a mission
organization.
We have to remember that we
are a para-church organization.
We come alongside the church
and help them accomplish the
core tenets of the Gospel. Our
collaboration with the local
church is of utmost importance.
As the book states, “partnering
with the local church enables us
to turn short-term trips into longterm
impact.”
(Thoughts and excerpts from Greer,
Peter and Horst, Chris. Mission Drift: The
unspoken crisis facing leaders, charities,
and churches, Bethany House, 2014)
MFM ACTION |
15

Here We
By Doug & Cindy
Tankersley
MFM Regional
Gu!Directors-Latin America
“Here We Go!” These famous three words continually echo in
the minds of MFM staff members as we prepare teams, lead teams,
greet teams on the field, and ultimately return teams to their homes.
However, in 2020, days turned into weeks and weeks turned into
months and months turned into a year, and we no longer heard that
cheerful charge as a global pandemic crippled our overseas shortterm
mission trips.
For your
Visit...
MFM
Simply check the list of MFM
teams and the reply coupon in
this issue.
Men for Missions (MFM) has
arranged a full slate of teams to
go to the mission field to work,
observe, witness, and pray (page
2). Utilization of laymen is critical
to OMS as it seeks to expand its
ministry throughout the world.
For the past several years, OMS
has been a part of more than one
million decisions for Christ each
year. We now serve in 77 countries,
with more than 120,000
churches planted through the
efforts of OMS and its national
churches.
Many laymen are now forming
teams to go to the mission field.
You can be part of this great
movement of laymen as they
seek to honor Christ by giving
personal obedience to the Great
Commission.
Call MFM at (317) 881-6752,
or contact the national director in
your country (page 2), for latest
team destinations, dates, and
costs.
Tax-Receiptable gifts may
be mailed to MFM, P.O. Box A,
Greenwood, IN 46142-6599.
Then in April 2021, we heard those precious, famous words
“Here We Go!” as our MFM staff set out to serve alongside Fuller
Center Disaster ReBuilders in New Bern, North Carolina. What
a unique opportunity we had to serve together as a staff to help
rebuild the home of a purple heart veteran and his family, whose
home was damaged from Hurricane Florence. Did you know that
the MFM staff is equipped with an electrician, a plumber, finishers,
painters, landscapers, lumberjacks, crawl space cleaners, and
so much more?
The MFM staff represents eight states, so it’s not very often that
the entire MFM staff are together for a week. We all knew that we
had to be intentional with the gift of every moment that we had
together. Our mornings and evenings were filled with a devotional
type of workshop that guided us into a time of asking God for
direction on moving MFM forward in a post-Covid era.
The Bible passage for the week was 2 Kings 4:1-7. Following the
widow’s example, we took time to cry out to the Lord, asking Him for
the things that we need to continue the ministry. Then, we answered
Elisha’s question of “What do you already have?” as we identified
the resources that God has given MFM. We were then tasked with
collecting and labeling jars with the things that need a supernatural
filling. Our staff then shared some special time of prayer, asking God
to supernaturally fill our jars.
As we patiently wait for countries to open their borders, we
continue to plan and prepare for new opportunities to DO, GO,
GIVE as we hear God say, “Here We Go!” Here we go into our own
sphere of influence, here we go into our families, here we go into
our churches, and here we go
into our communities. As we
obey, we will begin to see God
forming action groups, and the
command of Acts 1:8 to be His
witnesses in our Jerusalem, our
Judea, our Samaria, and the
ends of the earth will be revived
in our hearts once again.
MFM-USA staff worked together
as part of a mission team to
North Carolina.
Ready? HERE WE GO!
MFM ACTION |
16