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We don’t live in a fixed time in history. We are always pressing forward to the future God has for us. The stories of our past help propel us. The vision that motivated women 134 years ago is the same today because it is God’s vision to make disciples of Jesus who live on mission. Every generation must find their place in God’s plan. In this podcast, Sandy Wisdom-Martin will share the circumstances which gave birth to WMU and celebrate milestones through the decades.

Author Julie Busler says, “Depression doesn’t always look like lying in bed crying all day.” From an outsider’s point of view, Julie’s life would have seemed picture perfect, even remarkable to those who knew she had experienced the death of her mother and the suicide of her father. Unresolved issues, significant trauma, and her own mental health struggles led Julie down the path of considering suicide as well. Follow the journey of this courageous woman to the mission field, as a patient in a psychiatric hospital abroad, and home again.

Missie Branch, director of graduate life and assistant dean of students to women at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary shares how to get beyond your own space to make relationships with people that are different than you. Look for opportunities to have conversations outside your bubble. Missie says, “When I was a kid, my mama was on the corner with her tracts. She had her speech; she loved the people in her community and so she wanted to see our community captured by the gospel.” We need that same passion for the lost of our community today. Overcome fear and be intentional about sharing the hope within you.

Join Sandy as she visits with Paul Chitwood, president of the International Mission Board as well as Connie Dixon, president of Woman’s Missionary Union. Discover who influenced them for missions. Hear their passion for the nations. Celebrate what God is doing even in the midst of a global pandemic. Learn how to be an advocate for the global work of Southern Baptists.

In the last episode, Harper* discussed how missions discipleship throughout her life nurtured a desire to follow God’s call and how that led to her serving in international missions. Now hear the rest of her story, including blessings along the way and candid insights about the types of challenges many missionaries experience while serving. Learn how you can better pray for these faithful Christ followers and be challenged in your own faith journey as she shares from her heart.*name changed

Harper* describes herself as introverted, someone who enjoys being home, and comfortable in her small home town. Yet she followed God’s call to serve as a missionary on the other side of the world. Hear her journey—from her introduction to missions as a child in Girls in Action, then later as a member of Acteens, both WMU missions groups for girls—to a church with a focus on discipleship and reaching the nations for Christ. You will be inspired by how God used faithful mentors and parents coupled with a lifetime of missions discipleship experiences to prepare this faithful servant for Kingdom work.*name changed

Many sources offer insight to the benefits of being grateful, such as improved sleep, feeling hopeful, reducing stress and increasing resilience. But an attitude of gratitude is more than self-help, it is an intentional mindset to focus on God—His goodness and His grace—and be thankful each day. Like the apostle Paul when he was imprisoned, we are to be grateful despite our circumstances or life’s challenges. Listen in as Kelly King, women’s ministry specialist for Lifeway Christian Resources, and Sandy discuss how to cultivate a grateful heart.

Ron Harvell felt called to serve in foreign missions at the age of 17. In college, he met his future bride and continued to prepare by seeking out courses on cross-cultural ministry and church planting. But halfway through, to their surprise, the Lord redirected their minds and hearts to chaplaincy. After retiring as a one-star general in the Air Force and serving all around the world, Ron reflects that God allowed he and his wife Marsha to essentially be foreign missionaries with their people group being the Air Force. Be inspired by this Christ follower who risked everything to follow God.

Drawing from 30 years of personal experience in missions, Carol Ghattas helps guide cross-cultural workers and others through a variety of obstacles one can face in ministry. While she has seen the Lord at work in amazing ways as He’s opened doors, she also has seen doors close and how that can result in times of discouragement and questioning God’s call. Listen to this episode for first-hand accounts of navigating closed doors and how you can also do so with grace. Carol is author of When Doors Close: Changing Course in Missions Without Losing Your Way.

Of the 50,000 or so churches in the Southern Baptist Convention, roughly two-thirds have fewer than 75 in attendance on an average Sunday. Most of these smaller attendance churches are led by bivocational pastors who have additional work to supplement their income. While ministry for a bivocational pastor and his wife has great rewards, it can also be lonely and exhausting as they work tirelessly in ministry. In this episode, Joe Wright, executive director of the Bivocational and Small Church Leadership Network (BSCLN), provides a personal and inside glimpse into the challenges of bivocational pastors—many who are church planters or replanters—and ways you can encourage and pray for them and their families.

Evelyn Tully’s passion for missions began as a very young child. She vividly recalls a world map hanging on the wall and finding the location where missionaries were serving as she prayed for them daily using the missionary prayer calendar. From her early days of being active in Girls Auxiliary to a career in WMU in which she served in many roles, her heart for mentoring girls and teens and connecting with women of the world has fostered lasting relationships and transformed lives. Listen in as Evelyn shares reflections on leadership, influence, and God’s call.

Three of WMU’s Compassion Ministries are celebrating 25 years of ministry! Through Christian Women’s Job Corps, women across the US and beyond gain job skills and self-confidence as they engage in Bible study and are paired with a mentor. WorldCrafts, a fair-trade ministry, offers hope to impoverished artisans around the world. And through Pure Water, Pure Love, water filters are provided to missions personnel and missions teams and wells and water filtration systems transform communities with access to clean, safe water. Listen in as Lena Plunk of national WMU tells how God is transforming lives through these ministries and you can be a part. Learn more and join in the celebration at wmu.com/cm25.