I grew up in a church family there was very involved in missions (locally and globally). As a part of this church, I had the opportunity to be involved with many missionaries and missions agencies. God really used this church to stir in me a desire for the nations helping me to understand that God is God of the nations. God continued to grow my heart for the nations as I went to Liberty University.
During my time at Liberty, I met many different mission agencies and missionaries around the world. One of my interactions with a mission agency led me to go to Africa for two months. It was life-changing and will forever be cemented in my heart all that God is doing there. The organization was very involved in several different countries and I enjoyed learning about the work they did.
After my wife and I got married in 2015, we heard about Global Education Ministries (GEM) and decided to follow God in obedience to Mexico to serve with this organization in August of 2016. We have been serving with this organization since that time and I am convinced that this is one of the best ways to make disciples of Jesus. There are many ministries all over the world and I want to tell you why I think Global Education Ministries is one of the best tools for making disciples of Jesus.
- GEM is not merely planting schools, but planting the Gospel in communities around the world. I am not a teacher or educator. However, I am very passionate about GEM because it is not primarily about starting schools but planting the Gospel in the hearts and minds of our students. We pray and hope that they would know and believe in the King of the universe. Most of our students are from families who don’t know Jesus and we pray that as the Gospel is planted in our schools, that our students would trust in Jesus as their Savior.
- GEM is making disciples of Jesus in the everyday. We don’t want to just teach Christian concepts in our school, but we want our students to look to Jesus for every issue in their life. We try to weave the Gospel in our teaching, discipline our students by pointing them to the Gospel, live out the gospel in our own lives, and intentionally build relationships with our students and parents. This way, we are not just teaching them about what the Bible says, but they are seeing the Gospel in every part of the school. I am the 10th grade Bible teacher and I currently have several students that I meet with that have come to faith in Jesus. Not only do I get to teach them every day, but they get to see my life and I get to share my life with them much like Jesus had with his disciples. Our hope is that our students will grow up into Christ in full maturity and will begin to invest in others who will do the same (2 Timothy 2:2).
- GEM is raising up natives to be a gospel presence in their own city, state, and country. All of our schools are led by natives who are being equipped to make disciples through the school. Not only have we seen our students come to faith in Jesus, but we are seeing our parents come to faith as well. The school provides the context where families get exposure to the Gospel. It also provides the place in which we disciple our students and families to know how to follow Jesus. The school is a tool for the Gospel and a gift to the local church for the advancement of the kingdom. Our hope is that many of our students will leave this school sent out as missionaries in whatever careers that God leads them to. We pray that they will be a light in the darkness and bring a change to their community and country.
Why GEM? Because the gospel is being planted all over the world, disciples are being made, and leaders are being developed all for the glory of God in the church throughout the nations.
-Daniel McDonald, GEM Missionary