Our Testimonies
Jon: I had the privilege of growing up in a Christian home, but not until I was thirteen did I understand the grossness of my sin and need of the Savior. I “called on the name of the Lord” (Rom. 10:13) and immediately began growing in Him through His Word. After having enjoyed a preaching opportunity in high school, I sensed the Lord calling me into a preaching and teaching ministry. In the summer of 2005 I traveled as a Neighborhood Bible Time evangelist and made a solemn commitment to God to be a foreign missionary. Since then I have had many ministry and missions opportunities, and am excited to serve Christ in Uruguay! I confess with the apostle Paul, “we are not sufficient of ourselves to think anything as of ourselves, but our sufficiency is of God” (2 Cor. 3:5). I give him the glory for the privilege of ministering in His name.
Micki: I also was privileged to grow up in a Christian home. It was at the age of 6 when I realized that I was a sinner and that only Jesus could save me. That’s when I prayed and accepted Him as my Savior. Two years later I was baptized at First Baptist church of New Lisbon, Wisconsin. Throughout junior high, high school, and college I was involved in multiple ministries including choir, children’s ministries, and volunteering at Camp Chetek in Wisconsin. At the age of 14, while volunteering in the Teens Entering Active Ministry program at Camp Chetek, God laid a burden on my heart for South American missions. For the next few years of high school and college, I struggled to follow God’s will for my life. But while on a Spanish immersion trip to Peru in 2012, God showed me that His ways are higher than my ways (Isaiah 55:9). It was during that trip that God confirmed in my heart His will for me to be a missionary to South America, and it was soon after that Jonathan and I met. The rest, as they say, is history! I thank God that I can be confident that He which has begun a good work in me will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ (Phil. 1:6).
Doctrinal Statement
Please feel free to review my doctrinal statement which I presented and defended at my ordination council at Calvary Baptist Church of Watertown, Wisconsin, in December 2011. I seek continued growth in my love for and understanding of God and His Word (2 Tim. 2:15).
Plan for Ministry
In May of 2011 I took a church planting course from a veteran missionary to Argentina as part of the requirement for the M.Div from Maranatha Baptist Seminary. The teacher, Ron Self, encouraged us to envision where we’d like to be in ministry 25 to 30 years into the future, and work backwards by writing a ministry plan. Besides having gone to Uruguay three times and having met and interviewed many missionaries and national pastors, I have also done some independent research to write the ministry plan linked below. I desire to be flexible as to the implementation of this plan, especially as I hope to be working under established missionaries at least initially. The following plan is a living document since I’m learning more about life and ministry here and in Uruguay with every passing month! Feel free to contact me with any questions or comments you may have.