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Words from a Sending Pastor—Pastor Jim Carrel

Perry Baptist Church in Perry, Michigan, is a congregation of approximately 230 people. Pastor Jim Carrel became the pastor nine years ago, when the church was already a good, missionary-sending church. He feels it is now a privilege for him to be a part of this body of believers that is committed to world missions, and he prayerfully hopes to see that commitment continue. Over the years, twelve missionaries have been sent out from Perry Baptist.

Message: How do you promote missions in your church?

Pastor Carrel: We have a regular schedule so that every month there is a missionary in our pulpit, and we encourage our people to have missionaries in their homes. Our annual missions conference exposes people to missions from many different perspectives. We want to communicate that missions is important, and we try to involve as many people as possible, especially young people, in the planning and coordinating of the conference.

It is not just something that the pastor or the deacons are putting on for the church. We want the congregation to have a sense of ownership. We also organize short-term missions trips, and we encourage our people to support the short-term missionary.

Message: What do you feel is your role as a pastor?

Missionaries are an extension of our local church ministry.Jim Carrel: I see my role as a recruiter, at least to some degree, not only to missions but to full-time service. I can do this by talking about missions from the pulpit and in personal one-on-one conversations. My role is also to be an encourager to those who show interest in missions, and to our missionaries on the field by calling them, emailing them, and occasionally visiting them. I also see myself as a prayer supporter and financial supporter. I hold myself responsible for raising funds for missions, and I must challenge my congregation in regard to giving, tithing, and offering. In order to stay in tune and up-to-date, I interact with staff, missionaries, and pastors from other churches. The Pastors Consultation on World Evangelism, held biannually at ABWE, was also extremely beneficial to me.

Message: Why do you feel comfortable sending missionaries through ABWE?

Jim Carrel: I must first say that there are other good mission agencies, and it is up to the missionaries themselves to decide through prayer about which agency to join. But, honestly, it is natural for me to direct people to ABWE because I feel a kindred spirit with them. ABWE is doctrinally consistent with our church, and their philosophy of ministry is also consistent with how our church believes we should do ministry. I have been impressed with ABWE staff and missionaries, and many of them have become my friends.

Message: Describe your joy when someone from your church surrenders for full-time mission work.

Jim Carrel: It is very exciting to see the Lord’s hand on them. Our church is the sending entity; we are most responsible for sending missionaries, and they are an extension of our local church ministry. It is exciting to see the different ways the Lord leads our people, how He provides for them, and how He uses our church. We are not a very large church, but we know that God calls people for missionary service out of small, ordinary churches.