2022 Missions Conference - October 30 - November 2
This year's theme: "Sharing God's Grace with the World"
Below you will find Bios and video from the missionaries who were at this years conference. Where possible there is also contact information.
Sharing God's Grace With The World
Brook Seekins - Malawi
Brook Seekins was on her way to Tanzania for the first time on 9/11/2001. Her plan was to serve under GMI teaching missionary children. Soon the Lord opened doors for her to focus on youth ministries. She worked alongside national pastors to establish youth groups in local churches and train youth leaders. Together they ran camps, seminars, and conferences to establish the youth in God’s Word. They were blessed to see young people become faithful leaders of the church through more than 15 years of ministry in Tanzania.
In 2018, Brook joined the GMI team in Malawi. Brook has seen the Lord open doors for her to lead in worship service training, leadership training, and youth leader training. Taking what she learned while working with youth in Tanzania, Brook has been working together with the Malawian youth ministry leaders. Together they have begun to establish local youth groups and train youth group leaders from more than 20 churches around the country as well as running regional Bible conferences for youth. Living in the capital city of Lilongwe, Brook has also helped out with local youth, teaching piano and guitar, as well as leading Bible studies.
She has also been able to help create curricula which is being used to help train national leaders in leading worship services, setting up guidelines for local youth ministries, ministering to youth in regional youth conferences, and teaching Bible studies in their local churches. Brook has been blessed that several of these ministries have started to see fruit and by God’s grace will continue to grow.
YIELD is the acronym for Brook’s ministries. YOUTH INSTRUCTED in EVANGELISM, LEADERSHIP, and DEVELOPMENT. When you see a YIELD sign, please pray for Brook’s ministries in Malawi.
(from: gracem.denarionline.com)
Lily Ortega - Nicaragua
Lily was raised in a Christian home where the family went to church every Sunday and she heard about Jesus and His love for her often.
As she got older she served as a leader in OANSA (AWANA), was active as a youth leader, played the guitar and sang in the worship band, and discipled and taught youth.
One day her dad surprised her with an English class which opened up so many doors of opportunity for her to work and get to know people. One of those opportunities was to be part of the Logos Hope ship, where she felt God calling her to work as a full-time missionary. It was during this time on the ship she asked God to prepare her in whatever area He wanted her to serve—before it was time to leave the ship, she felt strongly that she should be prepared in theological knowledge before going to the mission field.
She was also able to graduate with a theology degree which she received because she was following God's leading in her life. Lily believes He still has much more for her to do.
She is obeying God's call on her life by pursuing becoming a missionary in Nicaragua alongside Emiliano and Raquel Seravalli. She believes God wants to complete His work He has begun in her life so she is very sensitive to His leading.
Her ministries in Nicaragua are discipleship, teaching, and music ministries.
(from: gracem.denarionline.com )
James and Agape Bermejo - Cambodia
JAMES AND AGAPE BERMEJO are both children of Grace believers in the Philippines and graduates of the TCM’s IGBI-Ozamis Bible school as well as Grace Theological Center for Missions (GTCM). James also holds a university degree in English. Over the past 13 years the Bermejos planted and pastored two urban churches in the Manila region.
The Bermejos were initially challenged for mission work by TCM missionary Genesis Maraat in 2009 and engaged in subsequent communication about mission possibilities with Ben and Joyce Anderson. In 2015 James resigned from his secular job to attend the GTCM training.
James is excited for the opportunities he has had since then to share and challenge Grace churches in the Philippines to Passionately Pray and Purposely Participate in TCM's vision of establishing Grace Churches in the remaining countries in Southeast Asia where no Grace Church exists yet. He states, “My Faith, Hope & Love is to carry on Paul's powerful intention - to the preach the Gospel of the Grace of God to the regions beyond!”
Agape says, “There is no other place I would rather be than in the service of my God in the regions beyond. Knowing the purpose of God in my life is one of the most wonderful things that has happened to me! Now I am at the crossroads of my ministry and taking a step towards becoming a missionary with an intention to cross cultural boundaries. By God's grace I would like spend the rest of my life sharing His wonderful, powerful and transforming message. Doing the will of God is my heart’s desire and I want to fulfill this desire through TCM as a missionary.”
We believe the Lord has called and prepared us to be a part of His Global Mission as missionaries. It is very clear in our minds and hearts that God wants to establish and declare His glory among the nations (Psalm 96:3); He desires all men to be saved (1 Timothy 2:4); He instructed the Body of Christ to preach the Gospel to the regions beyond (2 Corinthians 10:16) and to make all men see the mystery (Ephesians 3:9).
We decided to be trained and partner with TCM in accomplishing God’s Global Mission. After completing the two-month training at Grace Theological Center for Mission (GTCM October-November 2015), we started to pray for Singapore. Why Singapore? Because less than 10% are Evangelical Christians. We were sent as TCM Missionaries to Singapore in May 2016 where we made new friends and started a Bible Study discipleship/mentoring program and regular Sunday Worship and Fellowship.
The challenge of staying in Singapore was far greater than what we expected. We were held at Singapore immigration in November 2016 and told not to re-enter Singapore unless we had an employment visa. We returned to the Philippines doing all that we could to acquire an employment visa while continuing to serve the Lord in whatever opportunity He provided. We were given the privilege to teach in TCM’s Bible School in Indonesia (February 2017) and in the second batch of GTCM training (April & May 2017). However, favor was not on our side in acquiring an employment visa for Singapore.
We then remembered and meditated on what Apostle Paul experienced in Acts 16:6-10
Paul and his companions travelled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia. When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Holy Spirit would not allow them to. So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas. During the night Paul had a vision of a man of Macedonia standing and begging him, “Come over to Macedonia and help us.” After Paul had seen the vision, we got ready at once to leave for Macedonia, concluding that God had called us to preach the gospel to them.
The TCM leadership decided to reassign us to Phnom Penh, capital city of Cambodia. After much prayer and meditation, we realized the Lord is doing a REDIRECTION in our lives for His Global Mission. The truth is, it hurts. But the Lord knows what’s ahead of us. Like Paul, who followed God’s leading resulting in the establishment of the Philippi Church, we also believe that divine redirection must begin with unconditional submission.
With all our hearts and with the grace of God, we are now ready to take part in accomplishing God’s Global Mission in Phnom Penh, Cambodia! We arrived October 3, 2017. The ministry we started in Singapore continues with the core members and at times with Ben & Joyce Anderson who have a base there. Thank you once again for standing with us as PARTNERS in God’s Global Mission which will only end when Philippians 2:10-11 is realized: “Every knee will bow and every tongue will confess that Jesus Christ is Lord to the glory of God!”
(from: tcmusa.org )