The final day of the Story Missions Conference was filled with examples of God's grace in the past, His mighty power in the present, and His glorious plans for the future, all unified under The Great Commission of Matthew 28.

John Evans challenged us in the Sunday morning service with a thought provoking sermon based on John 20:19-22. Human need is not enough to call us to missions, he said. We should be called to missions because missions in on God's heart; indeed it IS God's heart! That our Father has a missionary heart should make us want to desire one, too. God sent His Son and His Son sends us. The questions for us are: Will we go? Will we send? Will we give? Will we pray?

During Sunday School time, the missionaries each went to a different room and discussed their particular ministry in detail. What a joy to see so many in our church listen so intently to how God is working to spread the Gospel around the world. What a joy to know that , like the missionaries, the Story Family has an important part to play in God's plan to reach His people with the Gospel.

The closing session Sunday evening allowed us to see how one in our church family recently answered God's call. Elaine Seals, along with a team of believers that included former Story Pastor Calvin Jett, traveled to West Africa to see in person how God is working powerfully in Africa to bring His children to Himself.

One of the highlights of the trip for Elaine , a principal, was visiting a Christian School and exploring the possibilities of her elementary school partnering with this school. Is it in God's plan for this to happen? We can pray that it is.

Other members of the team spoke, telling of progress made and lives changed. Perhaps the testamony of Nathaniel, an African pastor, best summed it up as he talked of how influential it was for new believers in Africa to see U.S. believers make the time and effort to reach out to them. It gave great validity to the truth that under Christ all believers are brothers and sisters. To that we add our heart-felt AMEN!