Grace and peace in the Name of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ,
We have spent some time in previous posts hearing about missions from brothers living in foreign lands. Today we address the same topic of world missions, but this time, from the perspective of Brother Adam Burrell, missions coordinator with HeartCry Missionary Society.
Brother Adam is a husband and father, serving the Lord at home and abroad. May you be encouraged by the things Brother Adam has shared below.
Virginia: How did you get involved in missions?
Brother Adam: Since becoming a Christian, I have always had a heart toward global missions. I went on my very first international mission trip back in 2005 to India, and I was hooked. I didn’t have a well-rounded understanding of biblical missions at the time, but I knew that the Lord had given me a desire to take the gospel to the nations and to see healthy churches in every corner of the world . . . and everywhere in between. The Lord took me to the local church and seminary to help me to understand what biblical missions was supposed to look like all the while I continued to go on short-term trips through the churches that I attended. Yet it wasn’t until 2018 that my conviction really took shape through the local church where I was serving, Pray’s Mill Baptist Church (Douglasville, Georgia).
Virginia: How did you get involved with HeartCry Missionary Society and what does your position as a coordinator entail?
I have known of HeartCry for a long time and the ministry of Paul Washer. However, it wasn’t until 2018 that I became more intimately involved in the ministry. The church that I was serving in supported the work of HeartCry and another mission’s organization, International Church Planters. Through some providential circumstances I needed to step down from my pastoral position to take care of some family members who were in need. It was then when I started working with International Church Planters in early 2022. Yet, the Lord had more in store for a small mission’s organization. By the Spring of 2022, HeartCry was growing, and they desired to hire some more like-minded people to join their ministry. We were indeed like-minded in practice and doctrine. We were doing much of the same thing. It seemed like a good fit. So, through many conversations, much prayer, and council, the missionaries from International Church Planters decided to bring its teaching institute alongside HeartCry and to become part of the missionary society officially. Thus, in June of 2022 we joined forces for the purpose of Kingdom advancement. This is how the Lord’s hand orchestrated my place at HeartCry.
Virginia: I have seen much emphasis on prayer from HeartCry. Prayer seems to be a too often neglected spiritual discipline in the Church today. What are some verses that have taught you the importance of prayer, and how have you seen the practice of fervent, continual, prayer, affect your life and ministry?
Brother Adam: The later part of James 5:16 comes to mind as well as Hebrews 10:19, immediately.
James writes, “...The effective, fervent prayer of a righteous man avails much.”
Sometimes I think people who are in reformed circle, which I am part of, think too little of prayer because of their understanding of the sovereignty of God. Yet we read here that we are to be fervent in prayer. In context, this is talking about the prayer for healing of someone, but I believe it can be extended in principle. The Lord is sovereign, yet he desires for us to communicate in our prayers to him. The Lord uses the prayers of his saints to accomplish his sovereign will (Joshua 10:12-14, James 5:17-18). As reformed- minded Christians we should have both a big God theology as well as a big prayer life, because only we have access to the throne room of grace (Hebrews 10:19). It is a privilege that we should never neglect.
When I think of how the Lord has used prayer in my life, I could write down a long list of answered prayers. However, one that comes to mind most recently is when I asked the Lord to make me a man of prayer. I wanted to be known as a man of prayer. Since coming to HeartCry the Lord as surrounded me with men of prayer, and by his good kindness, he is making me into one. I find myself praying constantly. In the middle of the day. In the middle of the night. I just enjoy praying. This is just one small example that comes to mind.
Virginia: What are some important things the Lord has taught you through your involvement in world missions?
Brother Adam: We are so much smaller than we realize. We can get so caught up in the latest theological controversy or some nuanced theological position that we can forget what the Lord is doing on the global stage. As a pastor, I always had global missions on my radar, but it was often just on the peripheral. Now that it is my focus, it is amazing to see the Lord’s hand at work in every part of the world. It is exciting, yet we cannot lose our focus when we celebrate these victories. We must keep pressing on. With close to 42% of the world’s population still considered unreached (1), there is much work still to be done. Going on mission and giving to missions are both necessary. We need qualified people to do these things. We need qualified people who are willing to give their lives to shepherd the sheep both locally and internationally. The gospel is the answer, and his people in a local church is who the Lord intends to use to reach these unreached peoples.
Virginia: From all your time in missions, what event has most impacted your walk with the Lord and why?
Brother Adam: I believe the single event that most impacted my walk with the Lord when it comes to missions was my first trip that I ever took with International Church Planters (ICP going forward). I was asked to go to Ecuador and help teach on the role of the pastor to a group of men in the mountains and the jungles. I had a bit of a love/hate relationship with short-term mission trips prior to this trip. However, after I went on this Ecuador trip, the Lord burdened my soul for the work of ICP. by design, they would go on 4 trips a year for 3 years and teach these same pastors seminary level classes. To see the love that these local men had for the teaching. To see what good it was doing for them and their church was an absolute blessing. The kind of short-term trips that ICP was doing . . . I loved being part of the work. I came home from the trip and told my wife that if the Lord ever took me out of pastoral ministry, it would be to do something like this. Just over three years later, He did just that. It was massively impactful to me.
Virginia: I know you are the coordinator, but as believers we learn from one another. What is something that you have learned from the brothers you serve?
Brother Adam: People are the same no matter the context. They want the best for their loved ones. They enjoy laughing and community. They enjoy being entertained. Yet, they are all dead in their trespasses and sins and are in dire need of the gospel apart from Christ. One of the things that I have been most encouraged about (and even challenged by) is the evangelistic zeal of those whom we serve. It is encouraging to see and support men who take the Great Commission seriously. It is just simply part of their everyday life. I have been challenged to be more evangelistic by them.
Virginia: What biblical principles or passages of Scripture has the Lord brought to mind at various times that have drawn you closer to Christ, challenged, or blessed you through your years of ministry?
Brother Adam: Principle 1: Life is not about me.
The scriptures that come to mind are the last portions of Genesis and the life of Joseph. We see him go from the privileged son to the pit. From the pit to Potiphar's house. From Potiphar’s house to prison. Finally, from prison to the right hand of Pharaoh. In all of his journeys we never see him complain. We never hear of a transgression. Yet, God’s sovereignly placed him in every situation. Why? Is it so we can learn some moral lesson? No, we find the reason in Genesis 50:20, “As for you, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good, to bring it about that many people should be kept alive, as they are today.” Joseph’s life was not about him. He was used to preserve his brother, Judah (who was no hero). Yet, without Judah there is no Jesus. Without Jesus there are no people of God. There is no salvation. Joseph’s trials were for a greater good. It was never about him.
Principle 2: God’s will is not hidden.
The vast majority of God’s will is very very plain. If it is a moral issue, it is already settled. Just open the Bible and read. It is there in black and white. When trying to discern God’s will in an amoral decision I often go back to Matthew 6:33, “But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.” When seeking the Lord’s will on a certain issue I no doubt seek wise counsel, spend time in prayer, spend time in the word, and do my research. However, at the end of the day, I do not seek confirmation through signs, feelings, or fleeces. I simply lay it out before the Lord, use the means that he gives me biblically to make that decision, and rest in his sovereign will that I am making the best Kingdom choice. If you are seeking first the Kingdom, then you will always be in His will.
Virginia: What is a highlight from one of your recent visits with our brethren internationally?
Brother Adam: I just got back from Scotland where I spent time celebrating 10 years of church planting with a group called 20Schemes. 9 years ago, I went on a vision trip to see their work. I was praying about and considering moving my family over there to help in their church planting efforts. We didn’t end up moving there but I have kept up with them and supported their ministries for the past decade. Specifically, this time, I was there to visit with the 4 church planters HeartCry helps to support. The highlight was seeing the transformed lives of so many people who have been brought to saving faith and discipled within the context of the local churches there in Scotland under the leadership of Mez McConnell. The places that these men minister in are very hard places. Yet, the gospel is enough. They simply preach the gospel and live it out incarnationally. They do not use gimmicks. They simply have their Bibles, their sacrificial lives, and the Holy Spirit empowering their work. It is truly remarkable.
Virginia: As you correspond with many missionaries, what are common struggles they face, and how can we seek to minister to our brethren in those areas?
Brother Adam: Their common struggles, honestly, are the struggles of us all. The men want to be more faithful to their churches and the family. They struggle with those to whom they are ministering who are indifferent to the gospel in their community. They understand the spiritual darkness and depravity of heart in those they are sharing the gospel with, yet long to see them set free. Some struggle with finances for different ministry projects. Some struggle trying to find qualified elders within their church. These are struggles that every minister faces, no matter the context so often. Although every context is different, one thing that is constant with all of these men that we help to support is this; in their struggles, they know who to go to. They go to the Lord who is the giver of every good and perfect gift.
Virginia: As the Body of Christ, how can we best serve, or minister to, our brothers and sisters on the mission field?
First, I would say to be in a faithful and biblical local church yourself. The church is God’s plan for world missions. Secondly, I would say to get involved in giving, going, and/or supporting indigenous churches. Generally speaking, an indigenous biblical church can do more for a community than an outsider coming in. So, adopt a church or missionary if you can. Get to know them personally. Pray for them and their family. Support them where you can. Talk about them around your dinner table. Pray for them by name in your church prayer meeting. Invest in them.
Virginia: How can we be praying for you, and for the Church in the area where you serve?
Brother Adam: You can pray that I will stay faithful and diligent in serving these honorable men, their families, and their churches. You can pray that I will do the same for my family and my local church.
You can pray for more faithful men to come alongside the faithful ones already serving. Jesus said it well when he said, “The harvest is plentiful, but the laborers are few; therefore pray earnestly to the Lord of the harvest to send out laborers into his harvest” (Matthew 9:37b- 38).
Virginia: Do you have any final thoughts you would like to share with your brothers and sisters in Christ?
Brother Adam: When it comes to missions, I would encourage you not so much to think about some of the glamorous stories that we read about in biographies. While those stories do exist, the mission that the Lord calls his church to looks much more normal on the day in and day out basis. Our missionaries are regular people who struggle with regular things yet persevere biblically and simply seek to live out the commands of God. So, when you think about missions think less glamorous and more glorious. By that I mean, when missions are done right, when they are done biblically, when they are done as unto the Lord, it is not often going to look glamorous in the eyes of men, but it will always be glorious in the eyes of the Lord. When missions are done for God’s glory, it will always be successful.
Thank you so much to Brother Adam for taking the time to do this interview with me. Please take some time to pray for him, his family, and the brothers he serves.
To learn more about the work of HeartCry, visit heartcrymissionary.com
To learn more about the work of 20Schemes in Scotland, visit 20schemes.com
Whether you go onto the mission field yourself, or support those who go, may your life be a living sacrifice to our Master and Lord. He is worthy!
In Christ,
Virginia
