Choosing Our Mission Agency

It did not take long after entering into the missionary world to find out that one of the first things to be done is to choose a mission agency. Again, one of those “easier said than done” type things. I’m not lying when I say there are hundreds of mission agencies out there, and they are all different. As soon as we narrowed it down to the best three or four options, another one would pop-up and I would find myself on a zoom call with the Field Director or Agency President discussing if we would be a fit with their agency or vice versa. After many months of prayer, research, and counsel, we decided to go with BEMA. Baptist Evangelistic Missions Association.

As Psalm 37:4 reminds us, if we delight in the Lord, He will give us the desires of our heart. At the beginning of our search, BEMA was the very first name on our list! Only God, right? Although BEMA may be a smaller and not as “well-known” agency, we feel that’s exactly what He would have for us. I came in touch with BEMA initially through our good missionary friend, Calvin Houser. 

My first conversation with anyone from BEMA was in May 2021 on a senior trip to Puerto Rico. We were going through a pretty crazy situation when I answered a phone call from an unknown number. Turns out, that was the president of BEMA, Tony Liuzzo, reaching out to me to see if I had any questions about their agency. Although that wasn’t a great time to get into depth,  just the few minutes we spent talking was so refreshing and such an encouragement to me at that moment. I felt that we could be a good partnership in the future. If you ask someone what a mission agency does, you’ll get a range of answers. All in all, a mission agency is the vehicle to get you to your field and to help you get your job done. That’s exactly what I was looking for in a board and feel that’s exactly what BEMA will offer. We are beyond excited to be working with them.