Missile ministry

We’d like to introduce you to a Navigator discipled airman, an NCO named Jesse. Jesse is currently ministering to soldiers and airmen from an undisclosed location in the Middle East. He serves his country and fulfills his duties, but his God and the people he serves with are always on his mind. Jesse knows that the long game of life includes objectives far beyond his paycheck.

Jesse and Jordan labor together to spread the Good News!

Jesse has had the distinct privilege of performing 11 baptisms while in theater, and while baptisms are not the measure of a ministry, he will tell you they are the outward evidence of a person's inward faith, marking the gift of the Holy Spirit. To date on this deployment, he has seen 500+ Bibles make it into the precious hands of deployed men and women. He has personally witnessed ten salvation stories materialize before him, and is aware of 30 others during his time there. Incredibly, there are 15 Bible studies ongoing, and because movements of God are never a one-man show, he is able to recount dozens upon dozens of God stories, both big and small!

Jessie baptizes a soldier at his deployed location.

Jesse got his start with Christ back home in Oregon, but in 2012, the Lord sent him to Davis-Monthan AFB for discipleship. It was here at his first assignment, while in the base dormitories, that relationships formed. We took Jesse through the NavPress study, Lessons on Assurance, which also got him started memorizing Scripture. We watched him grow in knowledge and in favor. It wasn't a story of perfection, mind you. Jesse was young, and he stumbled. He needed encouragement and perspective, as we all do!

You know, God didn’t just mold Jesse through time alone with him and the hiding of His Word in Jesse's heart. The Lord also walked him through serious trials that involved heartbreak, grief, and sadness. James tells us that these challenges are meant to help us persevere and grow, so that God can place in us the strength to face life’s ups and downs with a sure hope. During this time, Jesse’s bond with Christ deepened, and the Lord was faithful to provide for and comfort him. If you’re tempted to marvel at this, please, by all means, do so. Just bear in mind that no matter how the pain arrives, it's so often this kind of discipline that is essential to the forming of a resilient relationship with God.

So what was the Lord preparing Jesse for besides an eternity with him? It was for times such as these—a time in which many are finding themselves facing the prospects of incoming chaos being launched at them and all manner of uncertainty. Our God uses all things, and some things are capable of jarring us out of our normal sense of complacency. When people find the wisdom to number their days aright, peace with God accompanies their surrender. For the fortunate, peace with God suddenly becomes the most sought-after commodity on the market. As it turns out, these are just the sort of humble subjects God’s Kingdom is coming for, and these are just the terms of surrender ambassadors like Jesse and Jordan are able to offer the grateful—in God’s infinite grace and kindness.

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Lessons on Assurance helps Christians grow their faith and plant God’s Word in their hearts, whether they’re new believers or have been following Jesus for years. Along with Bible verses and questions for personal reflection or group discussion, this book includes five short, topical Bible studies on basic promises God gives to Christians:

• Assurance of salvation

• Answered prayer

• Victory over sin

• Forgiveness

• Guidance

Get to know God’s character, experience spiritual growth, and understand the fundamentals of Christianity as you learn and memorize Scripture.