Gene and Mindy* have dedicated much of their lives to serving the people of Southeast Asia. Recently, God called them to start a new chapter by moving to a different city and stepping away from Encompass. While this new season might look different, their passion for reaching the least-reached remains unchanged. As they transition to this new phase of ministry, we want to celebrate all the fruit God produced during their time with Encompass.

Mindy became a global worker to Southeast Asia 14 years ago. Meanwhile, Gene had been living in China, where God gave him a heart for international missions. During a short break back in the States, God used a former global worker from Gene’s home church to nudge him toward missions in Southeast Asia. Gene then followed God’s call, and moved to Southeast Asia where he met Mindy. 

As the young couple tried to gather people in spiritual communities, they quickly learned that the conventional methods they had been taught weren’t working in this Eastern culture. Mindy says, “Inviting strangers together here doesn’t produce the same kind of effect it does in America.” Their first four years involved a lot of trial and error as they tried to figure out how to gain some traction. They even had to alter their idea of how their team should function. Gene says, “We didn’t need to be like a basketball team all on the same court, but more like a track and field team—all at different events, while still working toward the same goal.” 

They started hosting an English club—kind of like a mini TED Talk—that featured guest speakers with open discussions afterwards. “That was a turning point for us,” Gene says. As participants engaged with Christians at these kinds of gatherings, it grew into a tight-knit group that eventually became interested in studying the Bible. 

When Gene and Mindy first started, they expected evangelism to follow a certain pattern. But now they realize international missions is not about finding a specific gospel formula for each culture. Adapting to another culture has given them a humble posture towards ministry. Mindy says, 

“We aren’t the ones with the answers. You can actually learn plenty of new things from reading the Bible with locals. God is already at work, and we’re just joining God in what the Holy Spirit is already doing. We’ve learned it’s important to be learners of the local culture and language and not assume we already know the answers. That runs the risk of reproducing an American church with American theology just transplanted overseas. God has used this culture to teach us how our western way of thinking needs to be reevaluated in light of the Bible—which is a collection of books written by those with an eastern perspective.”

Now that they have over a decade of experience, God has given Gene and Mindy opportunities to advise people who are new to the mission field. They’ve led Alpha courses and organized an evangelism workshop, where they can share their experience and invite others to listen for God while taking a learner’s posture when sharing the gospel. When asked for their advice to new global workers, Gene says, “Just be ready to be challenged and changed in the process as God teaches you how He wants to use you.”

We’re so thankful for the time that Gene and Mindy spent reaching the least-reached with Encompass. We’ll miss having them on our teams, but we’re excited to see how God continues working through them during this next phase of their ministry. Pray that God would continue using their efforts to reach Southeast Asia for Jesus!

*Names changed for security