Missions is “Part of Our DNA” at Grace Polaris

“I never want missions to just be a department of our church, but rather a part of our DNA,” says Pastor Zac Hess of Grace Polaris Church. His church was founded 62 years ago and has been faithfully partnering with Encompass ever since to send missionaries to the least reached.

“If I love my neighbor, then that love is what motivates me to get the gospel to them,” Zac says. “Missions is why we exist as Christians and as churches—to get the gospel to the ends of the earth.” Missions isn’t just something Grace Polaris supports—it’s something woven into the fibers of who they are.

Each year, the church raises funds for strategic missions projects around the world, often giving hundreds of thousands of dollars toward gospel work in places the congregation might never get to visit themselves. These opportunities allow the church body to participate in missions by praying, giving, and sending.

During the church’s annual Missions Sunday, the children’s ministry transforms into an interactive global experience. Kids receive “passports” and visit stations representing different countries, where they learn about the work missionaries are doing and hear stories of how God is moving around the world. “Our future missionary force is probably thirteen and under right now,” Zac says. “So, when kids talk about what they want to be when they grow up, we encourage parents to ask them what it might look like if God wanted them to share Jesus with people somewhere else in the world.”

Short-term mission trips have also served an important role in the church’s global outreach. When they send teams overseas, they always like to partner with existing ministries to give them a boost. “When people come back from those trips, they often pray differently, because now they know the smells, the tastes, and the people that our missionaries are working with,” Zac says. “They witness it for themselves and come back with new life and a different kind of unity.” Some even come back and think, “Wow, why can't I do something like this here?”

While sending your most committed members overseas can feel costly for a local church, Zac believes the sacrifice is worth it. “It might feel like we’re giving our right or left arm,” he says, “but we know we’re giving them to the purposes closest to God’s heart—and that’s one of the greatest joys a church can have.”

By supporting missions financially, teaching children to see the world through God’s global mission, and sending members to serve among the nations, Grace Polaris continues to play an important part in bringing the gospel to people who have never heard it. As Zac puts it, when missions becomes part of a church’s DNA, it shapes the way the entire body prays, gives, and lives. We're so thankful for Grace Polaris’s many years of partnership in sharing Jesus with the least reached!