Sylvia McGinnis, News Reporter
Monticello — "I will also make you a light to the nations, that you may bring Mysalvation to the ends of the earth." Isaiah 49:6
At the beginning of his junior year in college, Wayne County native Brad
Bell sensed God calling him to the mission field to spread the gospel in
Africa. Over the next year and a half God constantly reinforced this calling
in remarkable ways, according to Brad. Near the end of his senior year, Brad
was applying for the Journeyman Program, a two to three year commitment that
would allow him to apprentice under a seasoned missionary.
Brad responded to God's call and has been serving abroad in Africa as a
missionary with the International Missions Board (IMB). While in Africa,
Brad wrote a letter to a local church and noted that the time he has spent
in Africa "has been the most exciting and most challenging time of my life."
Local and area residents are invited to hear Brad speak about his
experience as a missionary in Africa at a special gathering on Sunday, April
25 at 6:30 p.m. at the Wayne County High School Gymnasium. The event is
being sponsored by the Wayne County FCA.
Although he is only 25 years old, Brad has experienced more in the past
two years than most missionaries experience in an entire career. He is
serving in a difficult and dangerous place, and cannot openly share his
faith. For this reason, Brad searches for what he refers to as "people of
peace," people who trust him enough to allow him to get close to them so he
can tell them about God, noted his mother, Crystal.
Not only do these "people of peace" have to trust Brad, but he also has
to trust them, she added. He has to trust them not to expose him to the
enemy and disclose his true purpose and mission, because if this information
fell into the wrong hands, Brad could lose his life. In fact, Brad and his
teammate know all too well what it feels like to be in danger of being
killed, "but the Father protected us," he noted in his letter to the church.
Even though Brad and his team are serving in a dangerous place, they
continue to witness to and teach those people who are willing to trust them.
Many people remember Brad from his days as a member of the Wayne County
Cardinals Basketball Team, and basketball is still a part of his life.
Crystal noted that her son uses basketball as a way to interact with the
people he encounters and gain their trust, so he can share the gospel of
Jesus Christ with them.
According to Brad, the overarching principle of his team is to do
everything according to the Word. Therefore, they attempt to form churches
that reflect Acts 2 as closely as possible in the context of the culture
where they serve. The elements of New Testament churches are included in
their foundational discipleship program. Brad pointed out that "this is all
done in groups, or churches, and everything is kept simple so that it
remains very reproducible."
Brad also stated in his letter, "Just as Jesus Christ commanded in
Matthew 28:18-20, each member of the group is equipped and expected to lead
groups of their own. In this way we hope by the power of the Holy Spirit to
ignite a church-planting movement that spreads across the entire nation."
After about a year into his service as a missionary, Brad wrote that he
and his partner had "labored together both in our city and throughout the
countryside. The Father has allowed us to start two churches within the city
in which we live. Both are groups of young men. Several of them are
beginning to lead groups of their own. Some of them have experienced heavy
persecution for their faith."
"My teammate and I have also been given much fruit in the countryside,"
Brad added. "There are several families of peace that have trusted in Jesus
Christ and are in the process of discipleship."
This is the reason that Brad gave up all that is familiar to him...to
share Jesus Christ with those who do not know Him.
It is for this reason that Brad has not seen his family or enjoyed any
of the comforts of home for almost two years.
It is for this reason that he has endured limited communication with his
friends and family, only managing a few phone calls and emails to his
parents, Howard and Crystal Bell, as well as other family members and
friends. Brad had to talk in code during any communication with his loved
ones.
It is for this reason that Brad has battled with Giardia, a stomach
issue caused by bacteria, and Malaria.
It is for this reason that Brad and his teammates have to treat all the
water that they use.
It is for this reason that Brad plans to return to the mission field
after returning home a brief break. Because no matter what sacrifices are
involved, it is his heart's desire to share Jesus with those who do not know
Him, or possibly have not even heard of Him.
It is for this reason that local resident Pattie Corder stated that he
is the closest thing to a disciple that she knows, because he left his
family and all the comforts of home behind as he responded to God's call to
share the gospel in a dangerous country.
Brad counts it all as joy, though, because he knows that he is exactly
where God wants him to be, doing what he wants him to do.
Brad is enjoying a brief break right now and his family met him at the
airport on Monday evening and he is spending time with them this week. They
have not seen each other since Brad left for Africa nearly two years ago and
they will celebrate the opportunity to just be together again after such a
long absence.
He will speak to local residents this Sunday, April 25, after which he
will be leaving and making stops in Louisville and Hawesville. Then, Brad
will travel to Williamsburg, where he will speak at First Baptist Church,
where he served as youth minister prior to leaving for Africa. While in
Williamsburg, Brad has also been asked to speak to some of the students at
the University of the Cumberlands, his alma mater.
Anyone who would like to hear more about Brad's experiences as a
missionary in Africa is invited to attend the gathering on Sunday, April 25
at 6:30 at the Wayne County High School Gym. He will be enjoying pizza with
local youth before he speaks.
"Less than two years after Christ's resurrection the gospel began making
its way to the country in which I now serve (see Acts 8:26-40). Over 1,500
years later the gospel reached the shores of America, found its way to
Kentucky, and arrived in a town we now call Monticello," stated Brad in a
letter the Wayne County FCA sent to local churches. "Though separated by
miles and millennia, the two places may have more in common than you know.
So let's gather together as the Body of Christ on April 25 not simply to
marvel at God's mysterious work in a strange land called Africa, but to
collectively stand in awe of this great God who brought salvation to our end
of the earth and is still at work among us."