June is a month that will see several graduations; graduations are happening all over the place. There are high school graduations, college graduations, graduates from automotive schools, culinary schools, medical schools, even graduates from scuba diving schools; and then there are nine graduates of the Missionary Certification Program this year.
For eleven years, my family and I lived in Arkansas. On the square in downtown Little Rock, are statutes of the Little Rock Nine, famous for their courage in being the first black students to integrate the halls of Little Rock’s Central High School in 1957. Our nine grads are courageous too, and they’re THE FIRST. And, although statutes might not be elected in their honor, what plays large and noteworthy is that they are putting a dent in a very dismal statistic.
One half of 1% of the global missionary force is African American or Black.
Sowing Seeds of Joy engages Black, African American, and People of Color communities through cross-cultural missions training, discipleship, and spiritual formation for the work of advancing God's Kingdom.
The Missionary Certification Program is a program that does just that.
Sowing Seeds of Joy, like one of its partners in this program, The National African American Council, is working to help create awareness in the African American church community of the need to become engaged in sharing the gospel message with the unreached peoples of the world.
These nine grads, receiving certifications in Trauma Healing, Mission Mobilizer, Short-term Team Leader, Human Trafficking, and Cross-Cultural Missions are well on their way to changing the world.
Join me and others in congratulating THE FIRST graduating class for their dedication, time, and energy in making this program a huge success. Sowing Seeds of Joy and The National African American Missions Council will continue to dream and trailblaze paths forward in African American mission mobilization.