It was while in Basic Training of the U.S. Air Force during the Korean conflict when I, as a new Christian, was encouraged by a fellow airman to systematically study the Scriptures and commit them to memory. Although this discipleship process was brief,
it was life changing; I became aware of the great opportunity of evangelization and discipleship which was possible among the masses of Military personnel. I saw firsthand how men were responding to the Gospel and their lives were changed; this challenged my heart to the opportunity of investing my life where the Lord was so significantly working. My wife, Yvonne, and I came to Norfolk, Virginia in 1958 to found the ministry to the military and to develop the strategy of utilizing a Military Christian Center as a base for evangelism and discipleship. The ministry of Missions To Military soon began to extend to other cities and military bases in the United States. Then, in 1979 the Lord led me to found Colonial Baptist Church in Virginia Beach where I served as Senior pastor until 1988. Colonial Baptist Church provides the office space for the International Headquarters of MTM. Central Baptist Theological Seminary of Virginia Beach was founded in 1996, and also shares the church campus. I am privileged to serve as Chancellor of the Seminary.

Yvonne and I have four sons. Daniel serves as Senior Pastor of Colonial Baptist Church, Virginia Beach, Virginia and is President of Central Baptist Theological Seminary. Stephen is founder and Senior Pastor of Colonial Baptist Church in Cary, North Carolina, President of Shepherds Theological Seminary, and voice of Wisdom for the Heart radio ministry. Timothy is the Regional Sales Manager for Landauer, Inc., and Jonathan is Founder and President of Trustar Financial Group and Safe Harbor Foundation. All are faithfully walking with and serving our Lord. Thank you faithful pastors, churches, and friends for sharing with us in this missionary endeavor. There is room for one more in this harvest field - come and join a winning team!

kdavey@missionstomilitary.org

I love being on the MTM Team and working with these godly and dedicated women and men. I have the "fun job" of getting the MTM Messenger ready for our printer, preparing and printing our missionaries' letters, typing brochures and tracts, as well as anything else that comes across my desk to type. However, a highlight of mine is compiling the "GEMS" on the back page of the MTM Messenger. I try to keep YOU (the reader) in mind, for I'm hoping you will use the “Gems” in your church bulletins, or anywhere else as the Lord directs you. Thank you for reading and using the GEMS!I appreciate the privilege of being involved in a ministry that loves the Military and is always looking for new ways to reach our men and women who are protecting our freedom.

I am also privileged to teach a weekly ladies Bible study in our local church. I thank YOU for supporting us, so that we can give ourselves to doing the work of the ministry in a manner that will glorify the Lord Jesus Christ. "Blessed be the Lord, who daily loadeth us with benefits..." Psalm 68:19

ydavey@missionstomilitary.org

I started as a volunteer with MTM putting out the MTM Messenger each month. Soon thereafter I was asked to come on board as a part-time employee; that was in 1985. I love being part of the Team and look forward to coming here to labor beside godly people. Being at MTM has taught me many things, one of which is how important it is to be in the Word. I love our devotion time on Wednesday mornings. I have also learned that I should never doubt God's faithfulness for I've seen how God has worked through our missionaries and provided for their needs in timely fashion. I've seen how servicemen have come to our Centers, go off to Bible College, get married, have a family, and come on board as Director of a Center. Pray for us as we continue to labor for the Master. "But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold." Job 23:10

The Lord saved me when I was in the third grade. I'm not saying how long ago that was, but it was long enough ago that I have now retired from working with the U.S. Government. I was an Information Research Analyst with the FBI and, fortunately for me, the U.S. Government workers can retire at a relatively early age.

"Trust in the Lord with all thine heart and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he will direct thy paths." Proverbs 3:5-6.

Those verses have been "rock solid" for me through the years, and I know I'm not finished with them yet. I'm in awe of God's faithfulness! I feel blessed to be a part of the MTM Team. I began working here at MTM-HQ in August of 2004. As the "new kid on the block," I'm getting good training. The staff here at MTM Headquarters is great. I work on Accounts Receiving, mailing lists and various other jobs. I am having a really good time serving the Lord in my little part of the world.

I was saved at the age of 15. Sometime after high school graduation I joined the U.S. Navy, where I met a fine Christian man whom later became my husband. We have two sons. I retired as a dental technician after twenty years in the Navy. I began working as a Bookkeeper with MTM in the summer of 2001, and enjoy being His tool in a place where I can use my skills for His glory. "For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them." Ephesians 2:10

Eighteen years ago, I was invited to the Military Christian Center in Norfolk, VA as a young sailor stationed aboard the USS America CV-66. It was there that I heard and responded to the gospel, trusting Christ as my Savior. I lived at the Center for about three years and my involvement in the Discipleship Program gave me a desire to know more about God’s Word.

As a result of this discipleship and a desire to learn more, I left active duty in the Navy to attend Piedmont Baptist College. I met my wife, Sheila, who was also a PBC student. After graduation we were challenged for full time Christian service. We were burdened for those men and women serving in our military, some who were just like me who needed to hear of the good news of the Gospel.

We were accepted with MTM in 2000 and are currently serving at MCB Camp Lejeune, NC.

While hanging out in the streets, I heard the gospel during a street evangelism meeting. I had always feared God and desired to know Him but did not know how. Life continued to spiral downward with no way out. Through the ministry of Power for Living, a fellowship of Christian athletes, I finally understood what I had heard some years before in that street meeting. I accepted the Lord as my Savior and began attending a local church where I met the beautiful lady who would become my wife.

Needing to get away from the bad influences around me, I joined the Navy and was invited to the Missions to Military Servicemen's Center in Norfolk, VA. Through the Bible studies and the Discipleship Program, I grew in knowledge and deepened my relationship with the Lord. After discharge from Navy, I knew that God was calling me to go to Bible college, but I was not ready to fully surrender to His will. For fifteen years I worked as a contractor but money and success did not bring me the satisfaction I longed for. In fact, they served to draw me away from the Lord and to a state of discontent. After wrestling with the Lord for so long, I surrendered my life to His will and plan. I attended Piedmont Bible College and the Lord has now opened the door for me to serve with Missions to Military. I desire to help young servicemen find the joy and peace that I have found in living a life yielded to God.

Privileged to grow up in a missionary family in the country of Algeria, the first 8 years of my life were lived during the French / Algerian war. Because of this war, I did not come back to the States until I was 8. That is when I started to learn the English language, French being my first language. The Lord saved me at the age of 13 during a Christian camp in Algeria. In March 1970, my parents and all the other missionaries under their mission were expelled from Algeria. My parents then came to Toulon, France when I was just 16. As we left Algeria, God was working in my heart in a special way showing me through my parents' example that He truly is faithful. His promises were not just written words, but I could really trust them and appropriate them in my own life.

Later, that same year, the Lord brought Chuck Greenstreet to France with the goal of starting a ministry among the French military. After language school he came to Toulon and with the help of my parents and my French brother-in-law, he opened the first foreign Military Center under Missions To Military. The Lord led us to get married on June 30th, 1973. During the 13 years we ministered to the military, we also started a Bible Institute (I was one of the first two graduates) and established a local church. Then on May 25th, 1986, about 17 hours after our return to the US for deputation, we were involved in a head-on car accident in which the lady who caused the accident, Chuck's father and he himself were killed. My mother-in-law and I were critically injured, but once again, I saw God's faithfulness, grace and comfort at work. Determining in my heart that, unless the Lord showed me otherwise, I would go back and serve Him in Toulon, I began my recovery. Upon returning to Toulon; however, the Lord soon directed me to the Paris area where I served Him under MTM's guidance for almost 10 years in a Bible Institute.

At the end of 1996, the Lord brought me back to my former ministry in Toulon. Since then, besides taking care of my aged mother, it has been my joy and privilege to labor once again with my MTM co-workers: John & Joy Gribbin and Bob & Cyndi Scott. Pray for us and with us as we seek to win the lost in this spiritually dark country. Among many others, this verse is always an encouragement to me: "This I recall to my mind, therefore have I hope. It is of the Lord's mercies that we are not consumed, because His compassions fail not. They are new every morning: great is Thy faithfulness." Lamentations 3:21-23.

Let us present ourselves to you. Joy and I both grew up in Erie, PA, as well as in the same church, though 7 and a half years apart. So, how did we end up in France as missionaries?

Well, first my side of the story. Interrupting college for a time, I joined the USN, went on a Mediterranean cruise, and actually had liberty in the city where we now live. So after finishing college and teaching for 6 years God called me to France under Missions To Military. Halfway through raising support for the mission field, I met Joy. She was a teacher like me in a Christian school. This was helpful because a big part of her ministry now in France is teaching English. Not too long after we met we were married. We came to France, raised three kids, and have been there now for 25 years.

Our ministry is to French servicemen and God has touched a "few good men" to be His servants in France as servants in their churches or planting churches in this country where the Gospel witness is so rare. We also help in our local church there where I preach and teach and Joy teaches and plays piano.

For thirty years Anne & I have raised our five sons and daughter, serving in our local churches, as we worked through God’s call to serve Him, His church and our Nation. After twenty-four years of federal service, we received a different calling. After serving as a Marine officer, Naval Investigative agent and federal criminal investigator, and as a lay leader and teacher, the good Lord moved us to full-time, vocational ministry.

Following graduation from The Master’s Seminary, I served as an interim senior pastor, travelling preacher ("pulpit supply") and men's discipleship leader. Then God in His providence brought us to MTM.

The Lord wisely prepared us for this work over our entire lives. Anne and I both come from military families. Our oldest four children have all served. We have three on active duty with the Army, Navy and Marines. We have always had a heart for the military. The military are “our people.” We live in that world. We understand and breathe the military culture. And we have dedicated our lives to serving God through loving and making disciples of our military to the glory of God.

Presently, we manage the Military Christian Center in Mayport, Florida, serving those at Naval Station Mayport and Naval Air Station Jacksonville, Florida. Through the generosity of God’s people, we are able to offer hospitality and a home-away from home to active duty military and their families at our nearby, eight-acre facility  - offering endless opportunity, from a quiet retreat to an active outdoor lifestyle; from a place for in-depth, contemplative  study to rousing fellowship.

The Lord has wonderfully placed us in Northeastern Florida, the First Coast, part of the “salt life,” only a few miles from the ocean, surrounded by the most beautiful rivers and inland waterways, and forests, along with great fishing, hunting, golf, and many outdoor opportunities to fellowship according to anyone’s interests.

But above and beyond all this, we are here to proclaim the love and truth of Christ.
In partnership with local churches and supportive military chaplains, we love, listen, teach, counsel, lead and guide all whom the Lord sends us to a firm foundation of biblical truth and the abundant life that comes from knowing and growing in Christ.

Bill & Anne Haney

It is exciting to see God’s providential hand steer Amy and me to minister to the Military. Right before graduating from Central Baptist Theological Seminary, Virginia Beach, in 2009, I met Pastor Keith Davey and he introduced me to Missions To Military. Immediately, Amy and I had a burden for this ministry for two reasons: 1.) we love the military, and 2.) the Lord had already given us a heart for young people and discipleship. 

Amy worked as a camp counselor for two summers during college and taught fifth grade for five years at a Christian school. She graduated from Bob Jones University. We both served as youth workers and Sunday School teachers at our church back in the Chicago suburbs. We both had joy in discipling teens, cheering them on, and seeing them grow. It was also thrilling to see unsaved teens, who were bused into our church, come to Christ and begin to experience new life in Christ. 

I consider myself very blessed because the Lord has sent people into my life who pursued me in the interest of the kingdom of God. My good friend Cory led me to Christ at 21. Soon after, I became involved in a student outreach fellowship which was part of a local church at Illinois State University where I attended college. I was grounded in the Word and experienced genuine fellowship with believers. After graduating college, I got a job in Chicago and joined a local church and served in the youth ministry there. I also met Amy there. Pastor Dan, the youth pastor with whom I served, took me under his wing. He encouraged me and consistently challenged me to keep stepping up spiritually. But he also modeled a passion for Christ and preached urgently to use every opportunity to influence people around you for Christ. God used these people, experiences, and His Word to give me a desire for full-time ministry. In 2003, the Lord moved me out of construction management in Chicago and into seminary. 

Amy and I have been serving at Missions To Military here at the Center near Little Creek Amphibious Base since July 2009.  We have two boys, Andrew (9) and Luke (4).  We are excited that our children are seeing firsthand the eternal value of investing in people and in the power of the Gospel to transform lives.

John was saved in 1971 while a student at the University of Delaware. Betsy was saved as a child and attended West Chester State College. We met in 1972. John joined the US Marine Corps in January, 1973 and served on active duty until July, 1976. We were married in October, 1973. After leaving active duty, John enrolled at Liberty Baptist Seminary, Lynchburg, VA and graduated with an M.A. in 1981.  John retired as a lieutenant colonel, U.S. Marine Corps Reserve in 1991.

The Lord led us to Missions To Military in August, 1982, and we were accepted by the board as missionaries then. Our first 5 years with MTM were in the Washington, DC, area 1983-1988. The Lord then led us to the Norfolk, VA, area, where we served as Center director from 1988 -1998.

We went to Kiev, Ukraine in September, 1998 and served there until November, 2006, when Betsy's heart problems forced our return to the US. In Ukraine we have two retired Russian naval officers who are believers and work with us doing evangelism and discipleship of the Russian and Ukrainian military people. While in Ukraine, Betsy and I taught the Bible, English, served in our local Russian Baptist church and did whatever we could to get the Gospel to people.

I am now serving as the field representative for MTM, which requires travel to Bible colleges and missions conferences as we seek those who wish to serve the Lord in military ministry. In addition, because Betsy and I learned Russian while in Ukraine, we carry the ongoing responsibility for the Ukraine military ministry, traveling there as needed, and maintain the MTM website. We are grateful for the Lord's graciousness in allowing us to serve Him since 1982 with MTM!

Bob was born and reared in the Pacific Northwest. He accepted the Lord Jesus Christ as Savior at the age of nine at a summer Bible camp. After two years of college, Bob joined the USMC from 1967 to 1971. While stationed in Memphis for schooling, he met Cynthia at Central Baptist Church. After marriage in '69, Bob went to Piedmont Bible college from '73 to '77. During this time God called Bob and Cynthia to France to serve with MTM working with the French military and the local church, Eglise Biblique Baptiste in Toulon.

Cynthia was born and reared in Memphis, TN. She was saved in her later teen years. She went to Memphis State Univ. and finally graduated when they came back to Memphis after being stationed in California for two years. Bob and Cynthia have been serving with MTM since January 1, 1977 and in France since February 24, 1980. We have 4 children and soon our second grandchild. What a joy and privilege to be missionaries here in this country so starved for the Gospel. We thank each one of you for your prayers and support during these past decades. May our Lord receive all the glory and honor that He is due.

We have been serving with Missions To Military since 1978 in Arizona and North Carolina. The Lord placed on our hearts to minister to the military while enrolled at Southeastern Bible College in Birmingham, Alabama. We remembered vividly our 8 years in the Air Force not living for the Lord and knew of spiritual needs among the military that were not being met. When we surrendered our lives to Christ in 1968, the Lord opened many doors for service and to prepare us for the ministry we now share together. Over these years, it has been our joy to minister through Military Christian Centers and several local churches. We have witnessed the change in many young lives by the Grace of God. “…immediately we endeavoured to go…… assuredly gathering that the Lord had called us for to preach the gospel unto them.” (Acts 16:10)