Today we’d like to introduce you to Ron and Star Nelson.
Ron and Star, let’s start with your story. We’d love to hear how you got started and how the journey has been so far.
Our story can be summed up in one word -“obedience”. In 1998, while residing and working in Little Rock, AR, we were career employees working specifically as a postmaster (Star) and a United States Postal Inspector (Ron). At the same time, we were passionately involved in our local church as leaders in the outreach ministry and married couples ministry. All the time, we were growing ever so much more spiritually. I (Ron) was wrestling with God’s calling on my life to preach or at least, go deeper in ministry. My then pastor told me not every preacher is meant to stand in a pulpit on Sunday mornings and preach. He later asked me (Ron) to connect with the largest white church in the community that was actively involved in “global missions” and to learn all I could from them about cross-cultural missions and then bring that knowledge to our church and implement something similar. So, out of obedience, I did just that.
It’s important to note that our church then, “St. Mark Missionary Baptist Church” was not involved in anything resembling foreign missions. Our pastor decided, with the backing of leadership, to drop the word “missionary” from its name due to the fact that we were, not as a church, fulfilling that mandate. Thereafter, in partnership with that missions-minded church, my wife and I started galvanizing and training individuals from our church, forming short-term mission teams, and annually, started taking three teams comprised of youth, women, and men to Haiti.
Eventually, we traveled to Kenya and South Africa, a request made of me by my pastor then, and out of obedience to the Great Commission, without hesitation we successfully launched a global/cross-cultural missions ministry at the now “St. Mark Baptist” Church. Around 2004, my wife and I took a leadership, discipleship course called – Perspectives. It so changed our perspective about what God was doing globally that missions became a part of our DNA. That was followed by a trip to Kenya in the summer of 2006. That year, I went to work, as a well-paid federal agent; after trips to Haiti and then Kenya, and heard God in my spirit direct me to walk away from my career job. Doing so did not make sense, but I obeyed! Thereafter, in 2007, my wife and I founded Sowing Seeds of Joy, Inc; the name derived from Psalm 126.
Our hunger and passion for missions grew. The fact that there was and is an apparent lack of involvement of African-Americans serving in short and long-term missions was not only disturbing to us, but it further fueled that passion. Everywhere we went the question was asked – “Where are the African-Americans?”
There is more to the story, as to how and why we do what we do – connect, equip, train, and mobilize. Our move to Texas from Arkansas was a result of a desire to be a part of a church staff. God opened a door for me to become a part of the staff at Oak Cliff Bible Fellowship Church under the pastoral leadership of Dr. Tony Evans. I served there as Director of Missions and Evangelism for over five years. This was a season where SSOJ was placed on hold, but later, reignited following requests and opportunities to take teams to Haiti and Brazil.
Our story is of obedience and sacrifice, and one we enthusiastically would like to share. Several years ago, we were told by a missionary from London, England, that we were going to be a bridge to the nations. Her prophecy has become our reality. The journey has not been an easy one. But through it all, we have blessed to travel impacting lives both domestically and internationally, traveling to places such as Mendenhall, MS, Papua New Guinea, and Nigeria. It is a privilege and a pleasure to have been given the opportunity to train countless churches, equip and lead some 200 short-term mission teams.
Great, so let’s dig a little deeper into the story. Has it been an easy path overall and if not, what were the challenges you’ve had to overcome?
As previously stated, the journey has not been an easy one. Efforts to educate and inspire our community to become more involved in cross-cultural missions has been difficult. For example, the model of raising funds normally and traditionally used by white missionaries has been a challenge. There are not many African American mission agencies in the country. We’ve had to work extra hard to establish credibility and influence among the missional community and our mission counterparts. It has also been a struggle finding like-minded individuals willing to step out on faith as we did to advance God’s kingdom.
Please tell us about Sowing Seeds of Joy. What should we know?
Our mission statement is to connect, equip, train, and mobilize all people, with special emphasis on people of color, to advance God’s kingdom through missions. Our vision is to connect the hearts of people to the heart of God one individual, one family, one church, one community, and one nation at a time. We are known for our training and igniting partnerships, collaborating to support the Great Commission work. We are most proud of the countless seeds we have sown over the years that have resulted in more people of color becoming involved in missions, lives changed, and ministries started. What sets us apart from others is our training which is relational, intentional, strategic, and evangelistic. Additionally, we take delight in the fact that we operate as a united married couple.
Is there a characteristic or quality that you feel is essential to success?
The quality or characteristic most important to our success is our integrity. As a husband and wife team for nearly 40 years, we work hard at being transparent and Christ-centered.
SSOJ future mission trips:
Contact Info:
- Phone: 501-416-3003
- Website: sowingseedsofjoy.org
- Email: sowingseedsofjoyinfo@gmail.com
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/SSOJMissions
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