Micah Evans’ goal of getting his passport stamped on every continent may not sound too original. But the fact that he wants to have done ministry in all those places adds a unique twist.
A religion major from Albuquerque, N.M., Evans has truly honed his calling to the ministry during his five years at Wayland. A big part of that has involved stamping his passport already to places like Kenya, Macedonia and Greece.
With a heart for missions, Evans took advantage of the travel opportunities with the WBU Missions Center, recently returning from his second trip to Africa, where he admittedly has a unique opportunity since he looks a member of the Kikuyu tribe. All these experiences have confirmed his call to serve the people of the world.
But it was Evans’ minor in business and his involvement with the Students in Free Enterprise (SIFE) team that shaped his call even further.
“My personal vision would be to work in an underprivileged area with high school and college students, taking them on mission trips to some specific area overseas,” he said. “The idea is that we will affect two societies at once. The students will be able to help those in other countries, and when they come home, they will see that they don’t have it as bad as they thought.”
Evans sees his role more as practical ministry, and he wants to do economic development in the various nations God may place him. While the evangelistic side of ministry comes naturally to Evans, he said often the tougher and most needed assistance is in the way of meeting other needs.
“My heart is in missions, but I see a need both here and abroad. I have a real problem going to a place here or in another country and seeing the living conditions and not trying to change them,” he said. “When someone is living in a house the size of this room, that is wrong. I just don’t want to leave them in those situations.”
Evans said his dream would be to help those in underdeveloped countries create income-producing trades, create alternative resources for building better housing structures and giving them ideas that will use their talents and hard work skills to better their lives. For instance, in his two stints in Kenya, Evans has begun working with a man whose people group does indigenous artwork that may be able to sell in the United States and return an income to the people. Connecting those resources is the key for Evans.
“This is not a handout, and they are not helpless,” he said. “They’re very intelligent; they just need the opportunity like we have over here.”
Besides his missions endeavors with WBU, Evans said his coursework has all shaped his vision and he’s been able to pull from various disciplines valuable information to help in his future plans. He also credits working with Director of Development Hope English on service projects like Habitat for Humanity, the board of which Evans now serves locally, with honing his leadership and service skills. And he’s learned a thing or two about building houses affordably, a skill he no doubt will carry onto the mission field one day.
Though graduation is only a few months away, Evans admits he is leaning on God to show him the very next steps. He is considering graduate school for a degree in economic development, but is keeping the door open for God to move him to a mission field… wherever that might be.
“I can’t see too far ahead, really. Everything gets foggy on the path, and God just tells me to be faithful and step where He tells me to step. I see until May and from there, I just have to trust God to take care of it. He loves me more than the birds of the air so I know he’ll take care of me.
“God has used Moses as my measuring stick. He spent 40 years as a prince, then he stuck him in the desert for 40 years herding sheep. But he needed all that experience for what he was going to do next.”
Though Evans says he’s ready to follow wherever God leads, he admits he’d love to one day return to Wayland and work in the missions center coordinating trips to various locations for students. His own experiences with classmates have really shaped his love for those opportunities.
“I love seeing people ‘get it.’ Missions is an experience and their life is going to change, but that’s not the end game. It is a great experience, but what did you do with it? What can they do with it?”
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