In June of 1976, I was invited to become an Executive Board Member of World Wide New Testament Baptist Mission. What I knew about missions had very little to do with personal experience. There was no way for me to know what the years to follow would mean to me. The board was, and still is, made up of men that sincerely had a burden to help missionaries get to the mission field. It was the beginning of my understanding of missions, and I was learning from some of the very best. My mentor, Pastor Bill Wingard, began shaping my vision of New Testament missions. Perhaps he did not understand during those days the impact he would have on my life in this amazing journey. Pastor Wingard has not only shaped my understanding of missions, but he is the very heart of WWNTBM. These many years have afforded me so many wonderful years of memories. We certainly have not done everything right, but, once we’ve recognized our mistakes, we have done everything possible to correct them and learn from them.
This year will mark twenty-five years that Brother John O’Malley has served with World Wide. We have great hopes for the future of this work. I have the joy of being in meetings almost every week with some of our missionaries. I have never been more proud of these faithful servants of the Lord. Brother O’Malley is the General Director of WWNTBM. He is doing an awesome job of taking the ministry into the future. Many things have changed through the years. I can remember when it would oftentimes take two to four weeks just to get support to some of our missionaries. Now almost all missionaries can have their support in a day or two. In the past, pretty much everything was done by hand rather than with a computer. However, though many things have changed over the years, many things have not changed. We are still committed to maintaining the policies and practices that we started with in 1971.
I want to say thank you to each missionary, staff member, board member, and supporter for not only making World Wide what it is, but also for propelling it into the future with a determination to change when needed and stand fast on those things that make us who we are. May we all be challenged to be a strong link in the chain that has been forged through the years, and pray with us that the days ahead will be filled with faithful servants through this ministry.
In His Service,
Danny A. Whetstone
If this article has been an encouragement to you, you can email Bro. Whetstone here to let him know.