5 Women Who Were Trailblazers in Missions

TEAM – The Evangelical Alliance Mission • Mar 13, 2017

When you think of women in missions, names like Elisabeth Elliot, Lottie Moon and Amy Carmichael might come to mind. Their well-documented lives continue to inspire both men and women to live lives fully yielded to the Gospel.

But the legacy of women on the mission field doesn’t end with them. For hundreds of years, women have been the lifeblood of missions, crossing enemy lines, healing the sick and even risking their lives to spread the Gospel.

Today, we want to share just a few of the amazing stories you haven’t heard yet.

Stella Cox

Stella Cox has served in Japan for sixty-five years.

In 1950, young Stella Sluder told God she would go to Japan.

Upon graduating from Bob Jones University, she did just that. Stella sailed for western Japan on October 14, 1952, one year ahead of her fiancé, Ralph Cox.

Stella and Ralph were considered pioneers in the first wave of missionaries dispatched across former enemy lines after World War II . When Ralph joined her on the field, they began a church planting ministry, evangelizing and equipping Japanese believers.

Spurred on by Ralph’s vision to plant 100 churches across Japan, they founded the Takamatsu Christian Center and welcomed thousands of short-term volunteer evangelists, many of whom would return to Japan long-term.

women in missions

Stella holding a portrait of her and Ralph.

Stella, renowned for her cooking and hospitality, founded the Ladies Luncheon (now 50 years strong), taught cooking classes for 40 years and hosted 15 yearly hospitality seminars.

When Ralph passed away from cancer in 2008, Stella carried on their work in the country they called home. She even used the traditional Japanese condolence gifts from Ralph’s funerals (he had three) to pay off the building for one of their church plants, Seto Uchi Chapel.

“God called me to Japan first, before I ever met Ralph,” Stella said. “I know where I belong.”

Ninety churches, 70 national believers in full-time ministry and 65 years later, you’ll still find Stella in Takamatsu, handing out literature, serving university students in an English café or ministering in six area church plants. She’s written a book, too — One Man’s Vision for Japan — about her partner in life and ministry, Ralph.

To this day, Stella lives by words she wrote in her first prayer letter: “… as I have seen the hungry hearts of these people my heart has overflowed with thankfulness, even to tears, because Jesus has brought me to this land.”

Malla Moe

malla moe women in missions

Malla Moe’s love for Christ and adventurous spirit led her to become a pioneer missionary in Southern Africa.

Born Petra Malena “Malla” Moe in Norway in 1863, Malla was part of one of the first missionary teams to enter South Africa and work among the Zulu tribe.

She wrote in a letter dated Jan. 1, 1894: “If God can just get [their] people’s hearts to believe that there is a God in Heaven who loves them, I believe they would soon turn to him, as nothing is as powerful as love.”

At the age of 65, Malla decided she needed to reach the more remote people groups in the area, so she built a “Gospel wagon,” a small house on wheels where she would live and work .

malla moe women in missions

Malla Moe’s Gospel wagon allowed her to remote areas and preach the Gospel.

Over the next 15 years, Malla traveled to some of the least-reached parts of Tongaland, Swaziland and Zululand. She endured malaria outbreaks, droughts and food shortages.

People flocked to Malla and her wagon when it rolled into a village. She handed out small gifts, served tea and talked about Jesus.

Finally, at the age of 80, Malla settled down at the Bethel mission station and became the unofficial hostess, welcoming new missionaries to the field with a proper African meal.

Ten years later, Malla died while surrounded by African believers. Her lifetime of service brought many to Lord, and she helped establish a thriving TEAM ministry in Africa that exists to this day.

Alberta Skinner

Alberta Skinner continued to proclaim Christ even when persecuted by an oppressive government.

In the 1930s, Alberta Skinner was serving in the far eastern part of Czechoslovakia with Bible Christian Union (BCU), a missions organization that later merged with TEAM , when Russian communists moved in and annexed that section of the country, eventually making it part of the Soviet Union.

The communists seized the Moody Bible Institute graduate and told her, “You can leave and never come back, or you can stay and never leave.”

She stayed.

For many years, BCU didn’t hear a word from her. All financial support and contact with her family and friends was cut off. BCU officials feared that communists had killed her.

One day, 25 years later, the phone rang in BCU’s international headquarters in Pennsylvania. Alberta was on the line. She said she had been allowed to remain behind the Iron Curtain where — though ridiculed and persecuted — she continued to faithfully serve the Lord.

God had led her to a godly Russian pastor. They were married and had six sons. Due to their outspoken faith in Christ, they were forced to live in a small wooden structure with a dirt floor.

Despite their austere surroundings, they joyfully served the Lord and raised their family. Souls were saved and churches were started and strengthened.

Finally, in 1969, Alberta was allowed to return alone to North America to receive some badly needed dental work. The communists told her that if she tried to remain in North America, she would risk harm to her husband and boys.

When she called the mission that day, she uttered not a word of complaint or self-pity. Instead, she praised the Lord for His faithfulness and wanted BCU officials to know she was fine. She then returned to her family and ministry behind the Iron Curtain. She died several years later.

Gertrude Dyck

The daughter of Mennonite parents on the Saskatchewan prairie, Gertrude Dyck didn’t grow up as an adventurer, but her appreciation for simple living and wide-open spaces made her a surprising fit for life in the Arabian Desert.

Dyck applied to TEAM in 1960, during her last year of nursing school. A short time later, she heard about a doctor couple starting a hospital in Al Ain, United Arab Emirates, where the infant and maternal mortality rates had reached 50 and 35 percent, respectively.

The 28-year-old arrived two years later, wearing her Canadian winter coat and not knowing a word of Arabic. However, she soon adopted the local dress and learned to speak the people’s language fluently.

Dyck worked tirelessly in the obstetrics ward and in clinics for women and children . In 25 years of nursing, she served as midwife for many of the 90,000 babies born at the hospital.

Her full embrace of the culture allowed her to earn deep trust as she shared her faith in common and royal homes.

When she retired from nursing, Dyck began working as a cultural consultant, teaching Arabic and sharing insights with new hospital staff. Canada recognized her service with two of its highest honors in 2002, and the United Arab Emirates would posthumously award her the Medal of Independence of the Third Order in 2010.

In 2005, Dyck returned to Canada, where she continued to support missionary endeavors until her death four years later. By then, Al Ain’s infant mortality rate was below 1 percent, and maternal mortality was almost unheard of.

Barbara Chapman

Barbara Chapman, pictured with her coworkers in 1988, pressed on in ministry even while battling a chronic illness.

Barbara Chapman was a 39-year-old chemistry teacher when God led her to South Korea with TEAM in 1977.

Learning Korean was a struggle, but Chapman made it through language school and quickly jumped back into educating others. She wrote a Scripture-based textbook to teach English and began leading Bible studies for Korean women.

In 1981, Chapman was asked to direct the Korea Christian Conference Grounds, and a year later, TEAM named her as field leader for Korea. With a growing ministry-wide focus on church planting, Chapman equipped missionaries to minister in urban areas, and she worked to tie the conference grounds’ camps, retreats and classes to the local church.

In the midst of her work, Chapman was diagnosed with multiple sclerosis, yet she remained determined.

As the South Korean church grew, TEAM leaders sensed it was time to close the field. Chapman moved to China in 1995 to help with a new ministry. She helped organize the office, establish policies and cast vision for the missionaries. She had a heart for encouraging missionaries and Chinese Christians alike to be more involved in outreach.

In 1998, Chapman helped establish a school for the missionaries’ children. The advance of her MS made life difficult, but she pressed on as a principal and teacher, serving as a powerful example of sacrifice to her students. When the disease forced Chapman back to the U.S. in 2002, she continued in administrative work until her retirement.

Chapman died on December 24, 2011, at the age of 73, but her legacy in Asia is still felt today.

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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