Who I Am:

Hi everyone, I'm Philip Holden and I will be serving as a Missionary Associate with AGWM for 2 years under Area Directors Bryan and Renae Webb and Mentors Nathan and Jennifer Thomas.

My Testimony:

At 14 God saved me and filled me with the Holy Spirit. At 16 He called me to preach the gospel. At 17 I entered Bible school. Like many, I questioned if God could use me in missions. But when I simply said yes to Bible school, God opened opportunity after opportunity to serve in other countries. I've been to Zambia, India, Canada, spent four months in Myanmar, and three months in Taiwan. In 2023, I made my first trip to Vanuatu as a MAPS worker for four months from January to May.

My Calling:

At Pre Field Orientation (PFO), God clearly called me into missions. I truly believe Vanuatu is not only a two year commitment, but a life commitment. God needs laborers who will be faithful and stay for life in the hard places. To do that requires a calling and now I can clearly confirm the call of God on my life to do this work.

My Field:

Perhaps you have no idea where Vanuatu is located. Vanuatu is an amazing country made up of 85 islands inhabited by 300,000 people. It is located in Melanesia between Australia, Fiji, and New Zealand in the southwest Pacific Ocean. Within Vanuatu is a tropical climate full of mountains, valleys, beaches, active volcanoes, natural gardens, and a variety of other features. The native people are called Ni-Vanuatu.

My Challenge:

Why go to Vanuatu? Missionary Gary Ellison observed that the biggest challenge in Vanuatu is biblical illiteracy. I can be a part of addressing this challenge at Sanma Bible Training Center. This school exists to train pastors and church planters to serve among the unreached tribes in Vanuatu. In the last three years graduates of Sanma Bible Training Center have planted 18 new churches. I am excited to be joining this team training future church planters.

My Role:

My role is to go and teach pastors at Sanma Bible training Center, lead evangelism teams throughout the various islands and tribal groups, and most importantly disciple believers relationally one on one.

My Need:

But, and this is important, I can't do it wihout you. How can you get involved?

First, you can pray. Please pray for me. My primary need is as many prayer partners as possible longterm throughout this journey that will last much longer than just two years as an MA. I believe God is calling me here for life.

Second, I would be grateful for your partnership in this work by supporting me financially. I need both one time gifts and monthly pledges. Should you be able to support, any amount the Holy Spirit lays on your heart would be a tremendous blessing not only to get me to the field, but to keep me there. I pray the Holy Spirit will guide supporters who are able to support me for life. I plan to become a career missionary and need support longterm to stay on the field.

Finally, maybe you should come with me. Someone has to go to the hard places. Maybe God is calling you like He did me for long term missions. Maybe God is dealing with you as He did with me to go. Will you be obedient to His call? The safest and most peaceful place you will ever be is in the center of God's will for your life. Maybe it isn't Vanuatu, but God needs laborers everywhere. We are all laborers together with God. My prayer and desire is that God will use us all to reach this great harvest. More than anything, I desire God to use my story and testimony to stir up hearts to get involved in God's mission everywhere. Thank you and God bless!