How the Schrage family, was impacted by a connection at ICOM…
In 1982, a young couple traveled from Hays, Kansas, to the National Missionary Convention in Lexington, Kentucky, with the hope of finding a place to serve as missionaries. They naively put before God a five-point fleece. It was to join an existing team, working in Africa, among a remote tribe that could use their skills in nursing and agriculture to plant churches.
A missionary family from Kenya made a plea from the podium at the NMC for a couple to join their team:
- in Kenya
- to work with the unreached Pokot people
- ideally with medical
- and agriculture skills
- to use in church planting!
The young recruit couple connected with the veteran family at the conference, and in January 1984, they headed together for Kenya.
The young couple was Mike and Karolyn Schrage. They went to Kenya with Karissa, their ten-week old daughter, and for the next 20 years served in a variety of ways using nursing and agriculture to plant churches. They later joined another church planting team and were involved in leadership training and establishing an orphanage. As they handed off their work to nationals, they were able to help establish a regional office for Good News Productions, International.
Today, the National Missionary Convention is known as the International Conference on Missions, and its purpose is to encourage, equip, and enlist. God used the conference for the Schrages as He has used it for hundreds, if not thousands of others, through the decades. ICOM is a time to warmly encourage and adequately equip. More importantly, it’s a time to enlist workers for the task of making disciples!
