Ogletown Man Appointed IMB Missionary to Africa

NEW ORLEANS, LA — Ogletown Baptist Church, Delaware, member James Edinger stepped forward on the stage at Ernest N. Morial Convention Center in New Orleans, to share his God-given calling to be a career missionary in Sub-Saharan Africa. Edinger was one of 79 newly appointed missionaries introduced at the International Mission Board (IMB) Sending Celebration on June 13 in conjunction with the Annual Meeting of the Southern Baptist Convention. Edinger will be serving in Sub-Saharan Africa. Excited and nervous, and intense, Edinger said it was an amazing experience. IMB President Paul Chitwood prayed with the missionaries backstage following the celebration.

Edinger had his first taste of missions in Africa. In 2006, OBC had a three-year partnership with Nigeria. Edinger served on one of the church’s mission teams in the second year of the partnership. He and others went into the villages and shared the gospel by drawing pictures and watched as the local Christian volunteers learned and began doing likewise. “That opened my eyes to how the gospel is the same but received differently in different cultures,” he said. “It really sparked my interest in missions. I returned the following year.”

When the partnership ended, Edinger wanted more, and he contacted the IMB missionary the church had worked with and asked about coming back to serve and was welcomed with open arms. During that third trip, he oversaw ministry at a motorcycle hub. Basically, he explained, as drivers waited for customers, he and others, through translators, shared the gospel.

It was during this time, Edinger said he discovered the IMB journeymen program for young adults to be sent by their churches onto the mission field for two-year terms. “I had never heard of that program.” In fact, Edinger said serving in missions gave him an education in Southern Baptist life including the Cooperative Program, mission opportunities, and how missionaries are supported.

After returning home, Edinger completed his Bachelor’s Degree in Behavioral Science and worked a year in a maximum security prison counseling juveniles charged with adults. But the idea of missions and the journeymen program stayed with him. He decided to go for it. “You have to be commissioned before you are 27, and I started the process just before I turned 26. I forged through the paperwork and in 2010 I was accepted to the selection conference, did the interviews, and was on the field in 2011.” Edinger served as a village outreach coordinator in Niger.

Even as he shares about his time in Niger, he gets excited. “My supervisor was really big into church partnerships and teams. They needed someone to drive to and from the airport, 14 hours away, to pick up volunteers, arrange housing, and tack finances,” he explained. From 2011-2013, Edinger was the man! Mission teams would arrive each quarter and stay for 7-10 days, and college students stay through the summer. The college teams would share the gospel using pictures and audio recordings. Edinger served them all and in the process was getting proficient in the language, and could read and answer simple questions.

After his term, Edinger returned to his “normal” life. He worked as an administrator of a large apartment complex, an executive director for a chick fil-A, and a director of a small landscaping business. While serving at Chick-Fil-A, his supervisor invited Edinger on a missions trip. They went to Senegal and Edinger taught business essentials to pastors who needed income. “That trip brought back a lot of the good memories I had as a journeyman. I came home on fire for missions.”

He tried to get back into the “grind” of the 55-60 hour work week and as time went on he found he couldn’t sustain the pace, and knew his passion was for missions. “I had to clear my head and think. I got together with a former church member who was an IMB trustee.” Edinger didn’t have a seminary education and felt he couldn’t serve, but the other gentleman said the IMB had lifted those restrictions for a support role. “He said I know the kind of work you’ve been doing for the last decade. I think you’d be fit for a logistics series consultant. “He told me I should start the process. He said ‘If a week from now you don’t feel God is calling you there’s no hard feelings.’”

But God was calling him. He applied before Thanksgiving. By Christmas, he was approved, and his location was chosen.

His official appointment was on June 13 on the stage at the SBC Annual Meeting and his orientation will be on July 31.

Edinger expects to be in the Sub-Saharan area of Africa by October. He’s ready and excited.

Your gifts to the Cooperative Program fund missionaries like James Edinger. Any additional support is helpful, and specifically, James requests prayer for smooth language and culture acquisition and that he’d seek to take advantage of every opportunity to serve and build up the IMB missionaries he’ll be supporting. 

Feature photo by Sharon Mager