Today, we want to share our conversation with a missionary couple. Anita met Arrica on Instagram and they both quickly realized that they share a passion for evangelism. We hope that their perspective and conversation on marriage and evangelism will be enlightening and encouraging to you!
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Interview: Arrica Hess
How did you meet your husband and how did you end up in ministry together?
My husband, Matt, and I met in a high school math class in rural Oklahoma. He was a junior and I was a freshman. He drove past my house every day on his way to school and asked if I would like a ride. Since my only other option was a school bus that carried grades K-12 in on those country roads, I accepted. We started a friendship where he gave me rides to school and I helped him with his math homework. God grew our relationship from there. After a year of college, Matt joined the US Marine Corp. He served over four years and while stationed in the Washington D.C. area, started working with military youth and as well as some local youth at a church. He felt the call to help youth and others although not a believer yet. We married in 2004 before he served a tour of duty in Iraq. On his return, our relationship was tumultuous. I soon realized that I needed Jesus to be the wife and woman that could help my husband.
I was saved in October of 2004 and immediately began praying for Matt’s salvation. I prayed for 3 long years and not a moment too soon, God saved Matt after the birth of our first child in 2007. God immediately gave Matt a desire to evangelize the lost. He attended seminary at Mid-America in Memphis, TN and was hired as a pastor of a local church. God used us through this ministry but we both felt a restless call to be a part of a ministry where we could encounter vast lostness, diversity, and large numbers of people. God showed us the need in Toronto, ON, Canada. Toronto is the most diverse city in the world with almost half of the population having been born in another country, the whole GTA is over 6 million people and out of that number, only 2% are Christian.
How did you hear about American Mission Board and how did you both become involved?
We both grew up in Southern Baptist churches so we had known about the North American Mission Board (NAMB) from an early age. To be honest though, we mostly thought of the relief work and offering they collected every year. Church planting had never really been on our minds. My husband was in Chapel one day in early 2010 at Seminary and Dr. Richard Harris, who was the interim President for NAMB, brought the message. One of his statements that day captured Matt’s heart and would forever change the course of our lives. He said, “Canada is the most lost region in all of North America.” We got out a map and started praying and fasting. A few weeks later, my husband met with his mentor and the pastor of a large church in the area who told Matt that they had been praying about funding a work in Canada. It seemed God had it all planned out for us. We made a visit and connected with NAMB about what was going on in the Greater Toronto Area.
Tell me about your missionary journey? How many churches have you planted?
We moved to the east side of Toronto in July 2012. We planted our first church, Fellowship Pickering, in 2013, our second, Fellowship Rouge Park, in 2015, and our third, Fellowship Oshawa, in 2016. We are currently praying over two other areas where we are training planters and evangelizing the harvest and by God’s grace, will roll them both out in 2020.
Has this missionary work stressed your marriage? Made it stronger?
In the beginning, church planting was stressful on our marriage; we had three young children in a new country with little idea about what the future held. We did a lot of trial and error, tons of praying, and had a heap of work to do on our own personal spiritual growth. Overall, I think God made us a stronger team through this. We had to learn first to rely solely on Him and second on one another. We learned to pray before we did anything, how to share the gospel together, how to work in our individual gift sets and to encourage one another in hard times.
Our family has adopted John 15:5 as our life verse, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can do nothing.” We hold each other accountable to the truth that we have to hold fast to God’s word and that anything accomplished through us is the work of the Holy Spirit and not in our own strength.
Where do you see yourself in the future? How is the Lord leading you both now?
Our future is slowly shifting. God has given us a platform to be able to disciple and grow up other church planting couples. I believe He wants us to use our gifts and experiences to help them understand the true call of church planting which is to grow God’s kingdom through Spirit filled believers and discipleship. He has given us opportunities to share our experiences on a wider scale and we would love to continue to do so as long as it honors Him.
May you continue to walk together towards God!
Contact information for Matt and Arrica Hess:
Arrica's Instagram - https://www.instagram.com/a_child_shall_lead_them_blog/
