How an Oklahoma ministry is celebrating a milestone summer of souls

As the COVID-19 pandemic raged and many American Christian missionaries were called back to the U.S. from overseas, the head of an Oklahoma City-based ministry realized he didn't have to plan an exit strategy for the men and women of his organization.

For more than 30 years, Reaching Souls International had trained ministers around the globe to witness and be disciples to their neighbors — the people living alongside them in their villages and communities. These missionaries had no need to leave their mission field and wait for the moment they could return — they were living there.

Dustin Manis, Reaching Souls International's president and chief executive officer, said it was his wife Mischelle who realized that the ministry was perfect for the occasion at hand.

"My wife understood that Reaching Souls was built for a time like this," Manis said.

The ministry, which headquarters at 12625 S Portland, had much to celebrate this summer: 100 million salvation decisions have been reported since the organization’s founding in 1986.

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The ministry's "sole focus is a soul focus — our mission is in our name," Manis said. "It's just incredible what God has done."

The nonprofit had expected to reach the milestone in late summer but it came earlier in June.

Manis, an ordained Southern Baptist minister, said he likes to clarify what is important to remember about Reaching Souls and its mission, particularly when he's discussing the latest milestone.

"One, this ministry doesn't save anyone, but we're quick to give God the glory for it all," he said. "OK, then to say 100 million souls it, it sounds like a bunch of zeros, but it's really a bunch of ones. So many people making individual decisions to trust in Jesus Christ as their Savior — one person, then another, then another, somebody's father, somebody's mother, somebody's son, somebody's daughter — one by one, all the way up to 100 million."

Missionary minded

It all started with the number one — one man, evangelist Jimmy Hodges, who traveled to Africa in 1972 and felt led to begin training African pastors to disciple to their neighbors. Hodges founded Jimmy Hodges Ministries International in 1986, and for the next decade, the ministry trained 3,429 pastors and evangelists and saw 211,718 salvation decisions. In 1996, the organization chose 50 missionaries to serve as evangelists in their own communities in Kenya, Uganda, Zambia, Tanzania and Malawi. The ministry's name was changed to Reaching Souls International in 2007 and the missionary grew over the years to its current group of more than 2,100 missionaries serving in 13 countries.

The number of people who accept Christ into their hearts is recorded daily by Reaching Souls' missionaries. Manis likes to say that the ministry aims to reach the maximum number of people for Christ in the least amount of time in the most efficient way.

The organization does this by equipping missionaries with simple tools to help the fulfill their Gospel mission. Manis said the missionaries are chosen because they have already demonstrated a desire to win souls for Christ and Reaching Souls comes alongside them to provide them with religious training and items like portable sound systems and bicycles, which allow them to safely travel in areas where there are no roadways or only rudimentary infrastructure exists. Female missionaries may wear large scarves depicting Gospel scenes that help them share the Gospel to others when the garments are laid flat. A colorful evangelism puzzle cube much like a Rubik's Cube but featuring Gospel images also helps missionaries tell the story of Christ, while flip charts featuring biblical images also are used by missionaries.

Missionaries like Charles have received ministry funding and other support from Reaching Souls over the years. The Malawi missionary's last name, along with the last names of other missionaries in this story are not being published for their safety.

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Charles said he grew up in a God-fearing home in Malawi led by his preacher father. He said he was already pastoring after his father's death when he attended a Reaching Souls missionary training and decided to become part of the nonprofit in 2002.

"Though I was already pastoring in my rural area there, I had no knowledge about how I could go preach the Gospel to the masses," he said.

Two other missionaries, Habacuc and Aminadab, evangelize in Mexico, a new addition to Reaching Souls' list of ministry supported countries.

Aminadab, Reaching Souls' regional missions director for Latin America, said he grew up in the Christian church and had been a follower of Christ for 17 years before connecting with the nonprofit in 2020. He said the organization was looking for someone to help spread the Gospel in Mexico, his native country.

"God's using me in my own continent and my own culture and in my own language," he said.

Manis said these missionaries are key components in Reaching Souls' efforts.

"I always say the local leaders know where all the dirt roads are and where the dirt roads lead you to," he said. "And they don't don't just win people (to Christ) and forget them. They are living right there with those that need to Christ."

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Manis said he's already looking toward the future. The ministry is currently working on expanding into other countries.

"It took our first 14 years to reach 1 million decisions for Christ," he said. "It took 36 years to reach 100 million, but the next 100 million will come much faster."

That future of growth will likely will come about due to the ministry's soul-winning strategy and it's focus on the Lord, Manis said.

"It's a strategy that moves forward without cultural language or immigration barriers. because we're supporting national evangelists to reach their own people," he said. "They don't have to learn the language and they don't need a passport. When COVID didn't let us get on a plane, our national evangelists continued to reach their own people. You have to focus on your calling. And our calling is to bring them the good news of Jesus Christ."

To learn more

For more information about Reaching Souls International, go to https://reachingsouls.org/.