JB’s missions journey began during his college years, a truly formative time. He was part of a discipleship group where God opened his eyes to the spiritual needs of people around the globe. As a sophomore, God used the book “Operation World” and a missions conference to burden his heart for the vast number of unreached people in the world.  

While he didn’t realize his own role in missions right away, JB’s call to missions became more concrete when he started dating and later married Ashley. God had been doing a similar work in Ashley’s heart during her college years, and she was ready to go! JB, however, desired more specific direction from the Lord. As he was in seminary, God started giving the young couple a desire to work among Muslims, and in 2000, He gave them a job opportunity to work on a college campus in Indonesia. 

JB and Ashley accepted the position, joining a church-planting team in Indonesia. “Those ten years were incredibly challenging, yet profoundly sanctifying,” JB says. Being the only foreigners in a city of 400,000 made them feel like they were living under constant scrutiny. “Everywhere you go, it’s obvious you’re a foreigner,” JB says. “People are always staring at you and saying, ‘Hello mister’ whether you’re male or female because that’s the only English they know.” JB and Ashley quickly learned to depend on the Lord in prayer, and as a result, God used them to pour into four Points of Light. As JB says, “If the Holy Spirit doesn’t show up, nothing will happen.”  

By the end of their 10 years on the field, God had blessed JB and Ashley with three daughters and a burden to spur on the American church towards missions. While they originally thought they would plant a church in the US, God ended up placing JB in the role of a pastor at a church in Atlanta whose congregation had been declining for 40 years. JB says, “It had a building that was prominently visible, but the church was invisible in the community. It was inwardly focused, and we wanted to get their focused turned back outward.” Over the next 15 years, JB and Ashley begged God to do something only He could do, and as a result, God used them to revitalize the church with new life. Their congregation even became the sending church for two Encompass missionaries—the first workers they had sent in 30 years!  

In 2021, JB joined Encompass’s training team for a few hours every month, and by 2024, we asked him to consider becoming our Director of Training  and Member Care. After discussions with his wife and the elders at his church, their unanimous response was, “You have to do this—this is such a great fit for you.” 

JB started his new roles in May 2025, and we are so grateful to have him on our team! God has used his experience as a missionary and pastor to perfectly equip him for this new role of training new missionaries and offering spiritual care to our deployed ones.  

Welcome to the Encompass family, JB! We look forward to how God will continue working through you during this next season of your career!