As a beloved member of the Encompass World Partners family, Blaine Horst is retiring after 36 years of dedicated service. His journey is marked by a willingness to be steered by God, and he has left a lasting mark on countless lives and on the organization as a whole.

Early in life, Blaine’s foundational principles were set: he wanted to invest his life in something that truly mattered, and he knew that God will steer people who are willing to move. He originally planned to be a carpenter like his dad, but after a youth conference, he allowed God to steer him towards cross-cultural ministry. This led him to spend a year at the Navajo mission in New Mexico at age 20. After marrying Lee Ann in 1980, the young couple started preparing to become missionaries to Germany.

After graduating with a Bible degree in 1986, Blaine started seminary in 1987. Lee Ann started working at the Encompass office in 1988, and Blaine joined part-time in 1989—a perfect step towards becoming cross-cultural workers!

However, Blaine’s immersion in Encompass’s internal operations quickly revealed a critical need. Many new missionaries were facing challenges on the field and returning home after just one year. “This wasn’t good for the sending churches, wasn’t good for the mission, and wasn’t good for the missionaries,” he says. He quickly realized that many of the challenges individuals faced on the mission field were identifiable and predictable based on each candidate’s initial application. This sparked a profound concern: “Can we, as an organization, make better decisions?”

Still in seminary, Blaine conducted an independent study on missionaries who stay on the field, seeking to discover what qualities they have in common. He realized that these kinds of missionaries were often bold, able to thrive in unknown situations, and push relationships forward. While it was difficult to accept that this profile didn’t describe himself, he realized that God was steering him away from the field and towards a vital role within Encompass. Instead of serving on the field, God was equipping him to help others make sound decisions about their own journeys. This would ensure the greatest potential for themselves and for God’s Kingdom.

He accepted a full-time position with Encompass in 1990 and focused on enhancing Encompass’s effectiveness, ensuring we were not just sending people, but sending them in a way that maximizes their potential for success. As Encompass leadership sought to mobilize more people to the Great Commission, Blaine helped launch our short-term “Go Teams” in 1994, which facilitated over 25 trips per year at its peak. 

In 2008, Blaine was asked to become the Personnel Officer, and was instrumental in building out the organization’s efforts in this area. When Dave Guiles rearranged the organization’s structure in 2014, he took on the additional responsibility of leading the office staff as the Director of Mobilization Services. All along, Blaine has championed a spirit of adaptability that has become embedded in our culture. “We’re willing to adjust what we’re doing in order to be most effective today instead of hanging on to existing structures,” he says. 

Blaine’s early desire to live a life without regrets has largely been fulfilled. “I of course have regrets,” he admits, “But I don’t regret working for Encompass or working for the Great Commission. I’ve seen God work and make a difference for eternity. Being a part of that—there’s no regret there.”

Blaine and Lee Ann, thank you for your decades of faithful service. Because of your humble willingness to let God do the steering, you have truly helped Encompass become more effective at reaching the least-reached. We pray for God’s continued blessings on you in this new season!