Trips

"'Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.' How, then, can they call on the one they have not believed in? And how can they believe in the one of whom they have not heard? And how can they hear without someone preaching to them? And how can anyone preach unless they are sent? As it is written: 'How beautiful are the feet of those who bring good news!'” Romans 10:13-15

I remember when David Platt came to speak at the Porch, Watermark's young adult ministry, back in September. He repeatedly talked about how there are 3.2 billion people in the world who have never heard the Good News. In our sinfulness, we tend to think that God is so unjust and question how He could send so many people to hell if they've never had the opportunity to hear the Gospel. Yet, we excuse ourselves from obeying His command to go and make disciples of all nations. That night, I prayed that I would stop making excuses and that I would do whatever He called me to, no matter the cost.

This summer, I get the opportunity to partner with my home church, Watermark Community Church and E3 Partners in traveling to Ethiopia on a 10 day, small group evangelism trip! Before I share my story, let me share some information about the heartbeat behind E3 partners, facts about Ethiopia, and what I will be doing while I'm there!

The Partner


E3 Partners is working to ensure that a thriving local church exists in every community throughout Ethiopia. They are equipping existing believers and training local pastors to identify unreached communities and share the Gospel effectively. As people come to faith in Christ, they are establishing small groups that help them take the next steps in their spiritual growth and serve as the seeds for new churches.


My Role


I will play a role in a global church planting movement by reaching those who would otherwise never hear the Gospel. Our group will be staying in the capital of Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, and will be sent out to other villages in the Oromo region to share the incredible story of Jesus with them. A majority of these villages will be predominately Muslim or Eastern Orthodox religions. In addition, I will be helping local churches address pressing social, economic, and health issues in their communities, helping them transform communities by empowering them and improving the lives of individuals.  I will venture into remote villages where human trafficking rings are convincing poverty-stricken families to sell their own children, revealing what’s really happening to save the next generation by sharing the simple truth that every life is priceless. Including yours.


Facts About Ethiopia


• The name “Ethiopia” comes from the Greek words aitho and ops, which together mean “burnt face.” This was how the ancient Greeks referred to the dark-skinned people of eastern Africa.

• Addis Ababa, the capital city, is the highest capital city in Africa, at 2,400 metres.

• Ethiopia is the second most-populous country in Africa, with a population of over 90 million people by 2015. It is second to Nigeria, which had a population of over 174 million people by 2013.

• Over 80 languages are spoken in this country. English is the language of instruction in institutions of higher learning. The most widely spoken local languages are Oromo, Amharic, Somali and Tigrinya.

• Coffee was discovered in this country, in Kaffa region. A shepherd discovered this famous beverage when his goats ate the leaves and became restless. Ethiopia is the 5th largest producer of coffee today and Africa’s top producer.

• About 70% of the mountains of Africa are in this country.

• Ethiopians have one of the lowest life expectancies in the world. Current figures estimate that women can expect to live for about 50 years, and men for about 48 years.

• Ethiopia ranks as the 5th poorest country in the world. Almost two-thirds of the Ethiopian populations lives on less than US$1 a day.

• In Ethiopia, time is counted differently. Six o’clock is said to be 12 o’clock, and 16:00 hours is 10 o’clock. Ethiopians rationalize that the clock should start when the day does.

• Tewahedo, or the Ethiopian Orthodox Church, is one of the oldest forms of Christianity in the world. It came to Ethiopia from Egypt, where Egyptians belonged to the Coptic Church. Around A.D. 330, Frumentius, the Apostle of Ethiopia, converted the Axumite king Ezana, who made Christianity the empire’s official religion. Today, 40% of Ethiopians practice Christianity. 35% of Ethiopia is Muslim.

• When Ethiopians greet each other, they shake hands and gently knock their shoulders together, which is known as the “fighters’ salute” and traditionally was used as a greeting between those who fought in the Derg, the warrior group that came to power following the coup of Haile Selassie.

My Story

My entire life, I struggled with the idea that love was something that had to be earned. I saw this pattern repeatedly with men in my life, and therefore believed God's love had to be earned too. As someone who was raised Catholic, I believed God wanted me to go to heaven, but if I didn't go to confession, say my Hail Mary's and Our Father's, and get communion, then He didn't love me. It was a very works-based love. However, my humanness proved that if God's love was based on my efforts, I would always fall short. 

When I was in college, at one of the lowest points in my life, I started being discipled by a girl from my school. Each week, we’d get together and discuss the chapter we read the previous week. One day when we were reading, she asked if I had ever surrendered my life to Jesus. This question was always so confusing to me. I mean I had been baptized as a baby, but I personally had never made that declaration or decision. I didn’t want to be uncomfortable anymore. I wanted to be able to say with confidence, “Yes, I’ve given everything to Jesus! I’ve declared that He is my Lord and Savior!” She recited Romans 10:9 (“If you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart that God has raised Him from the dead, you will be saved.”) and by God’s grace and free gift (not by anything I've done), I was saved.

From there, in hindsight, I realize I was still struggling with believing my value did not have to be earned. I read my Bible, went on multiple mission trips, attended multiple bible studies, and went to multiple church services each week, yet I was still struggling with insecurity and finding my value in what man thought of me, and honestly, I was holding onto so much hurt and anger from my past, a lot of relationships were hindered. It wasn't until I attended a recovery program at my church called Re:Generation that I learned and understood where the insecurity was rooted, how much control I was clinging to, and had the opportunity to truly forgive all of the hurts I had been holding onto.

I don’t automatically have everything together now. Healing is not a linear process, and there are certain triggers I still am learning as the days pass. But if I could sum up everything I’ve learned in one sentence it would be that although day by day I couldn’t see God working, when I look back, I see Him in everything. And I’ve come to the true understanding that love isn’t something that has to be earned, it’s freely given. God loves us so much, He sacrificed His only Son, whom He loved deeply. Despite the fact that Jesus was actually successful in His pursuit of perfection (a perfection I could never reach no matter how hard I tried), for a brief moment, he endured the entirety of the wrath of God that I deserved so I could have a relationship with God. If God did not think that I was valuable or worthy or lovely, He would not have sacrificed His Son. But thank You, Lord, He did.


The Ask

The ask is that your help is needed! While God has opened up a door for me to develop a greater heart of compassion for His people around the world, the exciting part is that you will be able to share in this compassion in several ways. This is a team project, and you are needed on the team. First, we need your prayers for the spiritual battles ahead. We will need prayer support so that God will prepare us for our visit and bless our efforts as we minister to the people of Ethiopia.

Secondly, we also need agreement in our prayers that our financial needs will be met. Another way you could be involved is to help provide that financial support. I will need to raise $3,400 before July 1,2022 in order to cover flights, food and water, boarding, etc. This also does not include SHOTS, which I will need in addition to make the trip over there. Of that $3,400, I will need roughly half of that amount to be raised by May 31,2022 for the flight ticket.  Would you prayerfully consider partnering with me in this project?



Thank you so much for taking the time to prayerfully consider this amazing and challenging ministry opportunity that God has presented to me. I would be happy to answer any questions you may have about the trip. My phone number is 817-879-9998 and my email is margaretglutz@gmail.com.


God Bless,
Margaret Glutz

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