Royal Palms team serves missionary kids in Africa

A mission team from Royal Palms Baptist Church in Phoenix that included (from left) David and Diana Johnson, Mark and Joy French, Margaret Gall and Shelby French visited and served ministries supported by the International Mission Board in Sub-Saharan Africa. This mission trip was a part of the Arizona Mission Network’s partnership with IMB’s Sub-Saharan Africa Affinity.

From 8:15 a.m. to 5:15 p.m. for nearly a week, David Johnson, executive director of the Arizona Mission Network of Southern Baptists, taught preschool-aged missionary kids in Africa how to follow Jesus.

“It was wonderful!” he said.

Johnson was a part of a six-person team from Royal Palms Baptist Church in Phoenix. The team went to Nairobi, Kenya, for two weeks to visit and serve ministries supported by the International Mission Board, such as refugee work and reuniting orphans with their parents. They served at a conference called “Grow,” created specifically for Sub-Saharan Africa first-term missionaries (new missionaries who have been on the field for a short period of time).

At the conference, the Phoenix team worked in the children’s program and taught Bible curriculum to the missionaries’ children while their parents were in training.
Two of the parents were Jack and Rachel Thompson, first-term missionaries from Arizona who serve in Johannesburg, South Africa.

Diana Johnson teaches children while their parents attend a conference for IMB first-term missionaries.

“​​[The Royal Palms team members] were ‘on the job’ with the kids a full eight hours each day,” said Rachel Thompson. “Our kids were excited to go back each day and not nervous. The kids learned Bible stories, a simple gospel presentation, and even how to play the recorder!”

There were eight children, split into preschool and elementary school.

At the conference, missionaries learned about the endless resources provided to them as IMB missionaries — spiritual and emotional support, mentorship, security, etc. The Royal Palms team members were amazed to see how supported our missionaries are.

“It’s beyond salaries,” Johnson said. “It’s a system of support. It’s a safety net. Other missionaries don’t have this. They may not have anyone else to relate to. This conference was part of that support system.”

David Johnson walks with missionary children during a conference in Sub-Saharan Africa.

This mission trip was a part of the Arizona Mission Network’s partnership with IMB’s Sub-Saharan Africa Affinity. Calvary Baptist Church in Lake Havasu served in Zambia, and the day the Royal Palms team left Kenya, Christian Challenge NAU landed. This month, eight Arizona pastors headed to Africa, and at the end of the year, First Southern Baptist Church of Glendale will be in Johannesburg, working with more than 80 children of missionaries in East Africa. This will be extra special for the Thompsons, whose home church is First Southern, Glendale.

“The Arizona team that came to put on the children’s programming was incredible,” Rachel Thompson said. “This is invaluable to all of us, because children’s discipleship in many countries is not available like it is in the U.S. Thank you to the members of Royal Palms and AZMN for investing in our kids!”

Visit azmn.org/africa/ or contact the AZMN office at 602-843-1030 to learn more about our partnership with Sub-Saharan Africa and how to get involved.

Claudia Macdonald, a freelance writer living in Phoenix, is a member of First Southern Baptist Church at Sahuaro Ranch, Glendale.