Journey to Full-Time Ministry: A Conversation with Tania Martin

Twanna Henderson: 00:09

Welcome to T Time: Spiritual Conversations For, With and About Women. I'm your host, Twanna Henderson. And as always, I want to remind you to like this broadcast and to definitely share it with someone in your life. Well, our guest today is someone that I've known sort of from a distance for quite a while but have not had the opportunity to have a conversation that we're going to have today. Our guest is Minister Tania Martin. Tania has served as the director of mobilization of Converge International Ministries since June 2020. Before taking on this role, she served as a missionary with converge in Ukraine for 11 years. A native Jamaican raised in New York City who later put down roots in the Washington DC area, Tania has three great loves: a love for our Lord Jesus, a love for missions and the love for discipleship. These three loves have led Tania from working in the corporate space to full time ministry over 15 years ago. She now resides in Orlando, Florida, and continues pursuing those great three great loves by helping others, especially the next generation, to find their passion for missions, so they can go to the nations as ministers of the gospel. Tania, welcome to T Time.

Tania Martin: 01:29

Thank you so much. I'm so glad to be here with you today.

Twanna Henderson: 01:32

Well, I'm so excited to have you and I kind of talked to you. Like I said, I've kind of known you, but I haven't known you. And I'm really, really excited about having this conversation. So I really just want to jump right in, because there's so much that I want to cover with you. I want to really kind of start off with your journey from working in a corporate space to full time ministry, because that's a huge leap. Tell us about that.

Tania Martin: 02:01

Yeah, so I started working for a very large corporation doing government contracting. And it kind of happened by mistake. I was a temp for a little while. And I really enjoyed the world of business and strategy and contracts. And so, I kept moving up the corporate ladder, and I had a plan for my life. But, in planning all those things, I did not include God in the equation. And so I came to the Lord as a child, but then I drifted away from him. And when I realized, even working in that corporate space making a lot of money, I realized that something was missing from my life. I was like, "I know, at least, I need to go back to church." When I went back to church, I started looking for a good church home. I found my current church, First Baptist Church in Linn, Oregon, where God just really spoke to me every time I went there, and he challenged the way I was living and the way I was thinking. My whole worldview. I became hungry and thirsty for just knowing God. And as I got to know him and read His word, he changed how I thought about money, how I thought about ministry, how I thought about life, and how I thought about missions. And I was thirsty. I was reading a lot of books. Christian books about how to grow and know your purpose, and one of the books I read was "Purpose Driven Life." And once I read that book and read the last few chapters where it talks about "you were created for mission," God was like, "Yeah, that's you. That should be every believer, but that's specifically you at this moment." So I was like, "Okay, how do I get involved in this now?" And the best way that I could do that was during vacation time. So I took two weeks off every summer and started going on short term trips to Ukraine. Our church at that time had many, many different trips, but that was the one that was consistent with what I was doing in ministry in the local church already. And, as I went, one of the leaders of the trips, she said that first year, "When God tells you to do something, you're supposed to keep doing it until he tells you to stop." And so this missions is something God has never told me to stop. He's kind of redirected it a couple of times. But it's something that I understand that God is passionate about. He wants the world to know Him. And I was like, "God, I'm willing to do whatever you tell me to do in order to be an instrument for you in the work that you've called us to." That led me eventually to feeling the call to full time ministry and being called out of corporate America. And at first I was like, "Well, maybe that's just to the local church." And so I did that step. The step in between corporate America and going to the mission field, was working at my local church for two years. But that was a preparation process, because, in corporate America, it's more about the dollars and the profits and less about the people. And so I think God used that transition of going from corporate space to to the local church, then to missions, to switch the focus from being about profits and about numbers to being more about what does it mean to stop your job to pray for someone. You know, what does it mean to get interrupted throughout the day for the purpose of ministry. It's more than just getting the job done that you've been assigned to do. It's incorporated into the people that come into the office or the people that come into the church during the day or during the week. That's ministry as well.

Twanna Henderson: 05:48

What an amazing leap of faith that you took, and just the journey that you've been on. How would you say that your call has evolved over time and what significant shifts or realizations have influenced your journey.

Tania Martin: 06:07

So one of the things that God did for me at the beginning of my journey was that he confirmed it through people, but he also confirmed it through Scripture. And the place that he used to confirm it to me is Genesis 12:1-3, where he tells Abraham to get out of his house, to get away from his land, to get out of his father's house, go to a place that he'll show him. And then he said, I'll make you a great nation and through you, all the families of the earth will be blessed. I will bless you. I will bless those that bless you, and I will curse those that curse you. I think my ministry and call has taken that journey. First God said, "Get out of your father's house and out of there, the nation that you live in, and go to a new place." And I did that and went to Ukraine for those 11 years. But the last two years when I was in Ukraine, I felt a wrestling or like something new was coming. So in 2018, I began to seek the Lord for what's new. Then people started asking me questions like, "Have you ever thought about going back to United States" And one of the things that I said was, "The only reason I would ever go back to the United States is to mobilize new missionaries." But, at that time, there was no role for me in Converge or in my local church. That was what the Lord had placed in my spirit. And so God eventually opened up the doors for me to come and be the Director of Mobilization and serve in that role. One of the things that happened right before I left Ukraine, I had an interview with the church that I was serving with. As I was preparing for that interview, God brought my attention to verse 3 of Genesis 12, where he said, "and through you all, the nations of the earth would be blessed." And I didn't know what that meant. But, at that time, he showed me that mobilizing new missionaries all over the world, that's the fulfillment of that verse in my life.

Twanna Henderson: 08:07

Wow.

Tania Martin: 08:08

And I never saw how that was applicable that whole time I was in Ukraine. I was like, "Well, he spoke it, but it might be extra." Sometimes, when I see it when my life is God speaks everything all at once, but he opens it up in moments and times, and he prepares you. Because I went from teaching English and doing discipleship for women those first years in Ukraine to then helping to start a youth ministry, and then God said, "Stop that." Then he brought me up to helping to disciple and to train women leaders all over Ukraine and then to be a part of a Bible college and create a course and a track, a cohort for women in ministry to go through for two years. So that's how he's pivoted the ministry along the way. And it was all preparation for what I'm doing now.

Twanna Henderson: 09:00

Not many people just pick up and are obedient to the Lord and just go overseas and serve as a missionary. What was that like? I mean, 11 years. That's a long time when your life has been one way, an American way, and then you've got this totally different culture, this totally different life. What was that like? That adjustment for you?

Tania Martin: 09:31

So, I think the adjustment was...actually you know, it's crazy, because, as you asked that question I'm thinking about, because I had written down some responses about what I was what I might say, and I'm thinking about it and I'm like, "It's one step after the next step in obedience to God." I had gotten to a place of being in love with Jesus that if he told me to do something, I was going to do it. I couldn't see in my life how I could not be obedient to Him, to the best that I understood what he was telling me to do. And so, it wasn't a decision to necessarily say, "I'm gonna go be a missionary." It was like God was leading me step by step and that was the next step of obedience, saying yes to go into Ukraine. When I went to Ukraine, honestly, I didn't know how long I was going to be there. I was like, "Oh, maybe it's one term," which is four years. And then that's it, because God just told me longer. "Go to Ukraine for longer than two weeks." I didn't know what that meant. And so, even going over, there was an excitement in me, in my life, because I was walking in obedience to God. Even that first year, I remember going there and being in language school. And yeah, it's hard, because when you don't know a language and you have to live life in that place, you become like a child. So, it is humbling. But it was humbling and exciting at the same time, because I was learning and I love to learn. And I was learning the culture and observing it. And I think God gave me a certain level of adrenaline that first year. While I was there, everything was exciting. And then when things got harder, because as you live in a space and you learn more of the language and you learn more of the culture and you enter into ministry that's not language learning, it becomes a little bit more difficult, because then you're starting to deal with people and trying to figure out how to navigate those relationships in that new culture, using a new language that you may not be as fluent as you are in your native language. So it was an interesting adjustment, but I always looked at it as learning. And so I love to learn. Even though it was hard times, I looked at it as a learning experience.

Twanna Henderson: 11:55

For sure. Now, I had no idea that you were a native Jamaican. I had no idea when I was reading your bio. And I was like, "Oh, my goodness." I had no idea, because I don't hear any accent at all there. But reflecting on your identity as a Jamaican American, how has it shaped your approach to missionary work and what unique perspectives or experiences have you brought to your interactions with diverse communities?

Tania Martin: 12:32

Having been born in Jamaica and coming to America when I was seven, I am, by nature, a third culture kid. That's what they call folks like that. So it's people who were born and lived in one culture and then had to move to another culture. I believe that God set me up from the beginning to be able to adapt quickly. And that's one of the things you mentioned, one of the things that I was determined to do as a kid. I remember that I had a Jamaican accent, when I came, and nobody else in my class did. And so I was like, "I'm going to speak with an American accent." It was just a decision in my mind and then it just happened. I learned at a young age of how to adapt to new cultures. And then growing up, I grew up in a predominantly African American neighborhood, but then my junior high school was a mixture of three different neighborhoods. So there were Latinos, and there were Filipino Americans. And then I went to high school in Manhattan. And it was like the United Nations. And so I think that God, from my youth, has been preparing me to be able to build deep relationships with people from different cultures and to be able to understand, to be able to ask the right questions. I think that really set me up well for cross cultural work in ministry.

Twanna Henderson: 13:57

Yeah, I think he's definitely done that and prepared you that way. What strategies have you found effective in fostering genuine connections and understanding as you've navigated cultural differences?

Tania Martin: 14:16

I think one is to be open and not to judge what people are doing and saying right away. To be that learner and, I think sometimes in relationships when someone says something or does something, we are quick to judge it based on our values and our understanding of that behavior. And in another culture, it could mean something totally different. So to ask questions, ask really good open questions, when you do that, what does that mean? That allows the barriers to come down because then a person is like, "Even asking that question, it's like you're genuinely interested in me, and learning more about my culture and learning more about who I am." And, then also understanding that, in cross cultural work, if you don't make friends, like deep friendships, you won't last on the field, especially as a single person. Because I went out as a single woman and was single the whole time I was there. Having those deep connections is crucial for not only ministry but for life and being able to thrive on the field. So yes, I think asking good, open question and being willing to listen to the answers, and then being willing to adapt who you are a little bit as long as it's in accordance with the Bible and it doesn't contradict the Bible with how that culture lives. Being able to make choices on where you live. You can choose to live in the smaller apartment like everyone else in in the country, and Ukraine in my case, or you can find the big house that's isolated because you can afford it. So, it's like I made those choices by observing the culture and making choices like that in accordance with the culture. So that put me on the same level playing field as everyone else. And that helped to foster relationships and trust and to build trust as well.

Twanna Henderson: 16:19

Yeah, that makes sense. Now, you said a lot in that answer. And in terms of asking questions, we all can learn from that. If we just ask each other questions to get an understanding, that would definitely help. But you also mentioned being a single woman. Talk about that and the challenges of that, because a lot of times we don't think about all of the dynamics that come with being a single adult and here you are fulfilling this call of missions, but what have been the struggles as it relates to that or have there been struggles as it relates to that?

Tania Martin: 17:00

There have been struggles. I recall a few times in Ukraine, where...I still believe that God has called me to marriage. I don't know when that'll be. I don't know for how long. But there were points in time where I felt the desire to be married so strongly that I was like, "God, you're not providing anyone for me and so if this is not your desire, take it away. I don't want it." And then, there was a moment when I thought there was a gentleman that could potentially be a husband. And the people around me were saying, he was Ukrainian, and the people around me are saying, and these are the close people, "I don't think he's a good fit for you." And I was like, "Well, you just don't want me to be happy." That kind of thing. And so, it turns out, they were right. But sometimes when we want something so badly, when I wanted something so badly, I was willing to look past some of those cautions and some of those red flags that other Ukrainians were throwing up, because they know that person better. They know the culture better. They understand all the nuances of the language better. And so, I'm thankful that God worked it out that I did not marry that man. But now I'm at a place where the ministry is so time consuming, and I realize that you need a spouse when the ministry that you'd be doing together, when you can't do that ministry and take it to the next level anymore as a single person. So I'm satisfied right now with the fact that God is using me and my singleness and my ability to travel and to do all the things that I need to do. And it's not that season yet for a mate and someone that I can actually help in ministry. That person wherever he is, God is using him too whether he's single, and he might be married, you never know how God is going to work it out. Unfortunately, spouses die and people want to get remarried and so forth. So, he might be a widower right now somewhere, but doing ministry, and God is working it out. And I trust him. I trust him so much. I"ve trusted him with my life so far, and he's given me an awesome, kind of unbelievable life, like you read in a book. And so yeah, I'm grateful for that.

Twanna Henderson: 19:28

I think that just what you said, just helped a lot of single adults who may be listening to this podcast, because a lot of times, we don't always understand God's timing and just knowing that his timing is always right. And so, until he changes the season, there are things that he needs us to do. There are things that he needs us to complete, and so we have to be open to that and sensitive to that and knowing that his timing is always perfect.

Tania Martin: 20:03

Just wait. Don't settle. It's not worth it. I've seen when people settle. It's so not worth it.

Twanna Henderson: 20:10

I think that is excellent advice for sure. Because what God has for you, he has for you at the proper time. That's the beautiful thing about it. I know you probably have so many stories and experiences from your years of missions work. Can you share a specific moment during your service as a missionary that's really deeply impacted your understanding of of ministry and faith?

Tania Martin: 20:46

Yeah. I believe the moment, I don't remember exactly when it happened or if it was like a process of time, but I think that the one thing that has impacted my ministry or my understanding of ministry and faith is the realization that this ministry and the results of it belongs to God. Because when, before that moment, I was trying and doing everything that I thought God wanted me to do, but I was expecting results based on what I was doing at that moment, like immediate results. And sometimes they didn't come, and there was a level of well, why isn't it happening? Why is there no visible fruit at this moment? And God kind of told me, "This ministry and any result of it is mine. These people, I've been working in their hearts before you got here, and I'll continue to work in their hearts after you leave. But you're planting seeds or you're you're watering at this moment, but this whole thing belongs to me. And so you just have to trust me, that's where the faith part comes in. You have to trust me that I'm going to do what I'm going to do. And you might not see it, and it's okay." And so I've taken that back. Even I brought that back here. And when I'm doing things now, it's like I'm meeting with people, I'm talking with them. I don't know what's going to happen as a result of it. But I'm just here in the moment. Right now I'm in Connecticut. I'm here in the moment. I'm talking with people. I'm meeting. I see God setting up divine appointments. Where they're going to lead? I don't know. But I'm trusting God with that. And so that was a major shift for me. Maybe some people get that a little earlier. I got that while I was on the field in Ukraine.

Twanna Henderson: 22:38

Well, I think we all kind of struggle with that. And so I think just knowing that it goes back to his timing and what he's doing and trusting that and accepting that. I'm sure there have been a lot of challenges that you've probably faced as well and have overcome them. What are some valuable lessons that you have learned along the way?

Tania Martin: 23:10

I believe that the biggest challenge that I face is probably related to that last question. But when you're pouring into someone, when someone has come to you and says, "I want you to be a mentor," or "I want you to disciple me," and you're investing in them. You're investing 100%, but they are shut down. They're like closed. They don't want to really hear it. They don't want to do anything that you're suggesting. Even if you try to get them to open up to you, they're just closed. Is letting those people go. Being honest with them and telling them what you see and letting them go. That's probably the biggest lesson that I've learned. And then, loving them enough if they do come back at a time when they're more open to to the Lord or open to sharing their life and being honest with you, then take them back if the Lord is telling you to take them back. But I think the biggest lesson that I've learned from that challenge is sometimes you have to be willing to let people go. You're not the right person or it's not the right time.

Twanna Henderson: 24:15

Yeah, I think that's a major point. Because in letting people go, I think it's acknowledging that we don't have control over what happens. I think a lot of times we want to get somewhere. We want to make sureand it's is not for us to do. We have to let the Lord do that. And he will do that. And we have to just be okay with that.

Tania Martin: 24:39

Yeah because sometimes you see potential in people and you're like, "Man, you could be this great minister of the gospel," and they are just happy where they are. So you just have to let them go and continue in relationship with them. But that mentorship or that helping to disciple them, you just have to say, "You know what, I'm not the right person for you at this time."

Twanna Henderson: 25:01

Yeah, I think that's true. And that can be difficult. But I think it's just a matter of just trusting the Lord in that and just saying, "Hey, I've done my part. I've done what I was supposed to do at that particular time." How do you measure the impact of your ministry work? How do you measure that? What indicators do you look for to really ensure that you're making a positive difference in the lives of the communities that you serve?

Tania Martin: 25:29

I believe that you measure the impact of your work by whether or not it's being duplicated, especially after you're gone from that space whether it's that church or that that city or that country. If you have been able to create disciple makers, who get that they're supposed to replicate themselves in others through the Holy Spirit and God's work, but that they are supposed to make disciple makers after you. To me, that's the measure of an impact that you've made in a community or in a church. And then through that disciple making, they're actually seeing the needs in the community, and they're meeting the needs in that little community. And I've seen that to a certain extent with some of the ladies that I've discipled in Ukraine. They get it. They get the call. They understand. They understand what God wants them to do in response to the needs that they see around them, especially during this time of war where there's so many needs. And they're not just sitting on the sidelines. They're all in, and they're actually trying to help other women to grow and become disciples and become disciple makers in that. And some of the women are from eastern parts of Ukraine where the war is going on, and they might go back. So even in that, eventually, it'll be duplicated here. But it'll also be duplicated there in those areas where they're going to need to be rebuilt after the war.

Twanna Henderson: 27:01

Yeah. What, if anything, do you miss about being in Ukraine?

Tania Martin: 27:07

I miss the relationships, because my life and ministry were so intertwined with a small group of people. And I don't have that right now where I live. And so, I miss that. And I miss, interestingly enough, I miss the pedestrian lifestyle. So, I worked a lot more just to get places, to go to the grocery store or to the corner store or to go walk. Even though I had a car in my last year there, I could walk to the center of town and walk back. And it was about a half an hour down, half an hour back. But usually, I wasn't doing it by myself or, as you're you're doing it by yourself, you see people along the way on the streets. You just don't bump into people here in America on the streets. I miss that.

Twanna Henderson: 27:52

Yeah, that's got to be really different. What advice would you offer to individuals who are considering missionary work, particularly, in terms of preparing for its challenges and its rewards and maintaining authenticity in their mission endeavors?

Tania Martin: 28:13

Yeah, I think the advice that I would give is if you're not involved in your local church right now, get involved in the ministry in your local church. Because if you're not doing it here, you won't do it there. Find really good, biblical-centered, Christ-centered books to read about missions. And find a mentor. Find a mentor. Someone who has been on either a lot of short term trips or someone who has been a missionary long-term that can help you to develop some of the character things that you need to develop in order to be successful in missions work. And then if you haven't, go on a short-term trip for two weeks. For instance, at Converge, we have a 6 to 10 week internship opportunity we tell people that it's more of a discipleship space where you go, and you walk alongside experienced global workers. That's what we call our missionaries. And they're helping you to hear God's voice to discern his call. As far as longer-term missions work, you can see what it's like to live as a missionary, because six weeks is enough to slow the process down. Whereas when you go on two week trips, it tends to be very fast-paced, and you're doing a lot. Six weeks would be less about doing and more about being, so I would recommend doing a short-term trip. So those are the first steps that I would tell people to do to get get prepared and to understand what life is like on the field.

Twanna Henderson: 29:47

That's good. If someone wanted to get in contact with you, how would they reach you?

Tania Martin: 29:53

The best way is by email. My email is taniam@converge.org, or they can look me up on social media. I'm out there too on Instagram and Facebook.

Twanna Henderson: 30:08

Yeah. Well, I know we may have listeners, as we wrap up, who may be feeling a distinct pull towards missions work and are really trying to determine if it's for them. Can you pray for them as well as those who may just feel a call to support mission work? I know what I'm called to. I'm called to support it. But there may be people who are called to support it. But can you pray for both of those groups?

Tania Martin: 30:38

Yes, I sure can. Father God, thank you so much for who you are. You are God who desires that no one would perish, but everyone would hear about Jesus, and we've come to the saving knowledge of Him. So, that's your desire God. And there are people out there who don't have an opportunity to hear the gospel of Jesus Christ. So I pray for the listeners now, as this podcast has played, as they've listened, I pray that if they are feeling the call to go, that you would lead their next steps. That you would open up doors of opportunities for them to be able to answer that call. I pray that they would not become discouraged in the process of preparing to go, but that they would just take one step at a time following faithfully after you. I pray for those who may be called to stay here in America and to send. God, I pray for them that they would also be faithful in that call. And for those who are called to pray, I pray that they would be diligent prayers, and that they would become those intercessors that would pray for Strongholds to be broken down in those dark places where the gospel has not yet penetrated. But Lord, I pray for everyone. That we would live with open hands before you, and we would allow you to be the one to determine our call and you to be the one to tell us whether we should go or whether we should stay or whether we should pray. This I pray in Jesus name, amen.

Twanna Henderson: 32:18

Amen. Well, Tania, thank you so much for all that you do and just for your dedication with spreading the gospel around the world. It is so needed, and your call is so important and impactful. To all of our listeners, thank you for joining us today. I'm Twanna Henderson. Be blessed of the Lord