For more information about Reaching & Teaching, click here.

Q&A with Jimmy Winfrey

Evan: Tell us about yourself?

Jimmy: I have been married to my bride, Heather, for 17 years. We have 6 children between the ages of 12 and 9 months. We live in Louisville, Kentucky and are active members of Bullitt Lick Baptist Church.

I have served with Reaching and Teaching International Ministries since 2015, including several years on the mission field in Ecuador. While continuing to travel overseas to train pastors, I now also work in mobilization, partnering with churches to send healthy, prepared workers into the harvest. Additionally, I am the Practicum Coordinator in which I collaborate with RTIM missionaries on the field to host students for 6 weeks with the goal of cultivating a greater heart for missions in their lives.

I’m a 4 time graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary (B.A., MDiv, ThM, and PhD), an Adjunct Professor of Global Studies at Boyce College and also serve in theological education in the Hispanic Program at Southern.

Evan: What is Reaching and Teaching Ministries?

Jimmy: Reaching & Teaching aims to make mature disciples, establish healthy churches, and train local leaders. Our mission is to advance the gospel worldwide through long-term missionary mobilization, short-term theological training trips, ministry internships, and strategic church partnerships.

Since 2009, Reaching & Teaching has worked to meet the enormous need for healthy churches and theological training around the world through long-term sending and short-term training. Our missionaries are committed to seeing biblical churches established that prioritize covenant membership and expositional preaching led by qualified elders.

We currently have 85 missionaries in 40 countries.

Evan: What will you be speaking on at the Building Healthy Churches Conference?

Jimmy: The Glory and Authority of God Displayed in the Local Church.

Evan: What does it look like for a church to participate in missions efforts or an individual being on mission?

Jimmy: The local church is God’s chosen means for expanding His Kingdom to every tribe, tongue, and nation. Any missions strategy that pragmatically deemphasizes the importance of the local church is ultimately not following God’s own plan for redeeming His own people. Therefore, the local church must 1) focus on praying that God would raise up missionaries in their midst, 2) financially invest in missionaries, 3) prepare potential missionaries for service on the field, 4) consistently and faithfully support their missionaries already on the field, and 5) consistently emphasize (from the pulpit) the mission of God to redeem a people for Himself from every tribe, tongue, and nation.

Evan: What are you excited about with the Building Healthy Churches Conference?

Jimmy: I am honored to be invited to speak at the Building Healthy Churches Conference. It is always a joy to gather with like-minded believers who share a similar passion for seeing the glory of God spread to the ends of the earth. It is my prayer that an even greater urgency for missions will be stoked through this conference.

Thank you Jimmy for the Q&A! Looking forward to seeing you at the Building Healthy Churches Conference on Sept. 17th. To register for the conference, click here.

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Evan Knies is an elder of North Hills Church in West Monroe, LA. He is husband of Lauren and father to Maesyn. He is a graduate of Boyce College and Southern Seminary.