"Missionary life is simply a chance to die."  – Amy Carmichael

I spent some time this week perusing one of my favorite missionary biographies, Elizabeth Elliot’s portrayal of the life of Amy Carmichael, entitled A Chance to Die. Elliott herself is an amazing woman of faith, having served in Ecuador with her husband, Jim, in the 1950s, only to have him, along with four other missionaries, killed by the tribal people with whom they were engaged sharing the gospel. Elliot returned to Ecuador with their daughter and renewed contact with that same tribe, eventually seeing many of them come to faith in Christ, including her husband’s murderers. Elliott writes of Carmichael in her biography, “Amy Carmichael became for me what now some call a role model. She was far more than that. She was my first spiritual mother. She showed me the shape of godliness.”

Called to missions as a young single woman, Carmichael quickly developed a passion for the lost that almost overwhelmed her. She first went to Japan, then to China, Ceylon, and finally to India, where she founded the Dohnavur Fellowship. Working almost exclusively with marginalized (throw-away) children, she demonstrated powerfully how one single woman with a heart for God can change the lives not only of many thousands, but of a society as well.

Carmichael was born in Ireland in 1867 and died in 1951 at the age of 83 in India, where she is buried under a fountain with the simple epitaph “Amma,” which means “mother” in the Tamil language. She spent the last two decades of her life essentially bedridden from a serious accident, but she continued her work nevertheless, writing many books and overseeing the ministry to her beloved children. A letter survives in which a young woman writes to Carmichael, “What is it like to be a missionary?” Her response to the woman survives as well: “Missionary life is simply a chance to die.”

On Sunday, September 14, we begin a three-week emphasis on missions we are calling “For Such A Time.” This theme seemed appropriate to our Missions Team as we consider the changing landscape of missions in our world and how we can best engage Indianapolis, the United States, and the nations with the gospel of Jesus Christ.

Myron Drent, our Missionary in Residence, will kick off our sermon series on the 14th. I will follow up on the 21st, and then, on September 28, we will take up our Missions Faith Promise for 2026. On Sunday, September 21, in the evening, Sasha and Olga Skrypak will share with us an update on all that is taking place in their ministry in Ukraine and with the Ukrainian church plant in Austin, Texas.

I leave you today with Amy Carmichael’s “Confession of Love.” It inspires me, so my hope is that it might inspire you this day as well.

MY VOW: Whatsoever Thou says unto me, by Thy grace I will do it.

MY CONSTRAINT: Thy love, O Christ, my Lord.

MY CONFIDENCE: Thou art able to keep that which I have committed unto Thee.

MY JOY: To do Thy will, O God.

MY DISCIPLINE: That which I would not choose, but which Thy love appoints.

MY PRAYER: Conform my will to Thine.

MY MOTTO: Love to live, live to love.

MY PORTION: The Lord is the portion of my inheritance.

Teach us, good Lord, to serve you as you deserve; to give and not to count the cost; to fight and not to heed the wounds; to toil and not to seek for rest; to labor and not to ask for any reward save that of knowing that we do your will, O Lord our God.

Grace and peace,



Pastor Jym

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