Fay Turnbull

When Fay Turnbull filled out her World Gospel Mission application on a Saturday in 1991, she thought she was making a safe bet with God. "Okay, Lord. If this is really what you want us to do, then this application has to be received by WGM by Monday, and we get a call from them," she prayed, knowing full well that such timing was impossible.

Monday morning, the phone rang. Dale Dorothy was calling to say he'd received their application in the mail that day. "Seriously?" Fay remembers thinking. But God had honored her test of faith, launching a remarkable journey of service spanning over three decades.

Born in 1960 in Winchester, Indiana, Fay was the youngest of nine children. She took her first step into the missions world on a short-term trip to Mexico. Later, while traveling to churches with a friend who had become a WGM missionary, Fay felt God tugging her heart toward missions. When she shared this calling with her husband, Randy, she discovered something remarkable: when he was five years old, Randy had said he wanted to be a missionary. God had been preparing both their hearts long before they knew it.

The Turnbulls were appointed as WGM missionaries and spent the next decade serving in Honduras with their three young daughters—Jamie, Erin, and Jodi. Their first term took them to the El Sembrador farm school, where Randy worked with irrigation while Fay taught the missionary kids.

"God really is in every detail," Fay reflects, sharing a story that still gives her chills. For months, their daughters rode in the back of a borrowed pickup truck through the mountains of Honduras. Only later did they discover that when the truck had been repainted, the bed hadn't been screwed back down properly. "Knowing that my three little girls had been riding in the back of that truck on numerous occasions, going up and down mountains and around curves, and it could have just flown off the edge of the mountain—it really reminded me that God really is in every detail."

During their second term, they joined the ministry team in Choluteca, Honduras, working closely with local communities in evangelistic services and church development. Through it all, Fay continued homeschooling her daughters—a responsibility that filled her with pride when Jamie graduated as co-valedictorian upon their return to the States.

After ten years on the field, the Turnbulls returned home in 2001. Following a two-year hiatus, they felt called back to WGM to serve at headquarters—Randy with Buildings and Grounds and Fay with Field Accounting. When the investments coordinator moved away, Fay reluctantly took over the role. "There were lots of tears," she admits. "The first part was a nightmare." But God had plans for those skills, and Fay managed investments for over twenty years, contributing to consistently strong audit reports that validated WGM’s financial stewardship.

During their missionary years, Fay lost a brother and a sister before leaving for the field, another sister while serving in Honduras, and two more brothers after returning to the States. Her mother’s declining health added another layer of difficulty. Yet through each trial, she's learned to lean on Psalm 46:10: "Be still and know that I am God." A sign in her office captures her philosophy: " Sometimes God calms the storm...Sometimes He lets the storm rage and calms His child. " This perspective has shaped how she approaches both ministry and life’s inevitable difficulties. “There is peace in the midst of the chaos,” she says. “God gives me peace in the midst of the chaos.”

Her career at headquarters has included director roles and various transitions, but through it all, she’s maintained her heart for the missionaries she serves. "This is the ministry that God has called me to," Fay explains. "While I am here to serve missionaries and support staff, my ultimate service is to the Lord." As a leader, she's distinguished herself through building up her team: "I want them to know that I have their backs. That I am their biggest cheerleader."

This approach has resonated deeply with her colleagues and missionaries. As word of her retirement spreads, emails and cards pour in with a common theme: "What are we going to do without you? You understand things from a missionary perspective." Having served both as a missionary and headquarters staff, Fay brings a unique dual perspective that has made her an invaluable advocate for missionaries