Still on Mission: Barbara Pinkley’s Second Calling

THE CALL: 2025    |    5 MINUTE READ
AYNSLEY VERMILYA, STORYTELLING PARTNER

Born to parents who were WGM missionaries, Barbara Pinkley has never been a stranger to World Gospel Mission and its vision to see people and communities transformed through the power of the Gospel. Barbara is now retired after serving as a nurse for over 40 years in Burundi and Kenya, but her story of serving others is far from over. She continues to stay busy doing mission work through a new avenue: teaching English to help other WGM missionaries who are out in the field to improve their fluency and confidence in using English.

The missions world is changing. No longer are missionaries coming only out of the United States and going to other countries. Now, more locations are sending missionaries around the world, including to the United States, to evangelize and teach the Gospel. Missions work is becoming more global both in who hears the Good News and who shares it.

WGM has been sending missionaries from countries other than the United States for the last few years, and Barbara has stepped into a full-circle moment where she now is teaching international missionaries English.

In January 2021, Barbara retired from her missions work in Kenya, but as she returned to the U.S. amidst COVID-19 restrictions, she knew she wasn’t finished serving the Lord or others. In fact, she began to sense a call to teach English to missionaries virtually.

Taking a few courses to learn both how to teach English to speakers of other languages as well as how to navigate the complexities of digital platforms, such as Zoom, Barbara had no interest in just sitting at home as a retiree. She found immense joy in this new season of serving the Lord and the organization that has given her so much throughout her life on the mission field.

Barbara began teaching English in 2022 and is still teaching some of her first students today. Her schedule has filled out to the point where she has to be selective of how many classes she’s taking on each day so that she can prepare well for the individual needs of each student. She’s enjoyed learning how to best serve her students and has loved how this new mission field has given her further opportunity to interact with the global church.

Barbara’s involvement with missionaries hasn’t only been confined to the computer screen. She’s been able to actually travel to visit several of her students since she has taken on this new role. Having a relationship with her students is one of Barbara’s favorite parts of teaching. She loves getting to know her students better, whether online or in person, meeting their friends and families, and practicing English with them. She gets to learn about their mission fields and ministries, hear about their joys and challenges, pray with them, and be reminded of her crucial role in their ministries as English helps these missionaries communicate more effectively with colleagues and many others who are praying and supporting their ministry as they join together to reach more people.

Barbara understands that English is not an easy language to learn, but she has every intention of continuing to help missionaries from around the world improve their English fluency so that they might continue sharing the Gospel with others.

She encourages her students to never give up when the lessons prove to be difficult because she understands firsthand the difference it makes to be able to share the Good News of Jesus with people across the world using a shared language. She knows how easy it is to get discouraged in language learning, because she’s found herself in the shoes of her students as a language learner over her years of service. So she believes in her students and their ability to keep working at it, never failing to encourage and support them the best she can.

Through WGM, Barbara has been introduced to global workers—many from Latin America—who serve in many places around the world. She’s been able to learn the names and stories of missionaries who might not know many other missionaries even within the organization, which has given a unifying touch to the work Barbara is doing. Her story is one that can teach others what it means to use any platform one is given, in any season of life, to love and serve others for the sake of the kingdom.

ACTION STEPS

GO: Even after retirement, Barbara remained faithful to the Lord’s call on her life. God often uses us in ways that exceed our expectations. Check out our opportunities page to discover what God may have in store for you.

Author bio: Aynsley Vermilya is a Ministry Coordinator and Worship Leader at Trinity Church in Indianapolis, Indiana. She also serves as a freelance writer with Resonant Services. Aynsley loves both hearing and sharing stories with others, and her creative background has allowed her to discover how storytelling and worship go hand in hand. Outside of work, Aynsley enjoys time spent with friends, all things coffee and music, and any excuse for a good road trip.