The summer before Leslie Montgomery started 8th grade, her church hired a youth pastor whose parents served as missionaries in Tanzania. Hearing them share what they had experienced “literally changed my life,” she said.
“I knew that summer, as a 12-year-old, that God was calling me to serve as an overseas missionary, specifically in Africa. I came home and shared my calling with my church the next Sunday. Of course, no one was too concerned at that point; God isn’t sending out too many 12-year-olds by themselves to Africa,” she quipped.
She didn’t feel ready as a teenager or college student to go on a mission trip. Then, she got married and had a baby. Then, there was a global pandemic. Leslie had no idea when her young family would bring the gospel to Africans who needed to hear it.
One spring afternoon, God opened her husband’s heart to this call, too. The family knew it was time. They were all in.
In March 2023, the Montgomerys and their two-year-old son, Brock, moved to South Africa to disciple university students.
“God has given us a heart for university students, and we know the incredible impact they can have on their friends, families and communities,” Leslie said.
The Cooperative Program takes the Gospel to the nations and the neighborhoods. Your financial support through the Cooperative Program allows missionaries to build intentional relationships, ultimately sharing the Gospel with those who need to hear it.
Pray for the Montgomery family as they disciple university students who seek purpose and identity in Christ