When Southern Baptists give so that missionaries can go, “thank you” is a perfectly natural and expected response. But Josh and Beth Glymph’s gratitude differs from most North American missionary families because it is multi-generational.
In 2020, your prayers and gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering helped them plant Refuge Church in Jacksonville, Florida, and this year, their story was featured in Annie Armstrong promotional materials. “To know that there’ve been all these people giving and praying and partnering with us in this work is huge,” Beth says. “We’ve been super encouraged.”

But Josh and Beth are now not the only “super encouraged” Glymphs. Last summer, your gifts to Annie helped send their daughter Hannah to Los Angeles with GenSend, a program that puts young people to work in ministries all over North America. “Coming from our church plant in Jacksonville, I had a lot of head knowledge about ministry,” Hannah says. “But when I went to L.A., that was where the rubber met the road. I got to put all that knowledge to the test.”
For six weeks, Hannah worked at an inner-city church, sharing the gospel with neighborhood kids and helping them with schoolwork. It was a life-changing, career-plan-altering experience she never would’ve been able to afford on her own. “I’m in college and don’t have money to send myself to L.A.,” she says. “That’s why I’m so thankful the Lord has blessed people who’re able to give. They might not be able to spend six weeks in L.A. because they have jobs and families. But God gives us all resources. Those people who gave had financial resources, and I had time and energy.”

As North American missionaries, Hannah’s parents were no strangers to gratitude. But when they recognized GenSend’s effect on their daughter, Josh and Beth felt gratitude on an entirely different level. “Young adults who’ve seen missions need a way to go and dip their toe in the water,” Josh says. “GenSend gave Hannah that opportunity, and that was really cool.”
Josh remembers, “When she left for California, we stood in the airport and cried like babies. I didn’t expect those emotions to hit, but still, we were excited. And we were grateful because there’s this mobilization that takes place when people are willing to give to Annie Armstrong. Together, we’re able to support those who are on the front lines of gospel work, whether that’s the pastor, the pastor’s wife, or even their kids. That’s certainly the story God wrote for us.”
Your gifts to the Annie Armstrong Easter Offering help provide church plant missionaries like Josh and Beth and GenSend missionaries like Hannah with all they need to start churches, meet needs, and share the gospel.
Published July 26, 2024