Meet the Andersons! Michael and Lisa joined Campus Crusade for Christ, (Cru) and were accepted as Grace missionaries in 1987. We currently serve with the Cru ministry Athletes in Action. We have four grown kids and four grandchildren. It continues to be a pleasure and privilege to be part of the rich mission history of Grace. Fun fact: Lisa is the daughter of Gerhard and Esther Bader and grew up at Grace.
We minister worldwide from our home in Xenia, Ohio, the world headquarters of Athletes in Action. Michael focuses on team building and leadership development, while Lisa is involved in staff care of our AIA staff around the globe. AIA has staff in eight different countries in every corner of the world. From working with pro-cyclists in Spain to running a sports camp for Africans from more than ten nations, our AIA staff are making a difference.
After years of direct evangelism, we now focus on caring for the missionaries and teams who are serving communities overseas. By attending to the spiritual and emotional health of staff and teams, AIA missionaries are able to stay on the field, work harmoniously, and have fruitful ministries. Stress and conflict are the two major reasons missionaries leave the field. Lisa’s roles include providing human resources support and council to leaders, staff, and teams but her favorite is helping families support the 16 (and growing!) ex-pat children of our staff.
There are so many stories we could share about “Connecting with people through Christ to meet the spiritual, physical, and emotional needs of our community and the world around us,” but here’s just one. We recently sent two families to a closed country in Central Asia. It is a very difficult place to live and they’ve been working hard on language learning to be capable of even very basic communication. One family got connected to two sisters needing a home in their capital city and invited them to move in. Long story short, both girls not only had their physical needs met, they have both come to know the Lord! Our staff have seen the Holy Spirit moving in unprecedented ways and are excited to see what God has in store for this next year.
Lisa and Michael Anderson