In fact, when Kelsey first heard about the apprenticeship program from her roommate, Gracie, she was in college in Minnesota and had no interest in applying. While Kelsey was happy when Gracie was accepted to the program, she told the Lord she would never do the apprenticeship herself, and she would never go to Texas. Texas was too hot, and Kelsey had her own post-graduation plans: First, she’d take a break from school and work at a Bible school, then she’d go on to graduate school to become a therapist.
As the school year drew to an end, however, the Lord whispered that He had other plans. Kelsey wasn’t sure what He had in mind, but one night during a worship service, she understood that she wouldn’t be joining staff at the Bible school. “Okay, Lord,” she told Him. “I know I’m not in a place where I’m gonna go to grad school yet—I need a break. What am I gonna do?”
A New Plan
Kelsey started researching other post-graduation options. Apprehensively, she decided to look into the apprenticeship program. She didn’t really want to do it, but, still, she was curious.
When Gracie came to Minnesota with some GFA staff to share about the apprenticeship at an event, Kelsey met with them to learn more about the program. She hadn’t been sure what GFA staff would be like, but her fears were put to rest as she interacted with the group from GFA and saw their love for the Lord.
After that interaction, Kelsey began seriously praying about the apprenticeship program. It seemed like a good option, so she applied and found herself on an interview call. But she still wasn’t sure this was what God had for her.
“Just step out in faith,” Myia, the GFA representative, encouraged her. “The Lord is going to make it clear whether or not He wants to go through with this.”
Where God Calls …
Shortly after her call with Myia, Kelsey was accepted into the apprenticeship program. As her September start date arrived, Kelsey said goodbye to her dog and her mom, ready for whatever the next six months would hold. Even if God asked her to join staff and serve full time on GFA’s Mission Support Team, she’d do it—as long as He made a way for her to bring her dog.
Kelsey settled in at GFA, met her housemates and began training in her job placement on GFA’s digital team. But during the early months of her apprenticeship, she struggled with feelings of inadequacy and loneliness. The discouragement was something she hadn’t anticipated, yet the hard season opened the doors for Kelsey to experience the Lord in new ways.
“I think the Lord was using it as a season to just teach me, because that’s when He began to teach me [that] what He calls me to, He will equip me to, [and that] He’s the only one that can satisfy,” Kelsey said of those hard months.
Spiritual growth such as Kelsey experienced is a major element of the apprenticeship program. More than just a job, the program offers apprentices the chance to discover who they are meant to be in Christ—and how to live that out. As they’re growing in their own walks with the Lord, apprentices also serve as behind-the-scenes missionaries, playing a key role in the Great Commission for the billions of people who have yet to hear of Christ. They’re supporting global ministry while also serving the local community directly, growing in both knowing God and making Him known—here and around the world.
For Kelsey, her sense of God’s equipping grew as 2024 ended and 2025 began. By that point, she had strong relationships within the GFA community, especially with her fellow apprentices, and she could see the Lord providing wisdom and confidence for her work. She began to get excited about her role managing social media. “I would ask the Lord to provide ideas, and He’d give me that creativity,” Kelsey said.
Kelsey also continued to grow in her relationship with God. She especially loved the weekly “focus day” built into the apprenticeship program—a day where she could slow down, read and spend focused time with the Lord. Times of fellowship with others also pushed her closer to God, and she began to see Him as her Father in ways she never had before.
But as February—and her time in the apprenticeship—drew to an end, sadness crept in. Kelsey had decided that GFA wasn’t the place for her long term, and she wouldn’t be coming back as a staff member. Yet, she had fallen in love with the GFA community. She loved the people, she loved the ways she’d grown in the Lord during her time at GFA and, even though she’d never imagined herself working in missions, she loved being part of reaching people with the love of Christ. How could she leave it all behind?
A Process of Surrender
During a conversation with GFA staff member Jessi, who had served as her apprenticeship mentor, Kelsey couldn’t hold in her sadness any longer. “I don’t want to leave,” she bawled. Jessi asked her why she couldn’t stay. Through tears, Kelsey explained that if she joined staff and moved to Texas, she knew she’d have to leave her dog behind in Minnesota with her mom.
As Kelsey entered her final week in the apprenticeship, she felt torn in two. With six days left, she decided to fast and pray for clarity and breakthrough.
“I wanted to be obedient. I wanted to do what He was calling me [to do],” she said. Kelsey didn’t gain the clarity she sought, but she did come away from her fast with a sense of peace. The Lord especially encouraged her from James 1:2–4: “My brethren, count it all joy when you fall into various trials, knowing that the testing of your faith produces patience. But let patience have its perfect work, that you may be perfect and complete, lacking nothing.”
Then, the Saturday before she graduated from the apprenticeship, she attended a young adults’ service in a nearby town. During the service, it became clear to Kelsey that the Lord was speaking to her.
The songs that night were about sacrifice and yielding to His will, and a theme of acting on the Lord’s call was woven throughout the service. “The Lord spoke to everything that was on my heart,” Kelsey said. “And at that point I was like, ‘Oh, no. The Lord’s calling me to staff.’ And I knew I had to be obedient.”
Later that night, Kelsey shared with two GFA friends, “I think the Lord’s calling me to staff.” She was crying, but even as she said the words, she felt peace and excitement. God had made His call clear. And she was going to follow.
I wanted to be obedient. I wanted to do what He was calling me [to do],
Equipped to Make an Impact
On Monday, three days before her apprenticeship officially ended, Kelsey applied to join the Mission Support Team. The very next day, she was accepted on staff.
After a short visit home, Kelsey returned to GFA in May 2025 as a behind-the-scenes missionary—a member of the Mission Support Team. During her time as an apprentice, the Lord had awakened her to the reality that more than 3 billion people still have never heard the Gospel. 1 Now, as a staff member, Kelsey longs to reach those forgotten ones with the hope of Christ, and she knows that her role as a behind-the-scenes missionary is vital to making that happen.
“The [social media] work that I do … it’s really highlighting the United States staff, showing how the work they’re doing is incredibly important for the mission field, even though it’s not directly on the field,” Kelsey says about her position as manager of GFA’s community social media page. “… We’re hoping, through this page and through the work that I’m doing, … to connect more people to the ministry itself so that they can partner with the national missionaries.”
Take a Step of Faith
At GFA World, we want nothing more than to share the love of Christ with those who have yet to hear for the first time. Because of Kelsey and other behind-the-scenes missionaries, thousands of national missionaries are able to be supported and prayed for by a team of people from around the world. With people like Kelsey who say “yes” to the Lord’s call, we can work together to reach people with the hope of Christ while there is still time.
“If you have a heart for missions, [joining staff] is a real way to make an impact and … to help reach those 3 billion people,” Kelsey said. For those who feel unsure of God’s call or unequipped for the role of behind-the-scenes missionary, Kelsey’s encouragement is much the same as the advice Myia shared with her: “If you think the Lord is calling you to it or calling you into missions, you should act and do it. Act obediently and just go for it. … He’s going to make it clear if it’s not what He has for you. … If you feel unqualified, maybe it’s because the Lord’s going to qualify you.”
For those who suspect God is calling them to the apprenticeship program, Kelsey has a little extra encouragement: “It’s gonna be an incredibly challenging time, but the Lord is gonna be so good. … The Lord really gave me the desires of my heart during the apprenticeship and being obedient to what He was calling me to, and I think that He would do it for [you], too.”