What does it look like to say yes to God?
Sometimes it means crossing the street.
Sometimes it means crossing an ocean.
This summer at Gather, the Evangelical Covenant Church commissioned Reagan Smith as Serve Globally personnel to Japan. While her destination is on the other side of the world, her story began much closer to home – at First Covenant Church in Salina, Kan.
Reagan traces her calling back to a youth mission trip when she was just 11 years old.
“I felt God really draw me into outreach ministry after my first mission trip,” she said. “My passion for cross-cultural ministry grew when I went to the Dominican Republic in 2019.”
Like many people discerning God’s direction, Reagan spent years wondering where God wanted her to go. Then, while praying through scripture, God changed the question altogether.
“I was lost, thinking the location would be what gave me direction,” she said. “Then God highlighted God’s call to Abram in Genesis 12. God told him to go, and He would do the rest. It wasn’t a location issue – it was a lordship issue.”
That realization set Reagan on a path of deeper discernment.
In 2025, Serve Globally invited her to spend three months as an intern in Japan and Thailand. The internship wasn’t simply about gaining ministry experience – it was an opportunity to prayerfully discern whether God was calling her to serve in Japan long-term. During those months, Reagan worshiped with local congregations, stayed with host families, helped lead a vacation Bible school in Tokyo, volunteered in local communities, and learned from Japanese church leaders. Along the way, she discovered not only the beauty of the culture but also the unique opportunities and challenges of sharing Christ in Japan.
Japan is often described as one of the least-reached nations in the world. Christians make up less than one percent of the population, and many churches faithfully serve aging congregations while praying for younger generations to discover Jesus.
Rather than discouraging Reagan, the experience confirmed God’s call.
Today, she is preparing to return to Japan for a one- to three-year assignment with Serve Globally. She will partner with local churches in church planting, community development, education, and sports outreach, seeking to share and embody the gospel in culturally appropriate ways.
“What excites me most is witnessing God at work in the Japanese context,” Reagan said. “The people, the communities, and the beautiful gifts God has given that culture. I’m excited to see those gifts used to spread the gospel.”
One unexpected encounter during her internship continues to encourage her.
As she was leaving Japan, a young Japanese man approached her in the airport, nervous about traveling alone. What began as a casual conversation turned into more than five hours talking about life, culture, and faith while playing cards during a layover. Later, Reagan discovered he attended school just a block from the church where she had been serving.
“For me, it was affirmation that God was already at work in people’s lives, hungry for truth.”
That experience reinforced something God had already been teaching her. Mission isn’t about bringing God somewhere He isn’t. It’s about joining the work God is already doing.
Reagan offers these words to anyone sensing God may be inviting them into something new: “If you wait until you’re ready, you will never go. If you feel God nudging you, then He already thinks you’re ready. God will take care of preparing the way. There’s freedom in the invitation.”
As the Midwest Conference, we celebrate Reagan’s willingness to say yes. We also celebrate the churches, mentors, and mission experiences God used to shape her along the way. Her story is a reminder that God continues to raise up women and men from Midwest Conference churches to participate in His mission around the world.
Whether God calls us to a neighboring community or across the Pacific, the invitation is the same.
Trust Him. Take the next step. And discover that He has already gone before you.
Partner with Reagan
Reagan is currently building a team of ministry partners to pray, encourage, and financially support her work in Japan.
You can:
- Pray for Reagan as she learns the language, builds relationships, and serves alongside local churches in Japan.
- Give to her ministry at https://giving.covchurch.org/personnel-detail/reagan-smith.
- Become a Mission Partner church through ongoing prayer and financial support.
- Invite Reagan to share with your congregation by contacting her at Reagan.Smith@covchurch.org.
Our Postcards from the Midwest Conference are short and encouraging looks at what God is doing in churches across the Midwest Conference of the Evangelical Covenant Church – Colorado, Iowa, Kansas, western Missouri, Nebraska and Wyoming. We’re celebrating faithfulness, fresh vision, and the beauty of ministry in all shapes and sizes.
