Joanna Robbins
about me
The most important thing to know about me is knowing who put the joy in "Joyanna". Simply put, my rivers of joy flow from God.
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Rivers of JOY
"May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing," Romans 15:13.
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I placed my faith in Jesus Christ when I was a very young child after listening to the 23rd Psalm. I prayed a child's prayer, “I will be your sheep and You will be my Shepherd”. Rays of sunlight were glistening through the trees and the heavens declared His glory! I breathed in the significance of joy and my journey had begun.
The intimate and loving relationship with Jesus Christ that began fifty years ago has continued to this day. I may have faced fires, flood waters, innumerable trials and afflictions of various kinds, but I can honestly say that I have never doubted my salvation and never lost my joy. Following the ‘Good Shepherd continues to be the theme of my life.
The Journey
I graduated from Dallas Baptist University with a degree in Education. In 1987, God called me to serve with my family through the International Mission Board, SBC (1987-1998). I loved our adventures in France, Mali, and Nigeria. I learned French, Bambara, and Hausa in order to create Bible literacy materials in those languages. It was my joy to serve and fellowship with nationals and enjoyed home schooling my three sons and one daughter in Africa.
In 1998, my family left West Africa during a medical evacuation when one of my sons was severely burned. This began a series of tragic events. Believing God can bestow beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61), my four kids and I settled back into life in the U.S. and we began the healing process.
For the next 15 years, I would teach first grade, G.T., & E.S.L. (Gifted/Talented & English as a Second Language) in Texas public schools, while also working as a Care Giver for the elderly, and enjoying opportunities to encourage homeschool families. During those years, I had opportunities to speak to a wide variety of groups to encourage others to love God in order to live well.
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Yet again, M.K.s (missionary kids; also known as Third Culture Kids) prove to be very resilient. They are all grown up and have 'left the nest', three are married, and I have one grandson. Two of my sons serve as missionaries among the Unreached People Groups in East Asia. All four are healthy and living honorable lives. Praise God for His faithfulness!
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What did I live? What did I learn?
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What once seemed like a random string of events, I now see as God’s sovereignty preparing me for the next season of my life in missions. For almost 20 years I'd been asking God for Corrie Ten Boom's old job as a "Tramp for the Lord". To "tramp" means to travel from place to place, to journey for a long distance. God, in His great mercy, said yes! As Jim Cymbala noted, "God is irresistibly attracted to weakness, to those who humbly and honestly admit how desperately they need Him." So I began a new phase of missionary service, to "tramp for the Lord" with great "Joy on the Journey".
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Joyanna Robbins
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A Missionary Call “Love so amazing, so divine demands my soul, my life, my all.” —Isaac Watts
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My call to missions came in 1987, commissioned with the IMB under the theme, "Risk-Takers & Rope Holders ~Take My healing to the Nations". It remains beautiful imagery, for we know that to take God's healing to the nations, someone must take the risk to go and someone must hold their ropes.
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My vision is to glorify God by flooding the nations with healthy, spirit-filed Great Commission workers who will carry the gospel to the ends of the earth. Over the years, God has uniquely equipped me for this task.
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I served as a missionary with the IMB for 12 years in West Africa and also I taught in Texas public school for 18 years. While serving in West Africa, family and I lived in very difficult areas, learned several languages, homeschooled on a ‘bush station’, and faced trials of various kinds, including a medical evacuation in 1998. God's great faithfulness through the trials fuels my passion for strengthening the work among the UPGs.
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Returning to full-time mission work in 2013, I resigned from teaching, sold my home, gave away my things, and moved to SC serve with Crossover Global, a missionary sending base that brings access to the gospel to unreached nation. I am certified in MBTI, and have been trained in the Clarion Model (clarionmodel.com), doing Personal Development Sessions as a missionary coach/consultant. As Crossover's Director of Member Health, I traveled all over the world, ministering to missionaries, evangelizing, and discipling nationals.
I have four grown children; two live in Texas and two serve in East Asia in an UPG. Currently, I live South Carolina, but often visit Texas where I serve on the Board of Trustees of my brother’s ministry (familyreform.org), seeking to transform families, both domestically and abroad, to shine gospel hope to a lost and hurting world.
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God’s scattered servants need someone to come alongside them who can understand the pressures and challenges of living in areas that are often hostile to the Gospel. Preventive care is essential therefore I travel extensively in order to equip and encourage multi-cultural, multi-lingual leaders.
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Using my gifts of evangelism and discipleship, I created a 2-day training called ENDURANCE based on Hebrews 12:1-2. Using my gifts of teaching and exhortation, I conduct personal development sessions, assessments, debriefing, and offers spiritual renewal through biblical principles. My focus is Soul Care, “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,” Acts 14:21-22.
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I serve with Ministry Essentials International (http://meintl.org/home/). The MEI mission base, called "The Garden House", is located in Budapest, Hungary. Missionaries from all agencies are welcomed to this safe retreat for crisis intervention, debriefing, mentoring, training, M.K. care, spiritual direction, and counseling through "Soul Care". (http://meintl.org/soul-care/.)
Risk Takers and Rope Holders
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In 1792, missionary William Carey spoke words never to be forgotten, "I will go down, but remember that you must hold the rope."
God’s scattered servants, serving in some of the spiritually darkest places on earth, need someone to come alongside them to understand the pressures and challenges in these areas that are hostile to the Gospel. God has called me to strengthen the work among the UPGs by equipping, and encouraging multi-cultural, multi-lingual leaders. Preventive care is essential.
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According to the grace given to me, I share biblical principles for victorious living for “strengthening the souls of the disciples, encouraging them to continue in the faith, and saying that through many tribulations we must enter the kingdom of God,” Acts 14:22. I hope to soon publish "ENDURANCE", an exhortation for all believers based on Hebrews 12:1-2, “Let us run with endurance the race that is set before us.”
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The passion of my heart is to flood the nations with healthy Great Commission workers who glorify God by making disciple-making disciples of all nations!
What I believe
There is one God in three persons: Father, Son, and Holy Spirit. The Holy Bible is inerrant and inspired by God, a complete revelation of His will for the salvation of men, provided through Jesus Christ, who died upon the cross and arose from the dead according to the Scriptures. All who repent and believe in Him are born again of the Holy Spirit, receive the gift of eternal life, and become the children of God. The second coming of the Lord Jesus Christ is imminent which is an incentive to holy living and faithful service.
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Read more on what I believe at https://www.crcmckinney.com/beliefs
and http://columbiacrossroads.org/what-we-believe
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Gospel Partners - Rope Holders
Jesus commissioned us to go into all the world as a witness, preaching the gospel to all nations, Matthew 28:18-20.
My sending church is Christ Redeemer in, Tx. (www.crcmckinney.com)
I am a member of and gospel partner with Columbia Crossroads Church. (columbiacrossroads.org)
I also partner with Providence Church, Tx. (www.providencefrisco.com)
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I am so very grateful for all my faithful Gospel partners who "hold the ropes" for me by praying and by supporting this ministry financially.
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Please consider partnering with me. All gifts are tax deductible.
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To donate online, just go to
Select: 'Online Giving'
'Add a Designation': Account 750 - Ministry of Joanna Robbins
To donate by mail:
MEI
PO Box 4947
Wheaton, IL 60189
Write on check memo line - Ministry of Joanna Robbins acct 750
"Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God!"
William Carey
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