So, where exactly are you going?

In May, we plan to move to the city of Bradford, in northern England. Bradford is an industrial city on the edge of the Pennines, a string of low mountains that run north and south through northern England and southern Scotland. This city was founded on the textile trade, specifically wool, and the signs are everywhere. Huge chimneys dot the skyline, and some of the apartments we looked at were in old mills that have been converted into housing.

The city has a population of about 300,000 which makes it roughly the size of Buffalo, NY, Newark, NJ, or Riverside, CA, and nearly 20% of the population are of Indian, Pakistani, or Bangladeshi descent. In addition to being our home base as we minister throughout the region, Bradford is a mission field all it’s own. We look forward to plugging in to a local church and being a part of what God is doing in this busy city.

Who are you working with?

The HCJB-UK office in Bradford

Bradford is also home to the HCJB-UK office. For over forty years, HCJB-UK has been supporting the work of HCJB Global through both sending and supporting missionaries. In the 1990’s, they began a radio outreach focused on challenging mainstream British culture to consider spiritual things. Since running a radio station in England is cost-prohibitive, HCJB-UK produces radio pieces that are then aired on commercial radio stations. This also allows them to reach an audience that would never tune in to a “Christian” radio station.

What will you be doing?

Josh will be providing technical and computer support to HCJB Global ministries throughout much of the Euro-African hemisphere. This includes the offices in England, Scotland, Spain, and Ghana, as well as ministry partners throughout Europe, western Asia, Africa, and the Middle East. Recently, one of these ministries was off the air for nearly two weeks because there was no one they could trust available to help them with their computers.

In addition, he will continue to serve the mission as the Director of Information Security. In this role, he researches tools and techniques that will protect the mission and individual missionaries from hackers, viruses, and data theft.

Kristen will be serving as Domestic Engineer, Personal Discipleship Director (to Cassia), and Better Half (to Joshua). She also looks forward to helping out with personnel issues at the HCJB-UK office.