Connie Hendershot: A Contagious Champion for Missions
By Kristi Schweitzer, VolunteerJuly-September 2014
What comes to mind when you think of getting involved in missions? Attending conferences, writing checks, or joining prayer teams? For the late Connie Hendershot, missions was more than an activity; it was her lifestyle. As a mother, grandmother, teacher, and farmer’s wife, Connie led what many people would consider an ordinary life, but she impacted many in an extraordinary way.
Connie was born on January 31, 1953, in Marion, Ohio, and married Robert Hendershot in 1971. She majored in education at Ohio State University and became a teacher. But God had more for her to do. He formed a strong desire within her to serve in missions.
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She was a part of the missions committee at Circleville Crossroads Church for over 20 years, serving as the missions president for many of those years. She went on 16 work teams, visiting six of the world’s seven continents. She made trips to Kenya, Papua New Guinea, Bolivia, Alaska, St. Croix, Paraguay, Uganda, and the Dominican Republic. She was chosen as the Missions Minded Woman of the Year in 2010 by her church’s Mission Minded Men, a group that encourages men and women to be involved in missions at home and abroad.
Connie enjoyed visiting the mission field and interacting with missionaries. It motivated her to work hard at home, doing everything in her power to help. She organized missionary services, led missions conferences, and helped raise financial support. She even worked a second job as a pharmacist to save up money to go on the trips.
When on the field, she was very hands on. If a project needed to be done, she’d get her hands dirty and do it. “She was not one to just stand and watch,” said David Lattimer, general missionary superintendent of Churches of Christ in Christian Union.
Connie went above and beyond financial support. One of her special projects was preparing homes for missionaries to stay in while in the United States. She recruited women in her church, and they would clean, stock the cupboards and refrigerator with food, and prepare fresh linens. She even bought school supplies for the children. Her involvement and enthusiasm for missions “was contagious,” said Lattimer. “She was talking about it all the time.”
Connie passed away unexpectedly on January 11, 2014, due to thyroid cancer. Her powerful legacy continues to be an inspiration to others.
PRAY: Have you felt God’s call to missions in an area of your life? Ask Him to show you your part.
ACT: Join a missions group at your church or get involved in one of WGM’s Men With Vision chapters. Learn more about MWV chapters at www.wgm.org/mwv.
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