At Good Agency, our team members are dedicated to their professional roles and to giving back to causes close to their hearts. Through our Volunteer Paid Time Off (VPTO) program, employees can take up to a week of paid time off to serve communities in ways that are particularly meaningful to them.
Casey P., an Associate Graphic Designer at Good Agency, recently took her VPTO day to join her husband in ministering to missionaries overseas through a nonprofit called Reflection of Grace. This experience not only fueled her passion for missions but also deepened her understanding of what it means to support those who are on the front lines of ministry.
Meet Casey
Casey has been a part of the Good Agency team since February 2023, bringing a keen eye for design that seamlessly blends beauty with functionality. “My role is to make things look beautiful and also make them functional,” she says. With a background in web and graphic design, Casey is integral to ensuring that every project she touches is not only visually appealing but also strategically effective. From crafting compelling websites to designing eye-catching ads and homepages, she focuses on creating user-friendly experiences that are perfectly aligned with our clients’ brand narratives and goals. Her work consistently enhances the user journey while staying true to the unique identity of each brand.
Choosing to Serve with Reflection of Grace: The Heartbeat
Casey Price’s VPTO week was spent joining her husband, Jon, who works for Reflection of Grace, a nonprofit that provides on-site care to missionaries around the world. It serves as a vital support system for missionaries who are under immense pressure and struggling under the weight of their ministry.
Reflection of Grace began from a personal place. Casey shared the story of how her husband, Jon, started this journey. Ten years ago, Jon was sending funds to a close friend who was a missionary. Unexpectedly, his friend asked him to stop sending money and instead visit him. Jon went and spent time with this friend, who was in desperate need of companionship and support. That visit sparked something in Jon, and he realized that many missionaries were in similar situations—needing someone to be there for them, not just financially, but emotionally and spiritually. He then spent a year traveling to see pastors and missionaries he had promised to visit but never did, helping them with practical needs, offering advice, and simply being there for them in times of difficulty.
Traditionally, missionaries take furloughs, returning home for rest and rejuvenation. However, these furloughs can often be more stressful than restful, filled with fundraising, speaking engagements, and logistical challenges. Reflection of Grace offers a different approach by meeting missionaries exactly where they are, providing much-needed support directly in their work environments. The organization not only meets the practical needs of missionaries—whether it’s financial assistance, advice, or help with internal church issues—but also provides the emotional and spiritual care that is often overlooked.
As Casey explains, missionaries frequently face a “constant weight of ‘am I doing enough?’” This pressure, combined with the isolation and challenges of living in a foreign and sometimes hostile country, can lead to burnout and discouragement. “We as a body need to be intentional about being the body of Christ,” Casey says, reflecting on Reflection of Grace’s mission. By providing encouragement, support, and provision to missionaries and pastors in their natural environment, the ministry ensures that those ministers receive the same holistic support that they are constantly pouring out to others.
Ministering in the Middle East and Beyond
Casey’s VPTO day was part of a broader trip that took her and her husband to several locations, including the Middle East, Macedonia, Albania, and Hungary. Although her official VPTO was taken during their time in the Middle East, Casey’s experiences across these different locations were all centered around the same mission: to support and uplift missionaries and pastors serving in challenging environments.
In the Middle East, Casey and her husband spent time with missionaries who had been displaced from their previous location due to logistical travel issues. “They had just been forcibly moved from one Middle Eastern country to another… they were in a really uncomfortable transition and location and starting to learn the language,” Casey recalls. Despite these challenges, Casey and her husband were able to offer emotional and spiritual support during this difficult time. “This was my favorite stop this past trip just because it was so meaningful to be there with them,” she reflects.
Casey and her husband spent their time in the Middle East being fully present with the missionary family, offering them companionship and a sense of normalcy during a period of significant stress. The family had recently been displaced from another country due to visa issues and was in the midst of a difficult transition. Despite feeling that they weren’t “doing a whole lot,” Casey and her husband provided the family with exactly what they needed: emotional and spiritual support. By simply being there, sharing meals, and engaging in meaningful conversations while the children played, they helped alleviate the overwhelming feelings the family was experiencing. Casey noted that often, the most impactful support comes from just being present, offering a listening ear, and providing a sense of normalcy in an otherwise chaotic environment. The family expressed immense gratitude for this seemingly simple act of being present. In stressful environments like mission work, being “all things to all people” often means adapting to the unique needs of those you’re supporting, even if it’s not what you might have initially expected.
In some cases, more practical, hands-on assistance is required. One of the most challenging yet rewarding aspects of their work was the diverse needs they encountered across different countries. For example, in Uganda, Casey and her husband are in the process of helping a local pastor build a house and secure land for his church, as well as supporting the education and medical needs of local children and church members.
In Albania, they provided encouragement and financial assistance to a missionary whose father had been diagnosed with cancer. Each situation presented unique challenges, but the common thread was the importance of offering personal, relational support that went beyond mere financial aid. As Casey puts it, “It’s really just about loving people the way you would want to be loved. Treating them with the same care and compassion that you’d hope to receive in their situation.”
Key Takeaways: The Power of the Simple Gospel
Releasing Control
Casey’s time spent with missionaries around the world taught her valuable lessons about the nature of service and the importance of humility in ministry. One of the key takeaways was the realization that she didn’t need to have all the answers or solutions. “I can’t have a messiah complex with them,” she reflects, acknowledging the temptation to feel responsible for fixing the problems that missionaries face. Instead, she learned that simply being present and offering support was often enough. “It’s not my job to be Messiah to you. It’s simply my job to be here, and whatever God does with that, I trust him,“ she says.
This shift in perspective was crucial for Casey, who admits that she often wants to approach situations with a clear plan and sense of control. However, her experiences on this trip taught her that ministry is not about being perfect or having everything figured out. “I’ve learned to stop putting weight and expectations on myself,” she says, realizing that God can use even the simplest acts of kindness to make a profound impact. By releasing control, Casey was able to focus more on the relational aspects of ministry, embracing the simplicity and power of the gospel message—being present, communicating grace, and loving others where they are.
The Gospel is for Christians Too
One of the most poignant moments of the interview came when Casey simply stated, “There’s this saying—the gospel is for Christians too. We all need to be reminded of it, no matter how long we’ve been a believer or how involved we are in ministry.“ It was a vital reminder that we, as Christians, never outgrow our need for the gospel and are always in need of grace and support in every season and facet of life. Casey even shared about her experience, “I feel like I just spent a week where I was ministered to every single time we ministered.” Through ministering to their missionary friends, Casey and her husband were also sharing in the reality of mercy and grace found in the person of Jesus Christ.
An Encouragement to the Church
When asked for practical advice on supporting missionaries, Casey emphasizes building genuine relationships. She encourages people to connect with missionaries as individuals, not just as representatives of their work. “Have a conversation with them, take them to lunch, and don’t make it an interrogation,” she advises. This personal connection is key to offering meaningful support.
For those with the means, Casey also suggests visiting missionaries in the field. By sharing in their daily life, this hands-on support can be incredibly encouraging, offering comfort and affirmation through shared meals, assistance in daily tasks, and everyday interactions.
Casey further prompts believers to step out in supporting their friends in missions and ministry with this encouragement: “I’m not ever going to be able to minister to people in a way that feels perfect or prepared. Usually, I’m showing up with my own issues, thinking, ‘I don’t know how important this is,’ but God uses it anyway. You don’t need to have control over it. God will do it regardless. If you feel like God’s pushing you in that direction, then go and do it. It’s like an Abraham thing—don’t wait until you feel like you have everything under control, just go. You don’t know what He’s going to do or where it’s going to go, but it will be really good. I don’t think there’s been a single visit where I’ve left feeling like it was pointless. It’s never pointless.“
Looking Ahead
Looking ahead, Casey and her husband are committed to continuing their work with Reflection of Grace, with a vision to see more churches actively involved in the lives of the missionaries they support. Their long-term goal is to equip churches to provide frontline workers with the emotional, spiritual, and practical care they need. “We as one ministry can’t do this with more than a handful of people because after that it becomes mechanical,” Casey explains, emphasizing that the goal is not to create a large-scale organization but to inspire others to take up the mantle of missionary care within their own communities. As they look to the future, they are excited about the possibilities and eager to see how God will continue to use their efforts to bless others.
Want to Learn More about Reflection of Grace?
For those inspired by Casey’s story, there are many ways to get involved, whether through donating to Reflection of Grace, praying for missionaries you know personally, or even visiting them in the field. “It’s not about doing more stuff. It’s about falling in love with God’s design for the church. It’s about taking part in the beautiful, relational nature of the body of Christ; being a good friend to your friends; and receiving God’s grace given to you so you can reflect it back to others.” Casey says, encapsulating the heart of her ministry. For those interested in hearing more inspiring stories from Casey and Jon’s ministry, click here.
Good Agency
At Good Agency, we’re dedicated to encouraging our team members to serve causes close to their hearts. Casey’s story exemplifies how our VPTO program enables employees to make a meaningful impact. We are proud to support our team in giving back, whether through mission work, community outreach, or other acts of service. We encourage everyone to find their passion, take the opportunity to serve, and experience the profound impact it can have. To learn more about our company and services, click here.
