On Mission Family

05/26/2026

A lot of people have asked what we’ll actually be doing in Manchester.

The answer is simple: We’re going to make disciples.

Not just through church services or programs, but through everyday life centered on Jesus.

When Jesus made disciples, He walked closely with people. He shared meals with them. Traveled with them. Sat in homes with them. Let them see how He responded to pressure, interruptions, suffering, joy, and ordinary life.

Discipleship was never meant to be something we only attend once a week.

It’s life-on-life gospel community centered on Jesus.

That’s the kind of ministry we want to build in Manchester.

Around tables. In homes. Through friendship. Through everyday moments where the gospel isn’t just preached, but seen, experienced, and lived out together.

We believe people are still searching for belonging, truth, purpose, and hope.

And we believe Jesus still changes everything.

That’s what we’re going to Manchester to give our lives to.

05/24/2026

Today we had the privilege of being with the wonderful people of Good Shepherd Baptist Church in Shepherd, Texas for our first official deputation appointment.

Pastor Larry Allbritton and his sweet wife Vickie were incredibly kind and gracious to our family. We were honored to share about what God is calling us to in Manchester and thankful for the opportunity to preach this morning as well.

After the service, we enjoyed a wonderful lunch and sweet fellowship in their home. One of the greatest blessings of this journey already has been seeing the kindness, hospitality, and encouragement of God’s people.

We left today grateful, encouraged, well-fed, and reminded again that we are not walking this road alone.

Thank you, Good Shepherd Baptist Church, for loving our family so well and taking such great care of us. We enjoyed our time with you thoroughly.

05/22/2026

Greater Manchester is home to nearly 3 million people.

Over the last 20 years, the city has changed dramatically.

In 2001, 62.4% identified as Christian.
By 2021, that number had fallen to 36.2%.

At the same time, regular church attendance across Britain is often estimated at around 5% of the population or less.

And while churches certainly exist across Greater Manchester, many are small, aging, struggling, or spread thin across enormous communities.

A reasonable estimate may place the number of healthy evangelical, Bible-believing churches somewhere around 150–300 across the entire metro area.

That could mean tens of thousands of people represented by a single healthy gospel-centered church.

Behind every number are real people. Families. Children. Neighbors. Students. Immigrants. Workers. People made in the image of God who need the hope of Jesus.

That’s why we’re going. Not because the gospel has lost its power. But because people still need to hear it.

05/18/2026

Manchester Spotlight

There’s something deeply human about Manchester.

People walking home in the rain after work.
Students gathering in late-night cafés.
Families filling neighborhood parks.
Friends connecting over football, food, and conversation.

It’s a city full of movement, culture, history, and life.

But beneath all the activity are people carrying the same questions every human heart carries:

Who knows me?
Who loves me?
What am I living for?

That’s why we’re going.

Not because Manchester is a project.
Not because England is trendy.
Not because cities are impressive.

We’re going because people matter to God.

Every apartment light represents a person.
Every crowded tram carries stories.
Every neighborhood holds people Christ died for.

As we prepare for this mission, we want to help people see Manchester not just as a famous city, but as a place filled with image-bearers deeply loved by God.

Pray with us for Greater Manchester. Pray for open hearts, Gospel-centered community, and life-on-life discipleship that points people to Jesus.

05/05/2026

We can’t do this alone!

This winter, we’re planning a survey trip to Manchester: spending time in the city to pray, build relationships, and seek clarity on where to begin making disciples.

The total cost for our family to go is $8,000.

Over the past few days, more than 600 people have engaged with these posts. It’s been so encouraging!

So this means:

If 400 people gave $20, this entire trip would be covered.
If 200 people gave $40, we would be on the ground.

This is a simple, practical way to be part of what God’s doing.

If you’d like to help send us:

Pray for us
Give toward this trip
Share this with others

You can give online here:
https://onrealm.org/HorizonBaptistC/-/form/give/now
(Select “Strader Manchester Mission” in the dropdown)

Or mail support to:
Horizon Baptist Church
2223 FM 1092
Missouri City, TX 77459
Memo: “Strader Manchester Mission”

We would love to have you on this journey with us.

05/02/2026

We’re being sent.

After much prayer, counsel, conversation, and more than a year of wrestling with the Lord’s call, our family is beginning the process of moving to Manchester, England as missionaries.

This isn’t light for us.

Horizon Baptist Church is precious to our family. It’s where I met Amber years ago. It’s where our children have grown up. It’s where we have served, cried, laughed, preached, prayed, baptized, buried saints, welcomed new believers, and watched God work in ways we will never forget.

For more than six and a half years, Horizon has been our home. That’s the longest we’ve ever been anywhere in our lives. We love this church deeply.

Because of that, we haven’t rushed this. We’ve prayed. We’ve sought counsel from mentors. We’ve walked through this with our staff and church leaders. We’ve submitted this call to our church family. And now Horizon Baptist Church has voted to send us as missionaries to Manchester, England.

We are humbled. We are grateful.

We’re also asking you to pray for Horizon. Pray for the church as they continue the work of the ministry here in Missouri City. Pray for unity, strength, faithfulness, and joy. Pray for God to raise up their future leader in His time and in His way.

So why Manchester? Because the need is overwhelming.

Greater Manchester is filled with millions of people, and many are living without the gospel. Many have no faith. Many will never walk into a church. The needs there far outweigh our ability, but they don’t outweigh the power of Christ.

We believe God has called us to go, make disciples, share the gospel, establish healthy churches, and give our lives to the work of the Kingdom.

The hour is late. The door of eternity is nearer than it has ever been. We want to be busy with the work Jesus gave His church to do.

We want to be hundredfold disciples. We want our lives to count.

Following the call of God is a humbling thing. We know there will be difficulty. We know there will be sacrifice. We know leaving people we love will be painful. We know raising support will require faith, patience, and partnership.

But we also know the joy set before us.

Hebrews 12 says Jesus endured the cross “for the joy that was set before Him.” Our sacrifice is not His sacrifice. Our suffering is not His suffering. But as His disciples, we want to follow Him with open hands, surrendered hearts, and obedient steps.

Our prayer is to raise the support needed over this next year while our children complete one more school year here. Lord willing, we hope to be on the field by late next year.

Now we need our friends, family, churches, and ministry partners to come alongside us.

Please pray for us.

Please follow the journey.

Please consider partnering with us financially.

Please help us connect with churches that may allow us to come share the work and consider monthly support.

You can learn more, contact us, or begin partnering with us here:

onmissionfamily.org

Email:[email protected]

We love Horizon. We love the churches and friends God has placed in our lives. And we are trusting the Lord for every step ahead.

The gospel. The city. The world.

We’re being sent.

04/15/2024

❤️

5 ways to start partnering with families in discipleship:
1. Practice Inclusiveness.
2. Build relationships.
3. Listen.
4. Encourage spiritual habits.
5. Equip families.

Dive deeper into each of these tips here: https://influencemagazine.com/en/Practice/Partnering-With-Parents

01/11/2024

On mission family recommends this whole heartedly!

You already have this…

We are all living with a rhythm that provides one of the most valuable and recurring opportunities for discipleship in our families:

Dinner.

𝗜𝗻 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝘄𝗲𝗲𝗸’𝘀 𝗲𝗽𝗶𝘀𝗼𝗱𝗲 𝗼𝗳 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝗘𝘃𝗲𝗿𝘆𝗱𝗮𝘆 𝗗𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝗣𝗼𝗱𝗰𝗮𝘀𝘁, we show you how to re-tool and repurpose your mealtimes in a way that will make them fun, more focused, and a perfect way to engage in discipleship and missional rhythms as a family—naturally.

You got this!

𝗧𝗮𝗸𝗲 𝗮 𝗹𝗶𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝗻𝗼𝘄 >> EverydayDisciple.com/472

12/28/2023

As we look forward to the New Year, we can choose to shift our focus from self, control, and false hope to the one true hope we have in Jesus!

Here are three key things to believe and consider about why we find hope in God’s greatness...

1. The coming of Jesus reminds us of the hope we can live with and the hope that has already been fulfilled by God himself.

What are you hoping for in your life in the year ahead? What are you hoping for in your career, family, relationships, marriage? Right now, are you trusting in self and hoping for more? Or are placing your hope in the completed work of Christ?

Let me remind you, Jesus’ name means ‘the Lord of salvation’. He came that we might have freedom and peace. He is also called Emmanuel, which means, ‘God with us’. He is not distant and aloof; he is a God that is with us, right now, and he is for us. That gives us great hope!

2. God is great so we don’t have to be in control, and that gives us great hope!

All of our worry, stress, and relational strife comes from not believing that God is great, so we try to take control of circumstances, people, and things.

Yet we intrinsically know that we are NOT God, and that tears away our hope. We’ve put our hope in self and we consistently find it lacking. But we now have a true and lasting hope because God is great, and he proved it beyond a shadow of doubt when he sent us Jesus to take our places on a cross and exchange his perfect righteousness for our lack and sinfulness.

3. As you look toward the new year, take an inventory of the things that you’re still believing that you have to be in control of in your life and the lives of others.

Are you still thinking you have to be in control of your provision, your health and wellness? Your time? Are you trying to control others’ behaviors, and it’s not working out so well?

What is it that you think God still needs your help managing? Ask the Spirit of Jesus to replace your false sense of control with faith and hope in his great sovereignty, love, and care.

-Everyday Disciple

12/14/2023

The Heart of Disciplemaking: Invitation and Challenge in the Steps of Jesus

- - - - -

As I reflect on our journey of faith, I am often reminded of the beautifully simple yet profound essence of disciplemaking. At its core, disciplemaking is about guiding others to follow Jesus in the everyday things of life. This concept, steeped in simplicity, resonates deeply with our call as Christians.

In the Gospels, we see Jesus, our perfect example, engaging in disciplemaking with two key ingredients: invitation and challenge. The harmony of these elements in His ministry reveals a pattern for us to emulate.

Invitation: A Call to Follow

Jesus began His ministry with a gentle yet powerful invitation. In Matthew 4:19, He said, "Follow me, and I will make you fishers of men." This invitation was not just to a set of beliefs but to a transformative relationship. He called His disciples to walk with Him, learn from Him, and eventually carry on His work. This invitation was rooted in love and grace, exemplified in John 3:16, showing the depth of God’s love for us.

Challenge: A Call to Growth

Yet, Jesus did not stop at invitation. He consistently challenged His disciples to deeper faith and obedience. In Matthew 16:24, He said, "If anyone would come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me." This challenge was an integral part of discipleship – a call to self-denial, sacrificial living, and wholehearted commitment to God's will.

Calibrating Invitation and Challenge

The beauty of Jesus' method lies in His perfect calibration of invitation and challenge. He knew when to offer grace and when to spur His disciples towards growth. For instance, in John 8:11, after extending grace to the woman caught in adultery, Jesus challenged her with the words, "Go, and sin no more."

Applying Jesus' Method Today

In our pursuit to make disciples, we must learn from Jesus' approach. We invite others into a relationship with Christ, offering the same love and acceptance we received. Yet, we also challenge them to grow, to conform their lives to Christ's teachings, and to embrace the cross daily.

However, many may not know how to balance these two elements. As leaders and believers, it is our responsibility to model this balance in our lives and guide others in this journey. We do this through teaching, mentoring, and living out an authentic faith that reflects both the grace and the truth of the Gospel.

In conclusion, let us be encouraged by Paul's words in 2 Timothy 2:2, "And what you have heard from me in the presence of many witnesses entrust to faithful men who will be able to teach others also." May we be diligent in following Christ’s example, inviting and challenging those around us to a deeper, more meaningful walk with our Lord.

Pastor John