Have you ever stopped to think about what happens when we give God a complete, unreserved yes?
In a recent outdoor church service hosted by LAMP Ministries, we had the incredible privilege of hearing from Brad and Becky Shoer. For seven years, they pastored a thriving, missions-friendly church—First Assembly of Clyde—right outside of Abilene, Texas. But God began doing something new. Through a season of transition, repeated prophetic words, and a deep-seated calling, they stepped out of the traditional pastorate to enter the mission field full-time.
They stood before us packed, ready, and scheduled to fly out the very next day. Their destination? The Solomon Islands—a nation composed of over 900 islands and roughly 730,000 people located northeast of Australia [04:28].
Their message wasn’t just an update on travel itineraries or a request for financial support. It was a profound, challenging sermon on what it truly means to walk in the “obedience of faith,” to confront spiritual warfare head-on, and to carry the unique cross God has assigned to each of our lives.
Fully Rely On God: A Lesson from the Frogs
Becky Shoer, who has spent years working as a Physician Assistant (PA), opened her heart about how God weaves our professional backgrounds into His divine calling [06:33]. When Brad first shared that he felt called to the foreign mission field, Becky initially worried she would have to set her hard-earned medical career completely aside [06:46]. Instead, God revealed that medicine would be the ultimate pioneering tool to gain access to remote, unreached communities.
In parts of the Solomon Islands, healthcare is virtually non-existent. Children frequently suffer from chronic, low-grade fevers and infections caused by common fungi and bacteria—illnesses that are easily treatable with basic antibiotics, anti-fungals, and nutritional education [07:16]. By meeting these critical physical needs and building trust with village leaders, the Shoers plan to open doors to plant the ultimate medicine: the Gospel of Jesus Christ [07:52].
Becky also shared a fun, scientific fact with the children in attendance: the Solomon Islands are home to over 20 species of frogs that exist nowhere else on earth [05:16]. She used this as a powerful acronym to teach the children—and all of us—how to back global missions:
- F – Fully
- R – Rely
- O – On
- G – God
Whether you are traveling to the remote corners of the earth or trying to navigate everyday life in your local community, we are all called to F.R.O.G.—fully relying on God for provision, protection, and the strength to obey His voice [06:00].
The Concept of “Never-Reached” People Groups
Brad took the stage to expand on the sheer urgency of their mission. Many Christians are familiar with the term unreached people groups, which statistically refers to a population that is less than 3% Christian [11:20]. But Brad introduced an even more sobering concept: never-reached people groups.
A never-reached people group is a community where, from the moment Jesus issued the Great Commission until this very second, not a single Christian of any kind has ever set foot to tell them about Jesus [11:40]. They have zero history of the Gospel. Out of the estimated one thousand never-reached groups remaining across the globe, missiologists believe at least two of them reside within the isolated territories of the Solomon Islands [12:26].
To illustrate how hungry these islands are for truth, Brad shared a beautiful historical account. Years ago, before Assemblies of God missionaries were temporarily pulled from the region, an individual on the mainland wrote a simple Gospel message, rolled it up, sealed it in a bottle, and tossed it into the ocean [13:01]. The tides carried that bottle to a completely isolated island. When missionaries finally made landfall years later, they didn’t find a pagan village—they found a functioning community of believers who had constructed a church solely because someone found and read the message inside that drifting bottle [13:19].
If a simple message in a bottle can plant a church, imagine what can happen when God’s people move in literal, physical obedience! Brad boldly proclaimed his belief that if every Christian on earth instantly said “yes” to what the Holy Spirit is prompting them to do—whether to go, to give, or to pray—the global work of the Great Commission could be wrapped up in a matter of days, satisfying the Father’s heart that none should perish [15:01].
Understanding the “Obedience of Faith”
At the core of the sermon was a deep dive into scriptural frameworks. Brad pointed out a fascinating literary detail in the New Testament: the Book of Romans begins and ends with the exact same phrase.
- Romans 1:5: “Through him we have received grace and apostleship for the obedience of faith among all nations for his name.” [16:29]
- Romans 16:26: “…but now is revealed by the prophetic scriptures according to the commandment of the everlasting God made known to all the Gentiles for the obedience of faith.” [16:51]
When the Holy Spirit bookends an entire theological masterpiece with a specific phrase like “the obedience of faith,” we are required to stop and pay attention [17:14]. True, saving faith is not a passive mental agreement; it is an active, moving obedience. As the Old Testament prophet Samuel famously warned King Saul, “Obedience is better than sacrifice” [17:47]. When God calls us to do something—even if it seems completely unconventional, odd, or dynamic—our immediate response must be a resounding yes.
Confronting Spiritual Warfare: The Island of Isabel
When you resolve to walk in the obedience of faith, you will encounter resistance. The enemy doesn’t mind a comfortable Christian, but he is terrified of an obedient one. Brad shared an astonishing personal experience regarding the spiritual warfare surrounding their assignment.
Back in the summer of 2024, while undergoing missionary training in a hotel room, Brad woke up at 2:30 AM to a room completely engulfed in the thick, undeniable aroma of freshly brewed coffee [19:49]. The strange part? Neither Brad nor Becky drink coffee, and the hotel machine was completely cold [21:00]. Utilizing the spiritual gift of discerning of spirits, Brad instantly recognized a demonic presence, prayed a simple prayer asking the Holy Spirit to handle it, and the smell vanished [21:19].
Immediately afterward, Brad fell into a vivid dream. In it, he saw a witch doctor in the Solomon Islands practicing animism—the worship of spirits attached to nature [21:48]. This witch doctor was actively calling Brad out by name, chanting to demonic spirits to block him from ever entering the country [21:52].
Months later, the Holy Spirit prompted Brad to look up “coffee and the Solomon Islands” on Google [22:52]. To his absolute amazement, out of over 900 islands, only one single island grows coffee: the Island of Isabel [22:59]. He reached out to the General Superintendent of the Assemblies of God in the Solomon Islands to verify this information. Not only was it true, but the Superintendent confirmed there were currently no Protestant churches at all on that specific island [23:23]. Later, a local pastor from the region confirmed he had been trying to plant a church on Isabel for years but kept facing unexplained, intense roadblocks [24:17].
The demonic entity in that hotel room wasn’t there to terrify Brad; it was accidentally serving as a geographic messenger. Because the enemy was terrified of what God was about to do, he overplayed his hand. Brad later attended a massive prayer gathering where dozens of pastors laid hands on him over an LED map of the Solomon Islands [26:59]. During that meeting, a powerful prophecy was delivered: The Island of Isabel will be ground zero and the hub of a massive revival that will spread across the entire region [27:50].
As a child of God, you do not have to fear the enemy. Hollywood paints spiritual warfare as terrifying, but Brad reminded us that the enemy has absolutely zero authority over a believer walking in obedience [25:36]. God takes what the enemy intends for evil and flips it entirely for His glory.
What is On Your Cross?
To close out the sermon, Brad brought the message home by examining a widely misquoted scripture verse. In Matthew 16:24, Jesus says, “If anyone will come after me, let him deny himself and take up his cross and follow me.” [31:13]
Notice carefully what Jesus says: He commands us to take up our cross, not His cross [32:28]. We don’t have to carry Jesus’s cross—our sin was already nailed to it, and He paid that price completely [32:46]. Your sin is not on your cross. So, what exactly is on your cross? Brad broke this down into two profoundly encouraging categories:
1. The Consequences and Lessons of Past Redeemed Sins
When God forgives you of a past lifestyle—such as a history of drug or alcohol addiction—your sin is washed clean. However, the earthly consequences and the lessons you learned remain on your cross [34:14]. Why? Because a person who has never struggled with addiction cannot fully walk alongside someone trying to break free from substance abuse in the same way a redeemed overcomer can [34:58]. God takes the broken pieces of your past, places them on your cross, and turns them into a specialized weapon to rescue the lost [35:28].
2. Trials and Tragedies That Were Not Your Fault
We all face devastating seasons that we did not ask for and did not cause. For Brad and Becky, this is a heavy, sacred part of their cross. In December of 2023, after a grueling three-year battle with cancer, they had to give their 19-year-old son, Wesley, back to Jesus [36:06]. It was an agonizing loss that delayed their entry into the mission field and brought unmatched grief [36:23].
But notice how God is utilizing what is on their cross. The life expectancy in the Solomon Islands is a staggering 55 years old [37:36]. Disease and infant mortality rates are incredibly high, meaning almost every village family has experienced the devastating sting of losing a child. Because Brad and Becky carry the weight of losing a son on their cross, they can walk into those grieving villages not just as teachers, but as parents who truly understand their pain [38:20]. Brad shared a vision God gave him of a massive tent in the Solomon Islands filled with hundreds of parents who had lost children, where he and Becky were uniquely anointed to administer the comfort of the Holy Spirit [40:15].
What has the enemy tried to break you with? What trials have you endured? Don’t leave your cross on the ground. Pick it up, step into the shoes of Jesus, and let the Holy Spirit use your scars to heal a hurting world [38:29].
Your Turning Point
You are never too young, and you are never too old to be used by God. Brad shared the story of a couple from Iowa on their missionary team who had never pastored or been in full-time ministry their entire lives—they were ordinary laypeople who finally said “yes” to an associate missionary assignment at 65 years old [43:12].
God has a customized assignment for every single member of His body. 75% of the church is called to work diligently in our local communities—our “Jerusalem, Judea, and Samaria”—while others are sent to the uttermost parts of the earth [41:34].
The question we must all face today is simple: What is the Holy Spirit asking you to do, and are you going to be obedient to your faith? [43:41]
Let’s lift our hands, leave our comforts behind, pick up our unique crosses, and watch God move in miraculous power.
To support or view updates on Brad and Becky Shoer’s pioneering mission to the Island of Isabel and the greater Solomon Islands, check out the full service and ministries via LAMP Ministries on YouTube.
Watch the full sermon video here: Solomon Islands | Missionaries At The Park!