Into All the World
The 2025 Truth & Life Conference and TMU’s Strategic Investment in Global Missions
There was a moment during this spring’s Truth & Life Conference that not only defined the two-day gathering, but also captured the essence of The Master’s University.
At the beginning of one of the sessions, Shannon and Danielle Hurley appeared on the screen. In the pre-recorded video, they described their ministry in Uganda, Sufficiency of Scripture, which provides pastoral training, community outreach to the disabled, church strengthening, primary education for hundreds of Ugandan children, and much more. Shannon and Danielle, both alumni of The Master’s University, have served in Uganda for more than twenty years. They have left their extended families and comfortable lives in the States behind to proclaim Christ and serve those in need.
Among the more than 1,000 TMU students in the audience were three of the Hurleys’ children, Ezekiel, Ethan, and Evan. All three are attending TMU, in part, because of The Master’s Global Scholarship, which is supported by the John MacArthur Charitable Trust. Ezekiel, Ethan, and Evan are at the school because of its commitment to Christ and Scripture. And the University was highlighting their parents during Truth & Life because Shannon and Danielle live their lives in devotion to Christ and Scripture. While other universities boast of alumni in positions of power—congressmen and senators, CEOs and tech titans, athletes and musicians—The Master’s University is eager to celebrate alumni who give up worldly comforts and financial gain to serve the poor and underprivileged, proclaiming Christ and strengthening his church.
After the greeting from the Hurleys, the student body at TMU heard a sermon on the Great Commission from H.B. Charles Jr., senior pastor of Shiloh Baptist Church in Jacksonville, Florida. In fact, every sermon and facet of the conference was focused on missions. The theme, Into All the World, was intended to remind students that no matter what vocation God calls them to, he is calling them to take the gospel with them and live it out, no matter the job, no matter the location.
“For me, it’s a dream come true to see people like Shannon and Danielle come here to TMU, develop this passion for global missions, go on to lead a phenomenal ministry in Uganda, and send their kids here to receive the same education,” Russell Moir said. Moir is the vice president of student life at The Master’s University. “The number of alumni serving the Lord overseas, taking the gospel into all the world, is extraordinary.”
Russell sees how exposing students to ministries like the Hurleys’ inspires them to consider if God might be calling them to the mission field. In fact, since rejoining the university, where he’d served from 1985-1990 before spending thirty years as a pastor and businessman, Russell has been impressed by the passion for global ministry he’s seen around campus.
“When I returned to TMU and started asking students what they were hoping to do after graduation, it was amazing how many of them were considering missions,” Moir said. “In response to that, we started an on-campus club called Inspired. It’s a community of students in pursuit of the Great Commission. Seventy-five students have joined Inspired since it launched last fall. We’re going to have retreats, and some other get-togethers, so that if you’re at TMU and you’re thinking about missions, we want to make sure you have all the community and resources you need to pursue that calling.”
Russell sees no disconnect between the school’s emphasis on global missions and its liberal arts curriculum, which prepares students to serve Christ in virtually any field. He desires for every student to have a global mindset and a passion for evangelizing the lost. That mindset is key whether a student goes into a career here in the States, or, like the Hurleys, ends up on the other side of the world.
“In student life, our goal is to cultivate churchmen and women with a world vision,” Moir said. “We want to give them a solid foundation of the Word of God and help them understand that God’s plan for this age is driven through the local church. Their main calling in life isn’t to make a lot of money or be successful in their careers. It’s to advance the Kingdom of God.”
