In 2015 and 2016, I stepped onto my first ETEAM trip as a high school student. With the encouragement of my family, church, and pastors, I applied—not knowing just how much those two summers would change the course of my life. Through ETEAM, God opened my eyes to His heart for the nations and made it clear to me: I was called to be part of the Great Commission.

Although I never felt specifically called to go overseas. I began to feel a growing desire to help send. That desire led me to Welch College, where I studied business—not because I dreamed of spreadsheets, but because I dreamed of supporting missionaries however God would allow. During college, I joined IM’s College Mission Program (CMP), and God kept stirring my heart. After graduation, I had the incredible opportunity to work for IM in the finance department. It felt like such a gift – to know I was doing exactly what God had asked of me: helping to send out missionaries.

A year into that role, my husband and I moved to North Carolina, where he had accepted a position as a kids’ pastor. Thankfully, God provided a new job in North Carolina that kept me connected to missions and allowed me to be involved in ministry with my husband. We continued to support missionaries through giving, prayer, and encouragement—staying connected in every way we could. Even from afar, I stayed involved—encouraging students to apply, comforting nervous parents, and finding every opportunity to bring missions into kids’ and student ministries.

Then came 2024. God gave us the opportunity to lead an ETEAM to Chicago. It was such a full-circle moment pouring into students just like others had poured into me years earlier. That trip renewed my heart for ETEAM and reminded me just how deeply I loved being a part of missions.

Little did I know…God was preparing me for something more.

Shortly after Lauren and Cody Herren answered the call to serve as missionaries and were planning to transition away from being ETEAM coordinators, I received a phone call from Leslie Nichols at IM. It was after that call that God began to reveal what was next for me.

While my husband and I had no plans to leave North Carolina. I prayed and trusted that if this was what God had next, He would make a way—and if not, that was okay too. And then…God began to quickly open doors for us to move back to Nashville, Tennessee, in ways only He could.

I’ve stepped into what I truly believe is a dream job. I feel the joy of it deeply—and the weight of it, too. Through ETEAM, I’ll have the chance to walk alongside students as they hear from God, see Him at work in their hearts, and witness His glory in places they never imagined. Some of them will go into full-time missions or ministry. Others will become faithful Gospel-bearers in schools, hospitals, businesses, and homes.

I pray that what future students learn, see, and experience on ETEAM will shape their lives forever.”

“ETEAM changed my life—and I believe in it with all my heart. It’s more than a mission trip; it’s a launching pad for life transformation. I’m honored, humbled, and deeply grateful to be a small part of this incredible story. May God use ETEAM for His glory and for the good of generations to come.”

-Jacklyn Reed