Gayle Byrd

Gayle has experienced the Lord's hand on her life, giving her a passion for reaching the lost for Jesus, since receiving Him as Savior and Lord as a senior in high school in California. It has been exciting to see how the Lord led her into various places, with strategic people, to grow a desire to focus on teaching English to young adults in countries with limited or no access to the gospel.

Her journey began at UCLA where she became active in Campus Crusade for Christ and shared her testimony many times in the home of Bill and Vonette Bright, the founders of Crusade. Desiring to study the Bible more in depth, Gayle transferred to Bob Jones University to complete her bachelor's degree. There she met and married her husband and ministered with Child Evangelism Fellowship. For several years, she and her husband served together in various churches and states and were blessed with a son.

After many years, Gayle's husband determined he no longer wanted to be in Christian ministry, and he also left the marriage. This was a sad and confusing time for Gayle and her son, who was in college. But God was still at work in Gayle's life to provide for her and led her toward new opportunities to serve Him, even though she was forced to move on alone.

At The Master's College in California, under the leadership of Dr. John MacArthur, Gayle worked in the Student Life Department where her deep desire for missions grew as she worked with students in the area of evangelism and foreign missions. She also learned about teaching English to young adults from different cultures as a way of introducing them to the gospel. That concept resulted in a mission trip lasting several years to Kazakhstan, teaching with Educational Services International. In Kazakhstan, Gayle had an active part in planting a church and seeing many students come to a saving knowledge of Christ.

Returning to the States, Gayle completed her master's degree in Teaching English as a Second Language and worked again at The Master's College with international students. She also made several trips overseas to recruit international students and teach English as a way of sharing the gospel, including teaching classes in Moscow and Albania. The result of her travel and teaching was a clear call from the Lord focusing her life on foreign field classroom teaching to bring the gospel to young adults.

Gayle served next for several years in a difficult-access country in the Middle East. Here she experienced God's protection for her safety and had the joy of teaching English classes in the local university and high school. She also raised the resources for, organized, and operated a private English center to teach English to young adults. Many young people in this country were exposed to the gospel through this ministry.

This mission was interrupted suddenly with the physical decline of Gayle's mother, necessitating a return home. Several years of caregiving followed until the recent home-going of her mother at age 101. Though retirement age, Gayle is now seeking direction from the Lord for her next opportunity to serve Him with international people and students.

Gayle's family consists of her son Kelly and his wife Kebra, serving the Lord in Indiana. She has also been blessed with five grandchildren and a great grandchild.