Personal Testimonies

John M. Balmer, Jr. - Founder and Director
I was saved at fourteen years old when I accepted Christ as my personal Savior at a Billy Graham Crusade at Madison Square Garden in New York City on June 13, 1969. I surrendered to the Lordship of Christ at my home church, Calvary Church, in Charlotte, North Carolina, on December 31, 1972. I then surrendered to the Lord’s call to preach the gospel and call to ministry at Wheaton College as a sophomore while preaching at an inner-city church in Chicago, Illinois. During my first semester at Dallas Seminary, I went on a missions internship with Practical Missionary Training of CAM International in Mexico and Central America. Here, the Lord opened my heart to surrender to His call for missions. After completing my studies at Wheaton College and Dallas Theological Seminary, I began a ministry of planting churches in Rock Hill, South Carolina, and Charlotte, North Carolina, for about 10 years. In 1990, the Lord changed my focus of ministry from pastoring and planting churches to training pastors in the U.S. and overseas. I have been teaching institutes to train national pastors every year since 1993 in countries such as India, Russia, Ukraine, Africa, Philippines, South America, and Europe. The Lord called us to link with Columbia International University (1990-1995), Olford Ministries International (1996-2000), and Liberty University (2000-2002) to prepare us to begin this ministry, Training Pastors International, to meet the need of training national pastors around the world.

Jennifer S. Balmer - Executive Administrator
I was blessed to grow up in a Christian home with godly parents and grandparents. Through their influence and teaching, and that of our church and Christian school, I always heard about God and never doubted that He existed. It wasn’t until I was about six that it became personal. I knew that I sinned and this kept me from God and made Him sad. But I also knew that Jesus died and rose again to pay for my sins. So, one night, alone in my room, I asked Him to forgive me and come live in me. It wasn’t until I was in High School and College that I began to question my “testimony.” Going to a Christian school and being at church all the time, I heard lots of people and speakers say that you had to know the specific time and place when you became a Christian. It was kind of frustrating for me because most people had these wonderful conversion stories of how terrible and sinful they were and how God changed their life. My testimony seemed boring. Then there was the issue of Lordship. Did I really know what that meant at six years old? I began to look in the Bible to see what it said. I found the verses where Jesus calls the little children to come to Him and says that we should have the same faith as a child. These verses were a great comfort and strength to me. I began to examine my own life and saw how the Holy Spirit had worked in my young life. I could remember times that I wanted to do the right thing, and times I felt conviction about doing wrong. I had soaked up Bible stories and Scripture verses that became a part of my life, even without me realizing it. I may not have had all the answers at 6, but then I didn’t have them at 18 either. Christian growth is a life-long process, and I was just so blessed to start it very early. I am so thankful that I have been saved some of the heartache that other young people go through. My “call” to missions follows the same pattern. As a Christian we are called to be obedient to the Lord. I always knew that God had a plan for me and I just keep searching for it and trying to follow it. The church and school that I grew up in had a missions conference twice a year, so I was exposed early on. I didn’t really feel called to go, but I told God I would do whatever he wanted. As I went into college I felt like I would go into the ministry, but I didn’t know exactly what or how. It wasn’t until I married John that my global vision actually took off. Through Him and working at Olford Ministries I have been exposed to different cultures and have had the opportunity to meet pastors from all over the world. Hearing their stories and their needs touches my heart. Plus, seeing the burden and the passion in John’s life motivates me to do whatever I can. It goes back to the simple faith of the child that says this is what the Lord wants, so this is what I will do.