John Schultz – a man on a mission

SILIGURI, INDIA — Located on the banks of the Mahananda River in the Indian state of West Bengal lies the city of Siliguri, the gateway of North East India. The city has a booming economy and a metropolitan population of over one million people.

In November Siliguri hosted the Silver Jubilee Celebration of the Leadership Training Center (LTC) and Dr. Paige Patterson, former president of Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary was one of the featured speakers. The LTC exists for the purpose of equipping pastors in sharing God’s Word.

John Schultz, a member of Roswell Street Baptist Church in Marietta, where he is a Sunday School teacher and highly esteemed by Pastor Michael Lewis, traveled to India to be a part of the Celebration. Accompanying John on the trip to Siliguri were his son, Christopher, and daughter, Lily.

John Schultz spoke to this group of church leaders and their wives at the Pastors' Conference. JOHN SCHULTZ/Special

John, who is a graduate of Southwestern Seminary, is employed by Fidelity Investments, and engaged in helping high-net-worth clients at universities and hospitals with their retirement. However, possessed with the deep conviction that every believer should be a missionary, John has carved out a ministry whereby he is seeking to equip the believers and reach the unreached. In order to more effectively impact the nations along the border of northern India and elsewhere Schultz has established a ministry called Equip the Nations (ETN).

John explained, “For 18 years we have been equipping the people of India through pastor and leader conferences, Bible schools, and church planting. In 2007, we began working in the country of Nepal with a local pastor and established Kingdom Bible School, which has equipped hundreds of locals to enter the remote villages and begin a work for the Kingdom of God.”

About ten years ago, Shultz entered Cuba, affiliated with Power and Light Gospel, to help minister in Bible schools, equipping hundreds of pastors under a local apostolic authority. Many students are being called and equipped each year positioning Cuba for a great revival.

John created ETN to train God’s servants so that they could more effectively advance the Kingdom of God, to show believers how they may know God more intimately, to reach the unreached, and to raise up a generation that releases God’s love and power throughout the earth.

Shultz commented, “The trip to Siliguri was a joint effort between my organization, Equip the Nations, Inc., and the Leadership Training Center. They are our largest partner with mission work across India, Nepal, Bangladesh, Bhutan, Burma, and Sri Lanka. They focus on discipling pastors to plant reproductive evangelical churches.

“Dr. and Mrs. Paige Patterson were there for LTC’s 25th anniversary; and Dr. Patterson preached the opening message of the three-day celebration on God’s faithfulness and he closed on the last day with a message on God’s vision for His people. The Pattersons were moved with the work God is doing through LTC and are looking for ways to partner with them.”

John Schultz, in the blue shirt, stands beside Dr. Paige Patterson and Dorothy Patterson, seated, during prayer at the Silver Jubilee for the Leadership Training Center. JOHN SCHULTZ/Special

Schultz continued, “Equip the Nations Inc. funded the Silver Jubilee and several mission activities with generous donations from people across the United States.”

Schultz had the privilege of speaking at the Jubilee, giving an exhortation from Proverbs 25:13 on being a “faithful messenger.” He also spoke at a Pastors’ Conference on Ethics and Missions and Shepherding the Flock to a group of 40 pastors.

When Schultz spoke at an evangelical crusade to about 600 people at the Tirrihannah Tea Estate, ten individuals came to faith in Christ. He also participated in a children’s camp in Duhaguri, Nepal, at a private school, and served in a medical camp in Miirik, India where medicine was provided to 72 people. Twenty people were saved during the medical evangelism emphasis.

In order to reach this world for Christ every Christian should realize that they were called to be ministers and missionaries in their sphere of influence. John Schultz has created a specific ministry to fulfill his calling to be a missionary. What are you doing to fulfill your divine mission in this world?