Testimony and Childhood
Bro. Anthony Master grew up in a Christian home in a family that has been involved in Independent Baptist Church ministries all of his life. At the age of 5 after procrastinating many times, I finally made the decision to accept Jesus as my Saviour after being shown in the Scriptures of my need for Salvation. Growing up in a Christian school, I have received a sure foundation of Biblical training and was able to put that into practice in the ministry. I started working in the bus ministry as a preteen in 2000 as a bus runner. During the summer I was able to work alongside men in the ministry doing various building ministries and daily maintenance and upkeep work that is needed in a church. As a young teenage while attending a Youth Conference in Oklahoma City I made the committment to serve God with my life. Our church started a camp ministry and I help in team lead and camp maintenance including helping to build the college building that I would later attend. In 2007, while on a missions trip passing through El Paso & Juarez I was burdened for mission work, and registered later that year to attend Bethel Baptist College in Jacksonville, AR.
Move to McAlester
After graduating from Bible College with a Bachelors of Theology in Missions in 2011, I did not know exactly where the Lord wanted me to serve. I was planning on getting married that fall to my now wife Amanda, and still did not know where we would be going. I struggled with this praying for a mission field, or a place to intern, and the Lord lead me into contact with Dr. Theroux who was then pastoring Cornerstone Baptist Church in McAlester, Oklahoma. Dr. Theroux was needing help in the church with the youth, working with the bus ministry, and leading Jr. Church. I received counsel to not go to McAlester because they would not be paying me a salary, and could only offer a small temporary living arrangements. But the Lord burdened my heart to help Dr. Theroux who I had previously worked alongside of in the ministry at Bible Baptist Church in Jacksonville, AR as a teenager and Bible college student. Amanda and I were married on Saturday, August 6, 2011 and moved to McAlester the following Wednesday.
Technical Intuition and Occupations
During my senior year of highschool I was asked to try to fix a few computers donated for our school lab. I didn’t know much of anything about computers, but started to figure out how they worked and discovered a talent for technology. This talent helped self fund my college education by working at the local RadioShack. Through this talent, the Lord opened several doors of service including working in the soundbooth and redesigning our church’s ministry website while in Bible college. When I moved to McAlester, I knew I would need a job to support my family. I found work at a local computer repair shop and then shortly transitioned to working as the System Administrator for a drug rehab center. When the drug rehab center suffered financial downfall, I was able to put my customer service experience from RadioShack and my mechanical knowledge my father taught me to use working for the next four years at a GM service facility.
During my time at the drug rehab facility I developed a routine outcome monitoring system as a web application to help the facility perform a scientific study on the outcome of its program. Little did I know at the time, that I would soon be putting those same skills to work for the Lord. My pastor asked me to take the treasury role at church, and I discovered the need for a better management system instead of paper and the old envelope system. I took the knowledge and experience I self-taught myself and developed our very own Church Management System (ChMS).
In 2017 I had one of my then missionary friends that I knew from Bible college reach out to me and ask me about developing a website to help missionaries. I put it off for a little while until another friend asked me about the same. I sat down and started discussions with many of the missionary friends I had met along the way and discovered a need for a web application that I could develop. In 2018 I launched Independent Fundamental Baptist Missionary Trails, ifbmt.info, featuring an easy and centralized way to manage a missionaries’ deputation trail with Biblical foundations. In 2019 I partnered with a mission board to work fulltime on improving and continued development on this program. Unfortunately no one foresaw what would happen in 2020 around the globe that put a damper on the plans and growth of IFBMT during this time.
In 2021, I had no choice but to find secular work once again. With my technical skills, customer service experience, and limited knowledge of healthcare systems from working at the drug rehab facility, God blessed me with a good job working in IT at the local hospital. During this time, my self-taught technical skills were validated and enhanced into a professional IT skillset within healthcare. In early 2024, I was approached with an offer to continue my healthcare IT skills working for the Choctaw Nation of Oklahoma. Along the way I can’t help but look back and see how God has drawn out and preplanned the map that my life would follow. I am reminded of the verse in Proverbs 3, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.”
Ministry Service
From working on the bus ministry for over 2 decades to teaching the adult Sunday School class, the Lord has counted me worthy to serve Him. Taking a minute to reflect on my ministry experience really makes me thankful for my parents and my education preparing me to serve the Lord in many various capacities. I recently had someone ask for my official “title” at church, and I didn’t know where to start. To list a few:
- Missions Director
- Treasurer
- Youth Pastor
- Media Director
- Sunday School Teacher
- Jr. Church Teacher
- Bus Captain
- Choir Member
- Pulpit Supply
- VBS Director
- Building Crew
I have learned though that I don’t need a title to serve the Lord in whatever ministry is available to serve Him through. Instead of an official title, I find that the title of “Brother Anthony” is my favorite. I enjoy serving the Lord alongside my wife who helps keep me sane and organized. I have been asked though what about my call to be a missionary? As I look around and see the mission field all around me with the families that we get to reach and serve here in McAlester and the surrounding areas, I am on my mission field right where God wants me.