Growing Up on Mission: Kayla’s Story

Hello! My name is Kayla Henson and I am a TCK/MK (Third Culture Kid / Missionary Kid) who grew up in Birmingham, England. I was four years old when my parents joined the International Mission Board (IMB) and moved us overseas. I lived in England until I turned 18 at which point I decided to return to the States to attend college however, my parents still continue to serve overseas with the IMB.

My parents’ work primarily involved planting and revitalising churches. While England was once a country that produced renowned pastors and missionaries, it is now a country that is definitively post-Christian. It’s estimated that every week in England five churches close permanently, most of which often become mosques or Hindu temples. The city we served in, Birmingham, boasted a population of 4.5 million with less than 1% being evangelical Christian. England is certainly a vast yet tough field.  

Growing up on the mission field exposed me to several unique experiences that I believe helped to shape me into the person I am today. I had the opportunity to witness God at work in ways that I probably never would have seen otherwise and was blessed to witness first hand the transformative power of the Gospel. 

I would say that there were several lessons that the Lord taught me while growing up on the mission field however, one that immediately comes to mind is thankfulness. It was never lost on me that almost everything I had in my life was provided by the generosity of others. My family’s house, car, electricity, water, and salary was provided for by the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Growing up I knew that we couldn’t do the work we were doing without the servant-heartedness of others and found myself moved to show the same generosity that people had shown me. 

As I previously mentioned, my parents continue to serve with the IMB however, in May 2024 they moved to Dublin, Ireland. Ireland has a population of 5.3 million, about the same as South Carolina, however, only 0.3% of the population are evangelical Christian making Ireland the most unreached English speaking country in the world. There are only 33 Baptist churches in all of Ireland compared to South Carolina which has 2,000. Furthermore, Ireland has stopped issuing missionary visas making it far more difficult to get missionaries into the country. However, God has been at work in Ireland! A few weeks ago my parents celebrated the baptism of an Irish national! So if you would, please keep both Ireland and England in your prayers along with my parents, Kenny and Kristy Dubnick. Pray that God would continue to strengthen my parents as they go about His work. Pray that God would continue to advance His kingdom in Ireland! Thank you!

Kayla and her husband, Ty, are currently in our Establish Network Residency.