When Greg and Elizabeth Muth chaperoned a college ministry mission trip to Detroit in December 2024, their experience marked “the first time in ages that it felt like our family was rowing in the same direction.” Immediately, the couple committed to going on an international missions trip and considered future trips their family could take together. They recently shared how their willingness to answer God’s call has placed their young family on a fast-track to the mission field.
The Muths have been members of First Baptist Columbia for eight years and have three young boys – Holden, age 12, Barrett, age 10, and Weston, age eight. The couple met while employed with the UofSC Athletic Association. Greg went on to work in aviation insurance and Elizabeth with the UofSC Alumni Association, all the while serving at church in college and children’s ministries. They were comfortable and content, then God began to stir their hearts for missions.
“Earlier this year [2025], Elizabeth and I decided to join a team going on an eight-day mission trip to Botswana in May. We prayed it would be a transformative experience. We ended up falling in love with the pace of life, the people, and the culture. It felt like home to both of us,” Greg recalls.
Their missions team worked with the Turners, career International Mission Board missionaries, some local pastors, and an IMB Journeyman student serving in Gaborone, Botswana. The Turners have served for 16 years in the southern African country, helping to grow Gaborone Baptist Church. They have also made significant in-roads into the community by starting ministries to children, college students, young married couples, and recovering addicts. During the Muth’s mission trip, they built a relationship with the Turners, who shared about their upcoming plans to return to the United States on furlough for one year.
Before arriving in Botswana, Greg admits to expecting that children’s ministry would be a highlight of the trip because he had taught third and fourth grade boys at his church. What he actually experienced was even more than he could have imagined.
“For the first time in my life, I led two women to Christ,” he says with a tone of astonishment. “An interpreter helped me share the gospel through the Two Paths method, which translates well to the Botswana people. I held their hands and cried tears of joy! It was life-changing, and I left impressed with how visible God’s hand is moving there.”
Greg and Elizabeth struggled to adjust to life back in Columbia when they returned from Botswana because they “missed everything about the country.” Greg says that God began to reveal a clear plan for his family to spend a “gap year” in Gabarone, serving in place of the Turners while they were on furlough. The couple discussed their calling with the Turners and First Baptist Missions Pastor Todd Elkins, and began to look seriously at the practicalities of uprooting their family to live and serve abroad.
“It’s unusual,” Elkins says of the Muth’s calling. Having served with IMB on the mission field himself, Elkins was able to give advice and help the couple sort through the process. “It was neat seeing the needs from the field match up with what the Muths felt the Lord was calling them to do.”
“I didn’t realize at the time how unconventional this is, not going through IMB and doing this in a self-supported way,” Greg says. “I just recognized that this was such a strong conviction that we would do it no matter what, and God has continued to provide.”
For her part, Elizabeth says that she and Greg “are not special, we are just being obedient. We want to share with others that if you put your ‘yes’ on the table, God will honor that. It’s just a matter of being obedient and listening to the calling.”
By the time the family left for Botswana in late July, they had identified someone to live in their house and take care of the pets, had secured insurance coverage, and arranged for their children’s educational needs for the coming year. As the pieces quickly fell into place, Greg shared an honest perspective during the days leading up to their 30-hour flight to Africa, saying “Am I scared? Absolutely. We know this will be hard, but we are receiving daily affirmations from the Lord that this is what we are to do.”
Greg says that the government of Botswana is accepting of mission work and will allow the family to apply for a residency permit following a 90-day period in the country. So, during these early days, the Muths will establish relationships and learn the intricacies of the existing ministries from the IMB personnel still serving there. The couple will also be giving their children time to settle into their new “home.”
Greg recalls how each child initially processed the news that their family would be moving and living abroad. Their reactions ranged from anger to immediate excitement but, in the end, each embraced the family’s call to missions. One son has named their experience the “Muth Family Adventure.”
According to Greg, this is the first time in their marriage that he and Elizabeth have both been unemployed, so they are “trusting the Lord to take care of every need and we are seeing His hand in every single thing.” The couple’s parents have also embraced their calling, something Greg acknowledges must be “testing their faith, as well.”
First Baptist Columbia has a long history of loving internationals and supporting international missions. The congregation is providing some funds to the Muths, and the church has set up an account to accept other direct financial support. Greg reports that, because of his family’s call, his church is also planning to send two missions teams to serve in Botswana in May 2026.
“It has been so exciting. Our church has been moved and touched by the Muth’s story. We are happy to be sending them and to be a part of what the Lord will do in Botswana through them,” Elkins says.
At the time of this publication, the Muths have been in Botswana for roughly one month, and Elkins reports they have “hit the ground running.” They are helping to lead a Bible study for a group of about 70 high school students and leading the children’s program at Gabarone Baptist Church. Greg has connected with a weekly men’s Bible study, and Elizabeth is already mentoring a local woman and doing play therapy in the pediatric oncology ward of the local hospital. The Muths will serve through the end of July, when the Turners return to their post in Botswana.
For his part, Greg hopes that others will be inspired to consider the call to longer windows of international missions service. He suggests it’s a great opportunity for those nearing retirement or recently retired to prayerfully consider.
“I’m the last person I thought would be called to missions. The calling was so convicting that we did not have a choice,” Greg says. “We hope that other people will hear our story and see that they can do this, too.”
Additional content – Greg and Elizabeth Muth’s video testimony