Following God’s call: Florida Baptist family heads to Uganda as missionaries

MURFREESBORO, TENNESSEE–Ricky and PJ Holder are following God’s call to Uganda with their four children.

The Holders were among 49 newly appointed missionaries who participated in an International Mission Board Sending Celebration Nov. 10 at New Vision Baptist Church in Murfreesboro, Tennessee.

Rich Elligson influenced Ricky and PJ, giving both a passion for missions. Elligson was their missions professor at Baptist University of Florida and a former IMB missionary.

“He is the reason that I pursued a degree in missions,” Ricky said about Elligson. “I took one missions class with him when I was a student ministry major and absolutely fell in love with all of that.”

Ricky and PJ went to Cuba with Elligson to do short-term volunteer mission work, and Ricky credits Elligson for preparing them for international missions in areas such as language training and teaching techniques.

“He was there for us,” Ricky said. “I graduated in 2010, so it’s been a while, but it is great to reflect on sitting in one of his classes and thinking then that I’m going to be on the mission field one day. It took a long time, but we’re finally at that point.”

As Ricky and PJ served the local church, they experienced many blessings, as well as hurdles and challenges on their journey. They faced times when they did not see how they could fulfill their passion for international mission work.

It wasn’t until January of this year when they finally encountered a clear opening with the International Mission Board. Ricky was taking his final on-campus course for his doctorate at Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Of the 15 students in his class, six were affiliated with the mission board, and one encouraged Ricky to send in an application to go to Uganda.

From there, God seemed to open the doors quickly for them to reach the mission field. Their four children are excited for this opportunity. As a family, they have made trips to Uganda, and all the children loved the experience and look forward to living in the east African country.

Heartland Church in Winter Haven is the Holders’ sending church. The Holders are the first missionaries to be sent from Heartland Church. Prior to his missionary appointment, Ricky served as pastor of missions and logistics at Heartland Church, a role he held beginning in 2020.

“We’re excited to join the work of making disciples among refugees in Uganda,” Ricky said.

Adapted from an article written by Chris Doyle at the International Mission Board.