We Richard and Lesley Crotts, 3rd generation missionaries to the islands region of Papua New Guinea.

We are church planting missionaries sent out of Shawnee Mission Baptist Temple, in Shawnee, Ks, Pastor Kevin Metsinger. Our home base is in Kokopo, East New Britain Province, New Britain, the second largest island in the nation. God has put a burden on my heart to reach out to the smaller islands that surround ours. I often refer to this as an islands ministry.

We will work along side of my grandparents who have been serving in Papua New Guinea for almost 40 years as missionaries. I will help teach at Islands Baptist Bible College, to train other young men for the ministry and to prepare them to take over churches as the Lord allows us to start them.

Richard Crotts III: Testimony and Call to Ministry

I called on Christ as my Saviour when I was 7 years old. Not long after I was baptized and became a member of Calvary Baptist Church in Colonial Heights, Virginia. 

When I was 10, my family went to Papua New Guinea as missionaries. My family spent two terms on the field. In my earlier years, I had a desire to serve and wanted to go into the military. During my time in PNG, especially during our second term, the Lord began to deal with me about the ministry work not being just for my parents and grandparents, but that it was also for me. When I was 16, I surrendered to full-time service as a missionary to Papua New Guinea. At 17, my family left Papua New Guinea and I chose to remain on the field with my grandparents. My visa expired three months after my 18th birthday and I returned to the United States and became a member of Shawnee Mission Baptist Temple.

I worked for three years and then I returned to PNG to prepare for the ministry. I attended Islands Baptist Bible College under my grandfather, Richard Crotts Sr., as well as other pastors. I studied under and served along side him in his ministry for another three years. 

Lesley Crotts: Testimony and Surrender

I was raised in a christian home. I got saved when I was about 10 years old. I didn’t come from a ministry family, so missions wasn’t something I had thought about doing at first.  

When I was 21 years old, I had heard a message preached about Surrender. Throughout the sermon he kept repeating, “Surrender is a willingness to do anything that God wants you to do and an obedience to God in everything.” 

I asked myself that question. Was I willing to do anything that God asked of me? I wanted to do something for God. I didn’t know what that would be. So I began to pray. Then I told God I was willing to do anything He wanted me to do, and that I wanted to obey Him in every area of my life. I also began to pray for a godly husband. I had a desire to serve the Lord, and I wanted someone that I could serve Him with. A few months later the Lord answered my prayer and I met Richard.

I had missions on my heart but I didn’t think I would end up surrendering and actually marry a missionary! It wasn’t something I thought God would call me to do. I’m very thankful that he answered my prayers and is allowing me to serve him in this way.