The Quillman Life

Many of our followers already know our story or at least parts of it, but for those who don’t know us, we thought we should do a quick (or not so quick) recap of our life. So without further ado, here is the Quillman life…

Mickeal was born in a small town in Illinois. His dad was a Baptist preacher, and his mom stayed at home. When he was young there were many times that money was tight, and he can remember walking along the road with his mom to collect cans to recycle for money. This was the life he learned as a church planter’s son. You worked hard and did all you could do for everyone else, and you made the necessary sacrifices to reach people with the Gospel.

As he grew up, they moved around throughout Missouri planting churches and spreading God’s word. Their journey eventually landed them in a small town in rural Arkansas where he started the 7th grade. They stayed in that area for several years and Mickeal was active on the school basketball team. In his junior year of high school, he went with his FFA (Future Farmers of America) group to the Midsouth Fair in Memphis. This is where he met the love of his life (P.S. Sharon is writing this part).

Sharon had lived in the same house she was brought home from the hospital to, and knew nothing of what life was like on the move. She grew up in the Catholic church with a couple of older siblings and had mostly attended the same school all her life. She was active in school, singing in the choir and cheering on the sports teams. That fateful day, she attended the same fair, with the same school, but with her FHA (Future Homemakers of America) group. As she was walking with a friend down the midway she spotted the best-looking guy she had ever seen, carrying a huge pink lion and many other stuffed animals.

Being a junior high cheerleader, Sharon knew this good-looking basketball player, but he didn’t know her. They started talking that day and spent the rest of their time together at the fair. It took a few weeks for him to even realize she went to the same school. From there, they dated all through his time in high school and then her time. It was a whirlwind as she graduated high school and they married a few months later. Then along came the kids, a little thing called salvation (trust me it is one of the biggest things that happened to us), and a start in ministry.

In 2004, Mickeal took his first foreign missions trip with Larry Barker to Romania. During that trip, he fell in love with the Romanian people and felt a pull toward missions, but it seemed that God kept saying, “not yet.” For 20 years, Mickeal and Sharon worked in youth ministry and made that their mission field. They spread the Gospel to thousands of teenagers, discipling them to share their own faith.

In 2018, they made the hard decision for Mickeal to retire from youth ministry. He didn’t feel the call to become a lead pastor, but he began seeking Discipleship pastor roles. That’s when he got the call to Temple Missionary Baptist Church to become the Executive Pastor (or Execute Pastor if you saw the voting slip). He flourished in this more managerial role, being able to disciple other staff members and congregants.

In 2021, the church was taking a mission trip to Zambia, Africa, and for the first time, there were no kids at home. Both Sharon and Mickeal prepared for the two-week trip with excitement, to finally be able to go together. While they were there, both felt a stirring within their souls for the people of Zambia. Toward the end of the trip, Sharon voiced it to Mickeal and he asked her to continue to pray about it. He kept to himself that he felt God was finally telling him “Now is the time.” A few weeks passed with them praying and fasting together, as well as some close confidants. The answer was still “YES!” While they were in contact with the missions office at the BMA getting things prepared to start the process, two different couples asked Mickeal when they were moving. When he questioned them as to who they had heard that from their answers were the same, “God told us.”

So now, months after going through the interviews and processes, they are on deputation. Most weekends, you will find them in a church somewhere in rural Arkansas, Missouri, or Texas, telling how God has moved them in spirit and body to a place they never thought they would go, Africa. This time of support raising has been a wonderful time to get to know other believers, put faces to the prayer warriors, and raise the much-needed finances for this journey. If your church would like to have the Quillmans visit before they leave for Zambia in July, click the Contact link in the menu above. Most of all, they covet your prayers as they start this journey to love the people of Zambia, walk alongside them, and lead them to Jesus Christ.