Becoming the One Who Goes
Even When It Wasn’t the Plan
March 27th, 2026 | Michael Proctor
Years before moving overseas, language learning, driving on remote mountain roads and launching a business in a place few people can find on a map, Emanuel* was living a steady life in the suburbs of Dallas.
Emanuel had served in the Marines. He and Cortney met in high school, built a life together, and were raising three young kids. He worked in real estate. They were steady, rooted, and comfortable.
However, as he and his wife Cortney grew in their faith and began learning more about the global Church, they encountered a reality they couldn't ignore: millions of people have never heard of Jesus or the Gospel in a way that makes sense to them. Entire people groups live and die without ever hearing the name of Jesus.
A question emerged and began to take hold of them: Who is willing to go and reach the unreached?
That realization led to more practical questions. Should we go abroad? If so, where? How will we learn the language? Can we stay long enough to truly integrate? Can something lasting be built? Those questions didn’t stay theoretical. They began to shape the direction of their lives.
Through their church, Emanuel and Cortney were introduced to One Collective — an organization that equips leaders, called Catalysts, to serve communities around the world. Rather than arriving with a predetermined program, Catalysts move into a community, listen carefully, and work alongside local people to address real challenges together.
For Emanuel, that approach stood out. It meant the freedom to discern what was actually needed and respond instead of arriving with a solution before truly understanding the community. Through those relationships, they were introduced to a team already serving in Central Asia. After months of prayer and preparation, they decided to join that team.
Emanuel*
One Collective Catalyst serving a secure area
*Name has been altered for Security Reasons
Stepping Into the Unknown
In early 2020, Emanuel and Cortney moved their family to a city in Central Asia. Their first season was quiet and foundational. They focused on language learning, cultural immersion, and figuring out how to be a family in a completely new environment.
The spiritual need was staggering. There were only a handful of known believers in the entire region. The economic realities were just as sobering. Jobs were scarce, and in some villages, 80% of working-age men moved to neighboring countries for employment. Entire communities were made up primarily of women, children, and the elderly. Families were separated for years with little hope for change.
““There is a lostness, and there is unemployment, and the two are deeply connected.””
A Turning Point
One significant moment came through a local language teacher who had been spending time with their family. One evening, after praying together, she described a vivid vision of Jesus pointing down a road toward a flock of sheep. When they opened John 10 and read, “My sheep hear my voice,” she was convinced that Jesus was revealing Himself to her, and she gave herself to Christ.
The woman who had come to faith belonged to a minority people group living in a remote eastern region of the country. If God was already drawing people from that community, they wondered what it would look like to move closer — to live among them and invest long term.
Later that year, Emanuel and Cortney relocated to this new region - a twelve-hour drive from the capital and largely overlooked.
Starting to Build Something That Lasts
Today, their work reflects the holistic model of One Collective. They gather with a small group of local believers in a nearby village, helping them move from simply surviving to actively sharing their faith and discipling others. Instead of seeing themselves as isolated believers in a difficult context, these men and women are learning to see themselves as disciple-makers — people who carry the Spirit of God into their own families and networks.
At the same time, Emanuel has leaned into his business background. Recognizing that lasting change requires economic stability, he launched a small freeze-dried meal company designed to serve the region’s growing tourism industry and create local jobs. It is modest and still growing, but it has already created employment for several locals.
What It Takes
The Catalyst model does not import programs. It empowers leaders to respond to real needs in real communities. It creates space for innovation rooted in the ways of Jesus—discipleship and dignity, spiritual growth and economic opportunity woven together.
Emanuel did not move with his own plan, but instead with a humble heart ready to solve real challenges alongside locals and do so in the ways of Jesus. One Collective gave him a team, support, and the freedom to pursue creative solutions that fit the context.
If you have ever looked at the world and wondered what it would mean to do something that lasts—something that addresses both the spiritual and practical realities people face—this is what that can look like.
It does not look like much from the outside. A house church. A small business. A handful of believers in a remote place. But this is how transformation begins. These were the questions Emanuel once asked: Should we go abroad? If so, where? How would we learn the language? Could we stay long enough to truly integrate? Could something lasting actually be built? Today, those questions are no longer theoretical. They have been answered slowly, over time, through presence, patience, and a willingness to stay.
The people who step into places like this are not always the most experienced or the most qualified. They are the ones willing to go. To learn. To stay. To build slowly alongside others. This is the kind of person it takes.
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