From Nashville to Cape Town: Farris Turner’s Yes to God

When Farris Turner attended the Global Worker Gathering, she didn’t expect to leave with a calling.

As one of our Global Workers shared on stage, a question pressed into her heart: What if you were a Global Worker? Why don’t you go?

Her first response wasn’t bold confidence. It was hesitation. The timing felt wrong. There were too many reasons it didn’t make sense.

So she prayed, “Lord, make it crystal clear if I’m supposed to go.”

The next day, she began the process.

At Brentwood Baptist, we believe Going is not optional for the believer; it’s part of who we are. Whether across the street or across the world, we want to live sent. Farris’ story is a reminder that sometimes Going begins with a simple yes.

Farris is now heading to Cape Town to partner with King of Kings, joining the work God is already doing there. When she briefly lived there in 2023, she visited the church and journaled, “It seems like a great church, but there are no young people.” Today, she’s been asked to help jumpstart a young adults ministry. What she once observed has become part of her assignment.

A marriage and family therapist in Nashville, Farris works with children, teens, and women in perinatal care. In Cape Town, she’ll serve at a pregnancy care center for teenage girls facing unexpected pregnancies, offering free mental health support to those in distress. Her profession and her calling align in a way that reflects how God uniquely gifts and sends His people for His purposes. See how you can connect those here.

The hardest part will be leaving her family. She asks for prayer for them and for open hearts among the people she’ll serve.

Through it all, one thing is clear: “I feel so at peace about it,” she says. “I’m really grateful that I get to go.”

Farris’ story isn’t just her story. It’s an invitation.

If you want to learn more about those we’ve sent around the world, visit our Global Worker page. If you’re prayerfully considering your own next step, explore current Mission Journey opportunities and ask the Lord where He might be leading you to go.

Because when God says go, we want to be a church that answers yes.