When Mission Becomes Family: Passing the Baton and Generational Calling
About this episode
Pastor Scott Ethridge of The Healing Place Church in Shreveport, Louisiana joins Philip Cameron for a conversation about generational calling, the language of the Kingdom, and what happens when a church catches a true mission vision. Scott shares how sending a diverse team — ranging in age from 12 to 72 — transformed individuals in ways no Sunday service could. "Orphans Hands is not just about what you're pouring into them," Scott explains, "but what's being poured back into you." Drawing on the parable of the Good Samaritan and the relay-race imagery of passing the baton, Scott unpacks why finishing well requires intentionally releasing the next generation. He points to King Hezekiah's cautionary example — a man who ran well but didn't finish well because he never passed the baton forward. Scott also reflects on the distinct "language of the Kingdom," noting that the world uses words like compassion but means something entirely different than followers of Christ do. Whether you're a pastor weighing your church's next mission step or a believer asking what legacy looks like, this episode delivers a clear, story-driven challenge: run your lane, pass the baton, and trust God with the next generation.
Part of our Missions collection of conversations.
Quotes worth sharing
“You are never closer to the heart of God than when you're helping those that cannot help themselves. When you reach out to someone in need that can't give you anything back, and you have no expectations of it, but you go anyway.”
“Orphan's Hands is not just about what you're pouring into them, but what's being poured back into you. So what are you gonna do with that?”
“Passing the baton doesn't mean you've gotta stop the race. It is just a progression to the next level.”
What's Discussed
Pastor Scott Ethridge of The Healing Place Church in Shreveport, Louisiana discusses generational calling, mission, and legacy with Philip Cameron. Scott reflects on sending a multigenerational team — ages 12 to 72 — and how the experience reshaped individuals, including a 72-year-old pastoral care minister who had never been on a mission trip in 40-plus years of full-time ministry. He draws on the parable of the Good Samaritan, King Hezekiah's failure to pass the baton, and the relay-race metaphor to argue that finishing well means running in a new lane — not stopping. Scott also articulates the distinct 'language of the Kingdom,' where words like compassion carry a different, supernatural meaning than their worldly counterparts.
- Sending a Multigenerational Mission Team
- Catching a Church-Wide Mission Vision
- What Missionaries Receive Back from the Field
- The Language of the Kingdom of God
- Passing the Baton Without Stopping the Race
- Hezekiah's Warning About Generational Legacy
- Trusting God With the Next Generation
Episode Transcript
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Intro
Philip:Hey, welcome to Daily Faith today. My name is Philip Cameron, and I am so pleased that you've joined us on the program. We've got a great guest and a great man I've got today as our guest. He's been our friend for many, many years. Scott Ethridge, pastor of a tremendous church in Shreveport, Louisiana, called The Healing Place. I love it. And he's been a great friend. Their church has been a great investor in our mission outreach in Romania, in Moldova and in Ukraine. We have had a home in Ukraine for 10 years, and we had to remove our girls for fear of being bombed and missile attacked by the Russians, and they spent a year in Moldova. And so our work there is growing incredibly. God is doing great things.
Philip:And the Healing Place sent a mission team to Moldova to spend some time with us there, and they got to know our kids, went out on outreach with them, and also going to visit our brand new ministry project that we're doing right now. Two new homes for 50 kids between the age of four and 16. And so we are so excited to have Scott with us. As I mentioned, we have a mission work in Moldova 35 years ago. And my — with a slip of the tongue, I mentioned Romania because 35 years ago, my dad was watching the TV in Scotland, the BBC, the famous BBC that you're hearing about today. And this is when they told the truth. And then they had reporters covering the World Cup preliminaries in Moldova. England was there, the English soccer team. And these reporters had some time off, and they were taken to this place in a town called Ches in Moldova. And they reported in the newspaper the dying rooms of Moldova.
Philip:And that was how we heard about it. And my dad called me and says, we're gonna go there. And I went, with no idea that we were about to fall into the most amazing situation of rescuing kids, young girls that would be sold into trafficking. And before they went to take them and catch them from the trafficker and put them back in school and share the gospel with them. And the results have been amazing. Orphans come and become sons and daughters, and when they become sons and daughters, God turns them into missionaries. And these amazing kids have youth camps all through the summertime. They have feeding programs and they go into the villages, forgotten places, and share the most amazing story of the gospel, but bring food with them and bring wood. We buy these great big bags of wood for $75, I believe it is, and we deliver them to their house and stack it in for a widow that can't chop wood and can't buy wood and will freeze during the wintertime.
Philip:Many freeze to death. And our young folk go and we stack the wood for them, and we bring hope and drive fear out of the heart because of a place they know they'll be warm for the wintertime. It's amazing. And just recently, Scott's church went to Moldova, and while they were there, we made a video of them doing the work and the outreach in one of the villages. Watch this.
Philip:You are never closer to the heart of God than when you're helping those that cannot help themselves. When you reach out to someone in need that can't give you anything back, and you have no expectations of it, but you go anyway. When the man fell among thieves on that road and the priest and the Levite had walked past, they were both going to church. They had reasons why they can't stop, because if they touch the blood, they're unclean. They can't go to the — I mean, they could justify not helping. Boy, they had good reason to.
Philip:And then a Samaritan came by and he got off his animal and went down and he poured oil and wine. While the other one, the priest walked past, the Levite stopped and added up how much it would cost and said, ah, that's too much. And the man dying on the road saying, please don't leave me here to die. Please don't leave me here to die. And he was in the temple worshiping God when he got there, however long it took him to walk.
Philip:It's those that stop and help that are the ones God notices. This is a story that Jesus spoke about. I'm telling you a synopsis of a story that struck God's heart. Jesus told — I'm telling you a story Jesus told. If you want to get his attention, stop by those that have fallen amongst thieves. And the kids that you are looking at and the old folk that we are helping, these young little boys and girls born in poverty — highest alcohol rate in the world is Moldova, poorest country in Europe. Moldova, it's like Africa in Moldova with minus 30 degrees. It is a hard place. And God sent us there to show the love of God.
Philip:Not to preach overtly. And we do preach, we have church services — don't misunderstand me. But when a family is hungry and they've got no shoes to go outside their house and it's raining or it's snowing outside, when you show up with shoes and food and wood for their fire, everything changes. The heart opens up for these strangers and these orphan kids that are giving them the supplies. And I just know what our kids do and what teams do when they come to Moldova is the closest thing you can do to God. God created. And when you give away, you are creating hope in someone's heart.
Philip:And those big bags of wood that we buy, they cost $75 to deliver. That's how much they cost us. And you can give a gift of $75 and provide hope for a whole family for a month. You can take the terror of freezing to death out of a mom's heart for $75. We have over a hundred families on our books right now. If we had the money, we could have a thousand families that are in desperate need. And if you would like to help us by giving a gift of $75, that's where it's gonna go. You look in those bags of wood, whenever we get the $75, they'll be on the next van with the next team that goes out. You can help us.
Philip:These kids that we take in — everything you see, all that you'll witness in this program has been done by somebody giving a dollar a day. The Lord challenged me, if everyone can give a dollar a day, it doesn't change your income, it doesn't hurt you. You can't buy a tank of gas for a dollar a day. But by doing so, many members joined together allows us to change people's lives in the most extraordinary way. And if you'd like to help us by giving some wood or by giving a dollar a day, you can help make this miracle happen.
Philip:Our address is really simple. Excuse me. PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee. If you use the Orphan's Hands or Daily Faith, it matters not as long as you earmark where your giving is going. That's where it's gonna go. The Orphan's Hands, PO Box 25, Clinton, Tennessee 37716. You can also go to dailyfaith.tv. There's a giving page there. That's the quickest way. You can use your charge card, bank card, and it is wired to us, and we can literally employ it in the next couple of days on the other side of the world. Each of the homes has a credit card from America, so all of the food purchased and all the supplies — each of the homes has their own account that we keep as to what's being spent.
Philip:And we can wire money there instantly. Please help us. And we're also building two new homes for little kids. Up to now we've been caring for kids 16 and older. We had a terrible thing happen a few months ago. We took a girl in to Vatra Village who was 14. We took the risk of getting in trouble with the authorities because of the horrendous family situation she was in. And they made us send her back, and we sent her back. And a week or so after she was put back into her village, she was gang raped by 10 men. And she literally lost her mind.
Philip:And what you're looking at now is homes that we've purchased. These fancy beds are being taken out and stuff, and we're putting in bunk beds. We're in the process of buying them right now. But what we are gonna do is in these homes, we'll house 25 kids, little kids between the age of four and 16. So that Maria — that was the girl's name — will never happen again. That house is unfinished. We're believing God for the funds. And if you'd like to help us finish these homes and get little kids in there, it'll be a great blessing. Each of these homes require 300 people giving a dollar a day. You can open these homes and give hope and help to kids for a dollar a day.
Philip:Let the Lord speak to your heart. And I believe we can see great things happen. My friend Scott Ethridge is with me today. And God put us together many years ago, and we have a kindred spirit. It's amazing how God has put our hearts together. And he sent the team — he didn't go by himself, and there's a reason for that. He didn't go, but he sent the team to Moldova that just came back in the last couple of weeks. Scott, I'm delighted to have you with us today. God bless you, my friend. How are you doing?
Scott Ethridge:Doing good. So good to be on Daily Faith. When I get to see your face, it's always a good day no matter what's happening around me.
Philip:You're kind, you are kind. You have just had the experience, the Moldova experience and the Orphan's Hands experience. Give us an idea — what if a pastor's watching today, looking at you and I, and he's thinking, boy, this might be an interesting thing for me to send a team of people over there. Has it impacted your church?
Sending a Multigenerational Mission Team
Scott Ethridge:Oh, there's no doubt. Even before we sent our first team, we were impacted. And I think that sometimes we maybe try to look at the big picture first rather than seeing what's right in front of us. And the thing that got us in was my relationship with you. And once that relationship began to develop and I began to hear your story, and I began to hear what God spoke to you so many years ago, 30 plus years ago, and then the result of that and seeing your heart and seeing you walk that out, then we were all in with that.
Scott Ethridge:And so we did send a team. I did not go. And one of the reasons why — you and I have discussed this — is that I feel like in this season of my life, I just turned 57. This season of my life is more about equipping and sending than it is me personally going. Not that I don't go, but for this specific one, I felt like we needed to equip and send. We sent a team from age 72 down to 12. So it was very diverse, from every different walk of life. And they went, they raised money.
Scott Ethridge:And I would say this to a pastor — even we were raising money for the Moldova trip while we were casting vision, a five-year vision, and raising money for phase two of that vision. That normally is not what church experts tell you, but we understand that pure and undefiled religion has to do with widows and orphans. And Orphan's Hands is one of the greatest in the world at doing that on a personal level with a big vision, but never losing sight of the one.
Scott Ethridge:I love the fact that there's always the one, and that goes back to you crossing the threshold of that door. When you told your dad, I don't want to go in there because I'm innocent out here. If I go in there, I'm guilty. And you crossed that threshold. And even though you didn't want to be in that room, it was one, it was one little lamb that you saw through a plexiglass, and you saw that face. And that one then has become now multitudes and multitudes and multitudes. And now the one that heard, if you were born, you're not a mistake, God has a purpose. And so that one heard it, and then they told someone else, and then those orphans became sons and daughters and they're leading.
Catching a Church-Wide Mission Vision
Scott Ethridge:And our team went, and your team was so amazing. And Gary and Melody were unbelievable. That was a whole other thing, just the two of them.
Philip:Melody's my daughter, by the way. Melody and her husband.
Scott Ethridge:Yes. How God orchestrated that with the specific people that went on our team. And like you said, we've been doing this a long time. We did the container thing right in the middle of the war, the raging war. And listen, pastor, we don't have a huge church, a populous church on a Sunday morning. The building's not packed, people are not standing in line, we don't have four services. And yet over the last five to six years, I think we've given almost six figures, if not more.
Philip:Yes. Just in the last five years. One of the most successful giving churches to our ministry is your church. And it shows what can happen if a church catches a vision and purpose. And many churches, Scott, don't have purpose. And when there's no vision, people perish. If you don't get your church involved outside of the building as well as inside the building, what you do is you give away the resources of your church to someone on TV or something else, because that money will be spent on something. But if you can challenge them for vision and purpose and you get them to cast their bread upon the waters, what it does is it returns to them wave after wave after wave. And the church is multiplied and blessed because of it.
Scott Ethridge:Yeah. And one of the first things we did when they came back is they all had their personal stories and they had all that, but we got together and I said, hey guys — and this might sound a little strong, but you have to take it in context — I was like, okay, so what does that mean right now? Because your nostalgia and your memories do not help Orphan's Hands tomorrow. They're gonna get up and do the same thing they did when you guys were there. There's another team coming. You weren't the only team. Memories, that's great. But Orphan's Hands is not just about what you're pouring into them, but what's being poured back into you. So what are you gonna do with that?
What Missionaries Receive Back from the Field
Scott Ethridge:And what we have seen already — we're only like a month, a little over a month since they got back — and already it's like, well, the Lord spoke to me this, and I hadn't heard that in 20 years. The Lord gave me this laugh, this exuberant laugh that I haven't had in 20 years. I had it at Vatra Village. And now coming back, God's put something in my heart to do right here at the Healing Place. That's one thing I love about Orphan's Hands. It's not just about what you're going and doing for them. It's not just what you're giving to them, but it is given back to you, pressed down and shaken together and running over.
Philip:Yeah. A lot of folk come to us and are surprised. The goal with the thought of a normal mission outreach — we're gonna go there and we are the big shots from America and we're gonna do this — and when they get to Moldova, these little girls are full of Jesus and will pray longer than you and will worship longer than you and will sing longer than you. And the times that people contact us and say, we thought we were gonna be the ministry team when we went there, but instead they ministered to us and we came back having received more than we feel we even gave out.
Philip:In fact, roll the B-roll. This is one of the worship nights that they had when they were at — we have a village called Vatra Village, and this is our kids together with the team from the Healing Place in Moldova. And that's them, that's my daughter Melody with her husband in the background. And it's wonderful to watch the integration of missionaries and kids, but all of them have common ground to stand on. It is just amazing.
Scott Ethridge:And what you don't know is the people from the Healing Place, their stories sitting in that room. And I thought it was interesting the timing of that, because our team went and there was just a new intake of 25 kids. They were brand new. So even some of the worship, even some of the devotionals, even some of just sharing Jesus was brand new to several of them, and many of them. And even Melody, you know, she said, man, we had a move of God that one night. It was like our oldest and one of our youngest gave a devotional. And I think it was that night that God really just moved in a way.
Scott Ethridge:And we had our pastoral care guy, Rick, 72 years old. He's been in full-time ministry over 40 years. He's been with some of the biggest of the big names. He's been the finance guy who just does the numbers in the room. But when he came to us and God put that together, I said, hey, you're not the finance guy, you're not the numbers guy. You're called of God. And so you're not just gonna be the finance guy. And what he figured out was he had a gift of pastoral care he didn't even know he had. But he had never — listen, Philip — he had never in over 40 years of full-time ministry with the biggest of big names, he had never been on a mission trip. 40 plus years of full-time ministry, had never been on a mission trip. And he went on this one and he came back and he said, I thought this was gonna happen, and I thought this, but what I realized is I'm carrying more than I ever thought I would have ever received back.
Philip:We invite you to get in contact with us and arrange a trip with your church. And I'll promise you this, your women's group will come alive because they'll suddenly see, wow, we can create stuff and we can send weekly containers. We shipped one last week. We are continually filling containers with items that are needed in Moldova. And there's so many ways that your church can get involved in what we do in Moldova and Ukraine.
Philip:Your team didn't go to Ukraine, but there's a tremendous opportunity for a bunch of Americans to go across the border from Moldova into Ukraine and then drive to Odessa, where we have a home there, also a beautiful home. And so you have these girls in Odessa, Ukraine — they don't speak any Romanian. So it is a completely different world and it feels different, but what it's doing is giving you a taste of being God's hand extended. And once you stretch your spirit to include that, you're never the same again. It transforms you from the inside out.
The Language of the Kingdom of God
Philip:So if you're watching today, you need to consider coming to Moldova. Part of our family that's over there will absolutely blow your mind. And both of us are going through the same — you are 57. Yeah. Oh, you're just a young one and I'm 70. Don't say that, I've got grandkids. Don't say that. Listen, don't even go there. I'm not the young buck anymore. Come on. I'm 70. What are you talking about?
Philip:And so what we're doing is we are preparing our kids to go and take the mantle from us that we've carried for 35 years. From Melody and Gary — you may not know this, but that was the first time hosting, and they came back saying, oh, we like this. And so it's generational. That's the key, isn't it?
Scott Ethridge:There were so many different things that were accomplished with one trip — with individuals, with a team, for our church, for Orphan's Hands, I believe as well. Absolutely. For Gary and Melody, very personal things that happened. And Philip, you know, just as kind of a parting thing for anybody out there — there is a language to the kingdom of God. And it's one of the reasons why the Pharisees hated Jesus. The language of the kingdom. He spoke some of the same words, but he didn't speak the same language. That's a word for somebody. He spoke the same words, but he didn't speak the same language. He spoke a different language.
Scott Ethridge:And the world uses the word compassion, but they see compassion one way. And compassion in the kingdom is a totally different definition. And the results are different. And Orphan's Hands for me — when we say compassion and we're talking about Orphan's Hands, it's not a worldly word. It's a different language. And when you go and when you connect with Philip and you connect with his family and you connect with Orphan's Hands, it's the same words, different language.
Passing the Baton Without Stopping the Race
Philip:Yeah. It is a different language. It is a supernatural language. And I love the fact that in the valley of the shadow right there in Moldova, in the valley of the shadow — I love it. David said, still waters, green pastures. He leads me, he does this, he did this. But in the valley of the shadow of death, you are with me. And I love the fact that right there in the valley of the shadow of Moldova, they're not talking about God, they're talking to God. It's personal. It's about the one and it's personal. It's a different language, same words, different language.
Philip:I've taken off the bumper at the last of the program, so we've got another couple of minutes we can spend with each other, because this is so good. Once again, God is transferring from our generation to the next generation. And unless we make room for that, unless we allow that to happen, we'll become extinct. And the last thing I want to happen for this great ministry that's been taking place there for 35 years is for it to become extinct. And the only way you can allow it to continue is to allow it to flow out past you into the next generation.
Philip:And we are with kids in Moldova that we rescued 17 years ago that now run the place. Nadia, for example, and here's this amazing girl that is there and has literally given her life to this cause. And to watch her grow and mature — I could go through every single one of the house parents, the story that brought them to the place and the DNA that we put in them is now being transferred. And I believe there's folk watching who just now need to understand that passing the baton doesn't mean you've gotta stop the race. It is just a progression to the next level.
Scott Ethridge:Yeah. I would say even it's almost like a relay race. When you pass the baton, get out of the way. It doesn't mean you stop running. You're just running in a different lane. Like when I passed off the baton as lead pastor, it's not like I'm done. I'm not finished. I'm just running in a different lane. And thank God I'm probably running at a different pace than the one I passed the baton to. I'm not trying to keep up with them. I want them to lap me. I want them to lap me over and over and over again. But I'm still running in my lane. I'm still running at my pace. And thankfully even in that lane, I'm able to pass the baton again to somebody else and get in another lane. That is Genesis to Revelation.
Hezekiah's Warning About Generational Legacy
Scott Ethridge:And where we see Israel get off track, where we see the body get off track, is when we don't pass. Hezekiah wants 15 years, but he doesn't want 15 years for the next generation. He wants it selfishly for himself. And a man of God who God used tremendously gets 15 years and doesn't pass a baton. And so all those things — he did not finish well. He ran well, but he didn't finish well because he didn't pass the baton. I don't want to — I'm asking for 15 more years, but not for me. I'm asking for the next, and the next, and the next. And I'm asking for my great-grandchildren, which I don't even have yet. Before they even had days, God gave it to them.
Philip:Absolutely. I've got a grandson called Rowan, and we were driving in the car the other day and he says, granddaddy — he is 10 — he says, when can I start working to take over the ministry from you? And I'm thinking, oh, I like how you are thinking, my boy. That is amazing. And it doesn't make us less than. No, it doesn't mean God's done with us. It just simply means we're in a different place. It just gives us space to do something else. And we're gonna receive blessings from the Lord we could have never received if we'd have stayed in that lane and not passed that baton.
Trusting God With the Next Generation
Philip:Because now we're not just seeing our kids being blessed, but we're seeing our grandkids. And that has to do with the faith too — our kids in the faith and our grandkids in the faith. We are out of time. Thank you for being with us today. The Healing Place, Shreveport, Louisiana. Go to that church if you're in the area. Thank you for watching Daily Faith. God bless you.
Common questions
Why did Scott send a team to Moldova instead of going himself?
Scott says that at 57, he feels this season of his life is more about equipping and sending than personally going. He deliberately sent a diverse team — ranging from age 12 to 72 — because he believes his role right now is to raise up and release others rather than always being the one on the ground.
How has partnering with Orphan's Hands actually impacted The Healing Place church?
Scott says the impact went both ways — team members came back spiritually renewed in ways they hadn't experienced in decades. One example he gives is a 72-year-old pastoral care staffer who had been in full-time ministry for over 40 years but had never been on a mission trip; he returned saying he was 'carrying more than he ever thought he would have ever received.' Scott also notes that over the last five to six years, his church has given close to or exceeding six figures to the ministry.
What does Scott say to team members who come back just living on the memories of the trip?
Scott is direct with returning team members: he tells them that nostalgia and memories don't help Orphan's Hands tomorrow. He pushes them to ask what they're going to do with what was poured into them, and he says the results have already been tangible — people hearing from God and acting on it back home within just a month of returning.
What does Scott mean when he says Jesus 'spoke the same words but a different language'?
Scott uses this to describe the kingdom of God having its own language — one that uses familiar words like 'compassion' but with a completely different meaning and different results than the world's version. For him, Orphan's Hands embodies that kingdom language, and he says connecting with Philip and the ministry is like finding people who speak the same different language.
What's Scott's take on passing the baton in ministry — does it mean you're done?
Scott says passing the baton is like a relay race — you get out of the lane but you don't stop running. You just run at a different pace in a different lane, and ideally the person you passed to laps you. He uses Hezekiah as a cautionary example: a man God used greatly who asked for more years but kept them for himself rather than investing in the next generation, and as a result didn't finish well.
Topics
scott ethridgegenerational callingpassing the batonhealing place churchmission transformationkingdom languagefinishing well