Called & Rejected
"Every door slammed shut — except God's."
In 1966, a young British woman — barely 22 years old, a Royal College of Music graduate who played the oboe — sensed an unmistakable call from God to become a missionary.
She applied to every mission organization she could find. Every single one rejected her. Too young. Not enough training. No theological degree. No experience.
But here's what they didn't understand: God's call doesn't require a committee's approval. Jackie knew God had spoken. And that was enough.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have buried Your calling because no institution endorsed it. I renounce the lie that says I need human approval to obey You. You are enough. Your call is enough (Jeremiah 1:7)."
🪞 Reflect
"What calling have you quietly buried because no one officially endorsed it? Where have you confused 'open doors' with God's will — and used closed doors as an excuse to stop?"
⚡ Act
"Write down the one calling you've been waiting for permission to pursue. Pray over it daily for 7 days. Take one concrete step toward it this week — no committee needed (Isaiah 6:8)."
Audacious Obedience
"Get on a boat. Pray. Get off wherever God tells you."
Rejected by every mission organization, Jackie sought counsel from a Spirit-filled vicar. His advice was insane by modern standards:
"Get on a boat. Go out to sea. Pray every day. And get off the boat wherever God tells you to stop."
No strategic plan. No feasibility study. No backup option. Just radical, audacious obedience. Most Christians today would call that irresponsible. Jackie called it faith. And she bought the ticket.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess I have demanded clarity before obedience. I renounce the idol of certainty that keeps me from trusting You. Give me Abraham's faith — to go without knowing (Hebrews 11:8)."
🪞 Reflect
"Where in your life are you waiting for a detailed roadmap instead of simply obeying the next step? Have you confused strategic planning with faith? What would 'get on the boat' look like for you?"
⚡ Act
"Identify one step of obedience you've been delaying for 'more clarity.' Take it this week. Write Proverbs 3:5-6 on a card and read it every morning."
One-Way Ticket
"No mission board. No salary. No plan. No backup."
With almost nothing in her pocket, Jackie bought a ONE-WAY boat ticket. No mission board backing her. No monthly support. No plan. No backup. No return ticket.
She sailed toward the Far East, praying every single day. And when the boat docked in Hong Kong, God said: "This is it. Get off here."
So she did. 22 years old. No contacts. No housing. No job. Just obedience.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Jesus, I confess I have kept a 'return ticket' in my back pocket — a backup plan in case following You gets too hard. I renounce half-hearted obedience. I'm going all in (Luke 9:62)."
🪞 Reflect
"What's your backup plan? What safety net are you clinging to that's keeping you from total surrender? If God said 'get off here,' would you obey — or negotiate?"
⚡ Act
"Name your 'return ticket' — the thing you're holding onto in case God doesn't come through. Write it down. Surrender it in prayer. Take one 'no return' step this week."
Kowloon Walled City
"The worst place on earth — and God's chosen mission field."
God didn't lead Jackie to a nice neighborhood. He led her to Kowloon Walled City — a 6.4-acre enclave in Hong Kong abandoned by both British and Chinese governments.
No law. No police. No hope. Ruled by Triad gangsters. Opium dens on every corner. Heroin addiction epidemic. Prostitution. Murder. Darkness. 33,000 people crammed into a space the size of a city block. The Chinese called it "Hak Nam" — the City of Darkness.
It was hell on earth. And Jackie Pullinger walked straight into it.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I avoid the dark places because I fear them. I renounce the lie that says light should stay where it's comfortable. Send me into the darkness — Your light in me is greater (1 John 4:4)."
🪞 Reflect
"What 'dark place' have you been avoiding — a difficult person, a broken community, a messy situation? Have you been staying in safe, well-lit Christianity instead of going where the need is greatest?"
⚡ Act
"Identify one 'dark place' in your community — a shelter, a recovery center, a struggling neighbor. Go there this week. Bring the light. Don't just pray from a distance (Matthew 5:14-16)."
Walking Into Hell
"She was 22 years old. She walked in alone."
Police wouldn't enter Kowloon. If they did, they were killed. Triad gangsters ruled with terror and violence. Opium dens lined every alley. The buildings were so tightly packed that sunlight never reached the ground.
Jackie described it as "a fetid smell of rotten foodstuffs, excrement, and general rubbish" — even at midday, the narrow passages were completely dark.
No security team. No compound. No exit strategy. She found work as a primary school music teacher inside the Walled City and started a youth center. Most of us won't share the gospel with a coworker. Jackie walked into hell and started preaching Jesus.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"God, I confess fear has controlled more of my decisions than faith. I renounce the spirit of timidity that keeps me silent and small. Fill me with power, love, and a sound mind (2 Timothy 1:7)."
🪞 Reflect
"When was the last time you did something that genuinely scared you for the gospel? Are you living so safely that your faith requires no courage at all? What would you do if you weren't afraid?"
⚡ Act
"Do one thing this week that scares you for Jesus — start a conversation, serve someone uncomfortable, go somewhere unfamiliar. Pray Psalm 23:4 before you go."
The First Converts
"Gangsters wept. Prostitutes quit. Darkness met Light."
Something impossible started happening. Brutal Triad gang leaders — men who had murdered, extorted, and terrorized entire neighborhoods — began encountering the living Christ.
These weren't church people cleaning up their language. These were gangsters. Killers. Men whose hands were covered in blood. And they wept. They repented. They were radically, supernaturally transformed.
Prostitutes quit the trade overnight. Addicts who had tried to quit a hundred times found freedom. Darkness met Light — and darkness lost.
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess I have underestimated the power of Your gospel. I renounce the unbelief that says 'some people are too far gone.' No one is beyond Your reach (Romans 1:16)."
🪞 Reflect
"Is there someone you've written off as 'too far gone' for Jesus? Have you limited God's power to people who look like you, talk like you, and sin like you?"
⚡ Act
"Name one person you've given up on spiritually. Pray for them by name every day for 30 days. Ask God to give you an opportunity to show them His love this week."
Holy Spirit Power
"This isn't a program. This is the presence of God setting captives free."
Jackie discovered something the Western church has largely forgotten: the Holy Spirit isn't just a theological concept. He's a Person. With power. Real, tangible, life-transforming power.
Heroin addicts baptized in the Holy Spirit and praying in tongues experienced complete freedom from addiction — with zero withdrawal symptoms. Medical professionals said it couldn't happen. But addict after addict walked away clean.
No methadone. No 12-step program. No rehab facility. Just Jesus. Just the Holy Spirit. Just supernatural power. Jackie said it best: "This isn't a program. This is the presence of God setting captives free."
📖 Scripture
🙏 Pray
"Holy Spirit, I confess I have relied on programs more than Your presence. I renounce the lie that Your power was only for the early church. Fill me afresh. I need Your supernatural power (Acts 1:8)."
🪞 Reflect
"Do you believe the Holy Spirit still moves with power today — or have you quietly settled for a powerless Christianity? When was the last time you asked the Spirit to do something only He could do?"
⚡ Act
"Spend 15 minutes in silence asking the Holy Spirit to fill you. Pray for one 'impossible' breakthrough — something only God could do. Write it down with today's date (Isaiah 61:1)."
She Never Left
"60+ years. Same calling. Same faithfulness."
Most missionaries burn out after 5 years. Most go home after 10. Jackie Pullinger has been in Hong Kong for over 60 years. She never left.
In 1981 she founded St. Stephen's Society — now operating rehabilitation homes across Hong Kong, Thailand, the Philippines, and India. Thousands have been set free from addiction. Hundreds of former gang members and addicts trained as missionaries.
She received an MBE from the Queen. She married John To — a former Triad member she converted. The woman with no mission board, no salary, and no plan built a movement that transformed entire communities.
"What Jackie Gave Up: financial security, career, safety, comfort, approval, a return plan.
What Jackie Gained: thousands freed, communities transformed, spiritual sons and daughters across Asia, and a testimony that still echoes."
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess I chase short-term impact over long-term faithfulness. I renounce the lie that says fruitfulness should be instant. Give me a 60-year faith — not a 6-month commitment (Galatians 6:9)."
🪞 Reflect
"Are you building something that lasts — or chasing the next spiritual high? What would your faith look like if you committed to the same calling for decades, not months?"
⚡ Act
"Identify the one calling, ministry, or relationship God has asked you to be faithful in. Recommit to it today. Tell one person: 'I'm not quitting this.' Pray Galatians 6:9 daily."
Comfort Kills Calling
"We have everything and change nothing."
Jackie had nothing — no salary, no housing, no 401(k), no health insurance. She ate whatever food local believers shared. She slept on floors. She had no backup plan. And she changed everything.
Meanwhile, we say: "I'd love to serve God, but I need to pay off my student loans first." Or: "I'd go on mission, but I need job security."
We've become so comfortable that we've become useless. Jackie had nothing and changed everything. We have everything and change nothing.
- ❌"You need a mission board's approval" — Every board rejected her. God still sent her.
- ❌"You need stable financial support" — She left with almost nothing and no salary.
- ❌"You need formal theological training" — She went with obedience and the Bible.
- ❌"You need a clear 10-year plan" — She had a one-way ticket and daily prayer.
- ❌"Miracles like this don't happen anymore" — Addicts were freed with zero withdrawal symptoms.
🙏 Pray
"Lord, I confess comfort has become my idol. I renounce the lie that says I need financial security before I can obey You. Strip away every excuse I've built to avoid radical obedience (Luke 9:23)."
🪞 Reflect
"Which of the myths above is your primary excuse? What would you do for God if money, comfort, and reputation weren't factors? What's one comfort you're unwilling to sacrifice?"
⚡ Act
"Pick one comfort to sacrifice this week: skip entertainment for prayer, give radically, serve somewhere uncomfortable. Ask a trusted friend: 'Am I living radical or safe faith?' — and mean it."
Your Kowloon Awaits
"Where is God calling you that terrifies you?"
Where is YOUR Kowloon? What's that place God is calling you that absolutely terrifies you?
Maybe it's not Hong Kong. Maybe it's your workplace. Your neighborhood. Your family. The mission field across the street. Maybe it's quitting the job that's killing your soul. Maybe it's selling the house and going overseas. Maybe it's adopting the kid no one else wants. Maybe it's confronting the sin you've been hiding for years.
Whatever it is — you know what it is. That thing that makes your stomach drop when you think about it. That's your Kowloon. And God is saying: "Go."
🙏 Pray
"Father, I confess I have been running from the hard places You've called me to. I renounce the spirit of avoidance. Show me my Kowloon. Give me the faith to walk in (Joshua 1:9)."
🪞 Reflect
"What step of obedience are you delaying because it scares you? What mission field have you been pretending God hasn't called you to? What would you do if failure wasn't possible?"
⚡ Act
"Write down your Kowloon — the place, person, or calling that terrifies you. Share it with one trusted friend. Ask them to pray for you and hold you accountable. Take one step toward it this week."
One Ticket Is Enough
"Will you buy the ticket — or spend your life waiting?"
Let me tell you what you DON'T need:
- ✅You don't need a mission board — you need obedience
- ✅You don't need perfect clarity — you need to take the first step
- ✅You don't need more credentials — you need the Holy Spirit
- ✅You don't need a backup plan — faith doesn't have a return policy
Jackie had one ticket. One direction. One calling. And that was enough. Because when God calls, He equips. When God sends, He sustains. When God opens the door, He walks through it with you.
So here's the final question: Will you buy the ticket?