Answering the Call: Sherry Pogue's Ministry to Missionaries Around the World

By Hannah Diles

Sherry Pogue (M.S. ’10) and her husband, Alan, began their work in international missions decades ago, unaware that the Lord was weaving together the undercurrents of their story. Initially, the Pogues served on the missions committee at Levy Church of Christ in Little Rock, Arkansas. Years later, Pogue founded Restored and Renewed Ministry, a nonprofit organization in France that provides a place of rest and safety for missionaries.

Pogue earned her undergraduate degree in elementary education from Northeastern State University in Tahlequah, Oklahoma, before completing master’s degrees in educational leadership and professional counseling at Harding. While pursuing her counseling degree, she felt drawn to mission care through her work on the missions committee.

Pogue recalls one instance when the committee checked in with missionaries they sponsored in Africa. With her counseling training, she noticed the conversation felt strained and the missionary couple seemed reluctant to voice their concerns. Three months later, the church learned that the missionaries had left the mission field to check into a hospital due to emotional and physical exhaustion.

This realization sparked Pogue’s conviction to better support those on the mission field. After a career in teaching and counseling, she founded Restored and Renewed Ministry in 2016.

“We formed our own nonprofit because I wanted to create a safe place,” Pogue said. “It’s like a counseling room. This is a place where you can come and talk about anything in a trusted environment. Our goal is to keep you on the mission field if that’s where you need and want to be. But if you’re burned out and haven’t had any support, how can we expect you to continue?”

Pogue’s ministry operates from her home in the French countryside, nestled in a small village with minimal noise and a close-knit community. She aims to provide a peaceful and quiet space for families to rest while offering housing, food and counseling sessions for up to two weeks at no charge. In the ministry’s first year, Pogue hosted 31 guests. Eight years later, that number has grown significantly with 151 guests from 31 countries visiting in 2024.

“Christian missionaries from around the world can come to our place for up to two weeks, and we will feed you three meals a day,” Pogue said. “We will care for you. We’ll do counseling, debriefing — whatever you need in those two weeks — and just really, truly love and spoil you. That’s what we do to the best of our ability because there’s this need that’s not being met.”

Pogue is inspired to continue loving and serving others so they can, in turn, love and serve others. This mission lies at the heart of both her personal life and the ongoing work of Restored and Renewed.

“Mission care is seeing and hearing individuals and meeting them where they are,” Pogue said. “It’s saying, ‘It’s okay not to be happy where you are, but what do we do to make it better? Let’s figure out where to go from here.’ Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do as counselors? Isn’t that what we’re supposed to do as Christians? When we sit down and have fellowship, we ask, ‘How are you, and how can I take care of you?’”