Chad & Sonya Owens

From youth pastor to missionary. How a family of nine journeyed from Dayton, TN to join staff at Teen Missions. We moved on to Heavenly St. on June 1, 2026. Our story of God’s provision and guidance is told below.

In the spring of 2022, Jaxon, our youngest son, expressed an interest in going on a mission trip with Teen Missions and despite some apprehension for this endeavor since he was only 12, we wanted to embrace what God was stirring in his heart and he signed up for Guatemala. Sonya decided to volunteer at his Boot Camp training and Chad agreed to get involved with initial reluctance. Within a few days of involvement, we were stirred by the intentional discipleship of young people and their heart to follow God with an inspiring fervor. We immediately began talking about getting involved by leading a summer team and after returning from that trip, praying about joining staff.

The summer of 2024 our family went global with TMI. Chad and Sonya lead a team to Colombia with Joylynn, Jasmine and Jayla. Julia served in Zambia with medical missions. Jaxon served in Germany. After that summer Julia joined the Bible school, Sojourner School of Ministry on the base of TMI. It was at that point we began to sense a call to join Teen Missions Staff and prayerfully asking for clarity and the right timing. God confirmed this calling after we attended First Step at TMI in November of 2025.

We have served in the local church in youth ministry for almost 25 years and have dearly loved the chance to impact the kingdom of God and how it has impacted and shaped our family. We have particularly enjoyed raising our children in Tennessee with Grace Bible Church for many years and engaging in missions in various ways. We see how these experiences have prepared us for an opportunity to share in this ministry for such a time as this. We’re so grateful for how God is using us to be a bridge between our diverse backgrounds and our passion for youth, missions, local and global churches, medical experience, and hospitality. We believe that our unique blend of skills and experiences will help us spread the love of Christ and expand the kingdom of God. We would love to have you partner with us in this endeavor to do what only God can do in our lives within the ministry of Teen Missions International.

Chad has started working on understanding the HR department and all it entails. He is the volunteer coordinator and working on program development. Chad is excited about the potential to be an encouragement to the volunteers, as we have volunteered the last three summers and understand what it is like. Other exciting opportunities include discipleship of the Sojourner students, teaching a sojourner class; being an encouragement to overseas missionaries, as well as pastoring/mentoring/counseling and encouraging staff. Sonya will be able to help with her medical training for summer teams and beyond. Our family will be involved in summer mission trips around the globe annually.

Praise the Lord for providing everything we needed to move and begin working!

Some prayer requests:
1. Wisdom and understanding of our rolls in this first year of ministry
2. Good health for Janna (our daughter) and our first grandchild
3. Julia as she prepares and goes on her internship to Africa for a year
4. Our kids who don’t live with us. We miss them and want to see God’s grace and favor in their lives.
5. Jaxon, Jasmine and Jayla to grow in the Lord and help adjusting to life in Florida.

Thank you so much for your prayers and partnership with us! Please let us know how we can pray for you as well. We will be sending out regular updates every 4 months.