Troy Lewis, along with wife Tracey and sons Troy, 15, and Trent, 12, serve in Zambia, where they moved seven years ago. Lewis networks with aid organizations, providing community development programs from marriage enrichment to HIV/AIDS home care training. A major reason some African Americans have not prioritized overseas missions, Lewis explained, is because they have focused on domestic issues slavery, civil rights, poverty, crime. It allows (African Americans) to say, We have so many problems here, we can't really look other places. We need to focus here, he said.

While such domestic issues are legitimate, there are equally important concerns around the world, as Lewis discovered on a short-term trip to Africa where he saw a need to help those living with HIV/AIDS under a depth of poverty unseen in the United States.

During his college and seminary years, he worked in inner cities, helping establish urban ministries. It reawakened a desire to work in a Third World country, Lewis said. Domestic is important, but it's a both/and. Lewis believes most African American Christians have overlooked the important roles they once served in overseas missions work.