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James G Smith, the son of life-long missionaries to Mexico, James L. and Joey Smith, was born in Ciudad Mante.  Jim was saved and baptized in Chihuahua as a boy. After graduating from Pacific Coast Baptist Bible College, Jim went to work at East Side Baptist Church with Ken Adrian in Denver, Colorado, where he met and married Sharon Boonstra.

After four years on staff, Jim and Sharon were approved as Baptist Bible Fellowship International missionaries to Ecuador.  After a year of deputation, they, along with their two young children, Zachary and Stacey, went to live in Quito, Ecuador. God blessed them abundantly.

Establishing a church and then a Bible Institute to train people for ministry were priorities that were established and fulfilled. To this day, the evangelism, discipleship and church-planting continues to multiply in Ecuador and beyond.

After reaching the 30-year mark as BBFI missionaries, Jim accepted the invitation to work in the Mission Office as an associate director. During those eight years, the most fulfilling part of their multi-faceted ministry was the training and encouraging of men and women in ministry in different parts of the world.  Since beginning Generations International Ministry in 2016, Jim is happy to have the opportunity to do those two specific ministries full-time.

Sharon was born into the family of Carl and Elsie Boonstra and grew up as a pastor’s daughter in Denver, Colorado. Having been saved at a young age and surrendered to following Christ, she was well prepared for life as a missionary. Along with being the mother of two amazing children, Sharon was greatly used in the music and teaching ministries of the church and Bible institute. In later years, she was involved in her daughter’s home for abandoned children and in an amazing ministry to the inmates of the women’s prison in Quito. Sharon is always happy to share the stories of God's faithfulness as she speaks to various groups and in churches.

"Sharon and I both feel strongly that it is our responsibility to declare the faithfulness and mercy God to another generation of Christian leaders.  We believe that our experiences, our skills and even our tragedies are tools that when placed in the hands of our God can be used to forge better and stronger leaders.  We believe that healthy pastors will influence healthy churches and church planting and multiplication will happen. Healthy churches produce healthy missionaries. Thank you for checking us out. Please contact us if you have any questions about this ministry. We would love to partner with you and your church in moving this ministry forward." - Jim