I wonder what birthdays were like in Bible times. Did the Apostle Paul’s mother throw a celebration for him each year as he grew up? I also wonder what birthdays were like for the OCSC/Cadence missionary families who served overseas in the 1950’s. My Burundian friend Isaiah was in Colorado last year on his birthday, and we had a celebration for him. He had never been given a birthday cake and treating him to this American tradition was fun.

In this day and age in our Western culture, birthdays are often given a lot of attention. I celebrated my 48th birthday earlier this year while on a trip to Ukraine, which meant it was quite a bit different than normal. Of course, my family threw me a birthday party when I returned home, for which I was grateful. (Read more about the visit to Ukraine at Cadence.org/Ukraine2024.)

This year, Cadence is celebrating its 70th birthday as a mission organization! We don’t want this significant occasion to slip by without taking time to remember what God has done over the years in the lives of Cadence staff and the military communities they serve.

Gift-giving, an important aspect of birthday celebrations in the U.S., is something we read about in the Bible. We have many examples of people offering their gifts at the altar, which were acts of love and sacrifice. During the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus uses the idea of gift-giving to illustrate God’s goodness revealed through answered prayer (Matthew 7:7–11). Paul wrote to the church in Rome that salvation through Jesus is a free gift of grace (Romans 5:12–21).

Your gifts to Cadence are acts of faith and reflect the goodness and generosity of Jesus. So, on behalf of our staff and the whole of Cadence, as we celebrate our significant birthday, I say, “Thank you!” Your gifts are a strong source of encouragement to all of us.

We are grateful for your faithful partnership in 70 years of sharing the gospel and our lives with the military.

With gratitude,
Brian Kleager
VP for Strategic Partnerships and Public Relations

We invite you to celebrate our 70th birthday with us!

Reminisce with stories and photos on our History page.

Get involved with the Cadence Alumni.

Support the ongoing mission of Cadence with a birthday gift through The ’54 Fund.

“Could you make my Grandma’s Green Jell-O Surprise?”

That’s not a question any of us expect to be asked. But it does make more sense when you consider the setting in which this U.S. Army Sergeant was asking it. My wife, Aimee, and I were talking with him at the hospitality house we led near the U.S. Army base of Grafenwoehr, Germany. Thanksgiving was a month away and, as always, Aimee had offered to try and make any Thanksgiving dish for the Soldiers that would make it feel more like home for them. Green Jell-O Surprise was what he wanted!

For many families in the USA, Thanksgiving is a holiday filled with special traditions and extended family. But often for military families overseas, the traditions and the opportunity to be with extended family are not possible. It can be a sad and lonely time.

Yet in our Cadence hospitality houses around the world family traditions are replicated and new traditions are made. It’s in our homes that we create a welcoming space to celebrate with new friends who become family. We truly get to be a home away from home.

We have this privilege because you give of your finances and partner with our missionaries. Your giving helps transform potentially sad and lonely holidays into joyous celebrations. Thanksgiving is changed from a day when they see what they are missing to heartfelt thankfulness for what God has provided. And so, on behalf of them, we thank you.

In one of these hospitality houses, Victory Villa in Rota, Spain, we need to conduct significant renovations. Cadence has owned this house for almost 40 years and ministered there for almost 50. We thank God for the decades of Thanksgivings celebrated in this home! We also want to extend an invitation for you to provide an extra gift this holiday season for Victory Villa. Giving to this year’s Joshua Project Campaign will bless Sailors and their families in Rota for decades to come. If you would be willing to do so, please go to Cadence.org/JoshuaProject.

Thanks again for being a part of our Thanksgiving!

In the love of Jesus,

Brian Kleager
VP for Strategic Partnerships and PR

It was June 1954, Jesse and Nettie Miller had returned to the United States from serving as missionaries in the Philippines. In addition to their ministry with Filipinos, they had hosted meals and Bible studies for military men, and that outreach grew to where the Millers needed to decide if they would focus on local ministry or military ministry. Tom Hash and C.P. Tarkington were two servicemen whom Jesse led to Christ in those years. They and others gathered in Chicago that June for a reunion. Then Tom, Tark, Dick Patty, and Jesse and Nettie stayed on a couple of days to pray and seek the Lord. Tark described this time in a letter from 1955:

During our meetings at this reunion, requests were presented to our group from the Philippines, Okinawa, Guam, Alaska, Germany, and Japan to open up Servicemen’s Homes such as God has given us in the Philippines. These requests were heavy on our hearts and brought us to our knees before the Lord . . . Under God’s leading, the Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers was formed, to work and to represent Christ wherever God should lead, placing our faith in Him completely, and trusting Him to supply each need. (Courage and Faith, p. 23)

The Overseas Christian Servicemen’s Centers (OCSC) was later renamed Cadence International, and the work of sharing the gospel and our lives continues to this day. Cadence has nearly 200 missionaries around the world who are the “hands and feet” of this ministry.

We also have a Headquarters team who are the “backbone” of the ministry. Since 1954, Cadence has continued in the footsteps of the Millers (and three other founding couples— Pattys, Hashes, and Tarkingtons) and placed our trust in God to supply every need, including the financial needs of our headquarters which is sustained by The ’54 Fund.

The ’54 Fund celebrates Cadence’s founding and supports the organizational structure of the worldwide ministry. This fund provides for many of the behind-the-scenes expenses which are a necessary part of this vital ministry to the military and their families. This year, we are inviting you to give a gift of $54 or more to celebrate Cadence’s birthday and help sustain this fund. Learn more at Cadence.org/The54Fund. As always, thank you for partnering with us in sharing the gospel and our lives with the military community.

In the goodness of Jesus,

Brian Kleager
VP for Partnerships and PR