Rusty Swafford was born and raised in Athens, Tennessee. He became a Christian in elementary school at church camp and felt the Lord leading him to begin in Johnson Bible College after high school.

          In 1988 during his senior year at Johnson Bible College, evangelist Rusty Swafford was invited to southern India on a short-term mission trip to teach at the Kerala Christian Bible College. Rusty continued traveling for the next few years, teaching and preaching in India.

          In 1992 upon invitation to speak at the college graduation ceremony, Rusty and two other Americans were detained by a militant group of the Tamil Tigers in the Colombo Airport in Sri Lanka during a short layover. After being held under house arrest for four days, they were freed and given the option to return to the USA or take the only flight into India. Choosing to continue the journey, their flight took them to Madras, India, where the Holy Spirit led Rusty to start this new ministry.

          Madras, now renamed Chennai, is the headquarters for our ministry. Because of the need to plant churches in the unreached areas of Chennai as well as in the fishing villages along the coast of the Bay of Bengal, New Life India Ministries began in June of 1993.

          Since then this ministry, with the help of many churches and individuals, has planted over 30 churches (in the states of Tamil Nadu and Andhra Pradesh, India), treated thousands in our medical camps, established a Christian School and has started a Bible Institute for the purpose of equipping young men to preach the Gospel. To the glory of God through this ministry, thousands have been baptized into Christ.

          In 2005 the name was changed from New Life India Ministries to Mission: Explosion International. The ministry has now expanded into other countries and locations. We are now helping our brothers and sisters of the Valley Isle Church of Christ, the only English-speaking Church of Christ on the island of Maui – population of 150,000. The main focus of Mission: Explosion International will continue to be planting churches of Christ for the glory of the Lord.

          Rusty, along with his family – wife, Audrey, daughter, Jordan, son, Justin and his wife Jessica are committed to working on behalf of this ministry in "a global hunt for lost souls". Traveling throughout the United States seeking partners in this ministry and thanking those who are already committed to spreading the Gospel and planting churches, we are dedicated to serve as God continues to open doors in these fields that are "white unto harvest".

Rusty and Audrey Swafford 

Rusty and Audrey have been working together in the ministry since their marriage, 28 years ago. Audrey has been helping Rusty in his ministry and on the mission field; she is constantly busy with secretarial work and taking care of finances; and in her spare time, she is completing her education at Johnson Bible College. Her major is Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages; which we believe will compliment the ministry as well as open the door for other areas of service. During this busy time in their lives, they have still been able to arrange mission trips and continue all of their ministry efforts.

Jordan Swafford

Jordan is currently a freshman at Johnson Bible College. She is majoring in Media Communications while playing on the girls Basketball team. Although she is busy with school, Jordan is responsible for putting together all of our presentations and media.

Justin and Jessica Swafford

 Justin and Jessica travel on behalf of the ministry, scheduling church visits with new and supporting churches. As Assistant Director of Mission Explosion, Justin represents the ministry by speaking at churches, camps, youth conventions, etc. Together they lead short-term mission trips and have a strong desire to encourage young people to get involved in mission work.