“The main thing that motivates me to press on is the fact that I know, beyond a shadow of a doubt, that God called me to serve here to minister to these people.”
Chatting with Gambian friends outside her home in the remote, tropical village of Ndungu Kebbe, ABWE missionary Joanne Tompkins mused that she wanted nothing more than to take her last earthly breath serving her Lord in West Africa—and if she died there, she wanted to be buried in the sandy village soil.
On October 17, 2025, God granted her request. Joanne unexpectedly passed into his presence in her beloved home. On October 26, local believers, village members, and ABWE colleagues gathered for the first-ever Christian funeral in Ndungu Kebbe.
“The fact that the Muslim leaders did not just allow us, but encouraged us, to bury her in the village and hold the first Christian funeral speaks to her legacy,” shared ABWE teammate Alison Dominguez.
Joanne first arrived in The Gambia in 1992 at the request of her sister, missionary Ruth Wood, to fill an urgent need teaching missionary children. Discovering a passion for literacy ministry, she was appointed to long-term missionary service in 1995 to work alongside Deborah Newsome.
“Their ministry started with teaching Gambian adults the power of education and instilling in them the pride that comes from reading and writing their own names,” Alison explained.
As word spread, Muslim leaders from surrounding villages petitioned for similar classes. Joanne developed a two-year program to train local facilitators. Annually serving over 150 students, primarily women, the literacy center opened doors for gospel witness.
“Joanne would present the gospel each day to trainees from five or six different villages,” recalled ABWE Team Leader Joan Schmitz. As part of the curriculum, Joanne facilitated spiritual conversations, showed Christian films, and prepared SD cards with gospel teachings for facilitators to share in their villages.
Gifted linguistically, Joanne led translation teams to produce evangelistic and discipleship materials in the local Wolof language and oversaw new missionaries in language acquisition. Her fluency even opened doors for biblical conversations with government officials. In the afternoons, Gambians—mature Christians, secret believers, or seekers—gathered on her front porch for discipleship or wise counsel.
Joanne’s greatest burden was for her spiritually dark village, entrenched in Islam and animism, to know Christ. She said in 2024: “One of the most painful things, when I think about my Gambian friends and neighbors, is the fact that they are lost, but they have no concept that they’re lost. They have been completely blinded by a false religion that they follow to the best of their ability, hoping it will gain them favor with God.”
Even through her funeral, Gambians from around the nation heard the gospel proclaimed.
“Joanne committed her life to serving the Gambian people, recognizing that truth is not only taught but lived,” observed ABWE Regional Director Jason Laird. “Although Joanne has finished her race, we pray that God will raise up workers in her footsteps with a vision for developing relationships, engaging in discipleship, and pointing Gambians to Christ.”
Joanne Tompkins
June 19, 1963 – October 17, 2025
Ministry Location: The Gambia
