10 Things That Change Once You Live Overseas

The rewarding experiences one gains from living life overseas can sometimes be crowded out by the inevitable struggles that come with the full, expat-life package. But it’s through those struggles and challenges that you discover more about yourself and the world around you. You embrace lessons learned and broaden your horizons. If you’ve ever lived for an extended amount of time somewhere other than your home country, then you’ve probably experienced some if not all of these changes while living abroad.

1. You are constantly learning and unlearning language. I’m no expert on the brain, but I have a suspicious feeling that my brain regularly shuts the door on certain native-tongue-vocabulary words so that my search will lead me to the word I’m looking for in my newly acquired language. That’s all fine and dandy; that is, unless I was really hoping to find the word in my native language. It’s one thing to feel a little embarrassed when you don’t know the word for something in the language you’re still learning. It’s a whole new level of embarrassment when you’re talking to close friends and family members and can’t seem to find the English word to express what you’re trying to say. No, I’m not trying to be pretentious and passively brag about the fact that I’m confusing two languages, thereby pointing out that I know two languages. I’m legitimately having a humiliating moment right now and I’m desperately trying to find the word before I let the sentence, “I forgot the English word for it,” depart from my lips.

2. Life is regularly lived out of a suitcase. For some reason, I thought our suitcases would start collecting dust once we made the big move across the world. I even thought to myself, “Wow, what are we going to do with all these suitcases now that we’ve arrived to our final destination?” Now I know. We keep on using them. The suitcases are continually slid up and down the top of our bedroom armoire as we make visa trips, medical trips, business trips, and the occasional vacation sprinkled throughout each of the aforementioned trips. We know airline luggage allowance and how to get the most use out of luggage space like it’s our national anthem. If unloading your bags and pockets, walking through a metal detector (while also herding and maintaining control of your children) and then recollecting all your possessions on the other end were an olympic sport, we would likely take home the gold year after year.

3. This is your life, not a trip. It’s a clear distinction you’re able to make once you’ve packed your life into an allowed amount of suitcases, hopped onto a plane, and then started from scratch in land that’s full of newness to you. Last time I checked, I’ve never had to repair my own toilet or pay bills and rent on any of my trips. Nevertheless, you will still be asked “How was your trip,” when you return back to your home country for a visit every now and again. Your lip might get blistered from biting it so many times. Sometimes you might want to yell from the mountaintops, “I haven’t been on a trip!” Sometimes you might want to snap back with a question of your own, “I don’t know. How have the past 3 years of your life been?” But in reality, the person asking the question means no harm or offense. Instead you give a quick, honest, and polite answer, “So much has happened the past 3 years. We’ll have to sit down to a meal sometime so I can share some of the highlights!”

4. Conversions and exchange rates are always on the mind.  In the kitchen, I have my recipe set out and my conversion app opened up on my phone. When I’m grocery shopping and see vanilla extract, my joy is quickly followed with disappointment once I’ve calculated the exchange rate in my head. We change currencies so frequently, I’m always the dumbfounded customer at the check-out counter searching frantically for the numbers on the bills and coins because I haven’t had time to memorize “the look” of the money. Cue the kind cashier woman giving me a nod of reassurance when I pull up the appropriate bill.

5. The line between normal and strange has blurred a bit. Every culture has it’s clear distinctions on what is acceptable and what’s not. However, to the outsider coming in, who brings with them a set of different, but still clearly marked, cultural “dos and don’ts”, it can cause quite the clash of viewpoints. For 23 years of my life I believed that openly picking your nose in public was just plain wrong, but picking your teeth with a toothpick after a meal was acceptable. Would you believe that the exact opposite is true where we live now? I’m not saying I pick my nose in public now…but I’m also not prepared to deny it.

6. Time is measured differently. It becomes harder and harder to measure things by calendar measurements. You tend to gravitate towards unique mile markers that help you remember how long you’ve lived in one location or how many times you’ve moved or where all you’ve lived. Sometimes a visa situation causes you to make an unexpected move, temporary or permanent. Sometimes you live in one location for language school until you’ve passed all your tests and can move on to another destination. You are never sure how long you’ll be able to stay in one spot so you just throw calendar days out the window. Instead, you measure time with things that stick out to you most. I’ll never forget the words of a TCK whose family has moved more than a few times while living overseas: “We don’t measure our life in years, but in kitchens.” For her, it’s easier to remember how many kitchens she’s cooked in with her mom rather than how many years they’ve lived in certain locations.

7. The word “routine” is not in your vocabulary. Whatever predictable outcome you once had for any given set of events has now been removed as a possibility. In fact, you now put it in the category of “miracle” if something happens the way you once thought it should happen. It’s no longer out of the ordinary to devote an entire day to paying two bills. You don’t expect electricity and water each day. You always have a back-up plan for that “just in case” moment when you’re suddenly without electricity and/or water. Your senses have sharpened because of your need to be on your toes at any given moment for the unexpected…because those moments happen a lot more frequently than they did before you moved abroad.

8. Material possessions do not equate happiness. You don’t have to move overseas to realize this, but there’s something about the nomadic life that makes you really stop and consider what you hold on to and let go of. The possibility of moving to another country is always in the back of your mind. In many cases, you’re better off not shipping a crate of all your belongings due to the fear of it being held up in customs for a year or more. This means that things might have to be sold again and dwindled down to the essentials that can fit in those suitcases of yours. You stop gathering and collecting and start making mental notes of what’s most valuable and worth hauling to another far-away land. You come to find out there are a handful of things that make this adventure of yours so great and everything else is expendable.

9. Anything seems possible. Before you moved overseas, you didn’t think it was possible to pack everything you wanted to take with you in a few suitcases. But you did it, and now you can’t remember half the stuff you left behind. Cooking seemed like such a daunting task with all the substitutions that were required to make it work. Now you’re able to whip up some of your old favorites in a flash and you’ve since added some new, local recipes to your collection (so no substitutions are required). You’ve kissed your comforts goodbye and you’ve survived. You might even be thriving in your new culture at this point.

10. You are different. You leave marks on people and people leave marks on you. Some things don’t matter to you as much as they once did and other things matter more. You’re continually humbled as you frequently find yourself in a position of needing help and guidance…sometimes from a complete stranger. Almost daily you are in a position where nothing is so familiar that you’re able to take it for granted. You knew you would set out on this new adventure as a learner of language and culture, you just didn’t realize exactly how much, in turn, you would learn about yourself.

“If you’re brave enough to leave behind everything familiar and comforting, which can be anything from your house to bitter, old resentments, and set out on a truth-seeking journey, either externally or internally, and if you are truly willing to regard everything that happens to you on that journey as a clue and if you accept everyone you meet along the way as a teacher and if you are prepared, most of all, to face and forgive some very difficult realities about yourself, then the truth will not be withheld from you.”

Elizabeth Gilbert

Radical Sacrifice by Trevin Wax

Last Thursday, James MacDonald gathered a group of mega-church pastors for a conference called “The Elephant Room.” The sessions featured lively discussion and friendly debate regarding a number of controversial methodological, theological, and practical issues related to church ministry. (See notes here.) One of the most interesting sessions was David Platt and James MacDonald’s conversation on sacrifice and generosity.

David Platt made the case that wealth and money, though not inherently sinful, are dangerous in the hands of sinful people. Our current context of self-indulgence needs to be challenged. Spiritual transformation leads to material transformation. The gospel gives us generous hearts that overflow into radical sacrifice for God’s eternal purposes. When God blesses us financially, He intends us to give to others.

James MacDonald warned that a distorted version of Platt’s teaching equates “poverty” and “spirituality.” Instead, MacDonald believes we need a full-orbed theology of joy in God that includes joy in the good gifts God has given us. Emphasizing radical sacrifice can lead to poverty theology that is all about the immediate divesting of money rather than the multiplication of money that will lead to greater involvement in mission.

The Points of Agreement

The MacDonald/Platt discussion was tense at times, perhaps because the practical ramifications of how we think about money always hit close to home. Still, there are three major points on which Platt and MacDonald agree:

1. Money and possessions are a good gift from God.
2. Money and possessions can become idolatrous.
3. We are called to exercise stewardship of our finances in a way that pleases the Lord and furthers the spread of His name.

The Debate

Even though Platt and MacDonald would “Amen” each of these points, they have diverging views on the particulars of how these truths should be applied. MacDonald believes we need a theology of joy that reiterates point #1. Platt believes we are underestimating the idolatrous pull of point #2. Then, because MacDonald emphasizes #1 and Platt focuses on #2, they have radically different notions about how to apply #3.

I feel the tension of this discussion at a deeply personal level. When I lived in Romania, I wrestled daily with the tension of being one of the “haves” in a world of “have-nots.” Over the course of my years overseas, all my categories were shattered, so that I was confused, challenged, content, frustrated, joyful, and well-meaning at different moments and in different ways. Here are the cycles of my personal journey:

1. Culture Shock at Poverty

When I first began ministry overseas, I was deeply moved by the poverty I noticed. Early on, I wrote an email to family and friends:

You know I am not one to dwell on the bad things or poverty, but sometimes, the situations here can really get to me… Every now and then I wish to be home to just have a good long cry about all the things that happen here. Here, it’s impossible, because it’s almost like you’re in a bubble, and you have to separate your heart from your mind somewhat, just to make it through emotionally. Your mind can see something, but you have to keep it from getting to your heart until you have time to really process what you’ve seen and carry with you the emotional baggage that comes with it.

The longer I was in Romania, the more I realized that even poor Romanian villages would be considered “rich” by the standards of third-world countries. Poverty is defined in so many different ways, and the way we define poverty impinges on how we spread the gospel. Many times, I have asked David Platt’s question: “How do we proclaim the gospel in a world in which utter poverty (no drinking water, starving people, enormous economic needs) is so prevalent?”

2. Culture Shock at Wealth

Upon returning to the U.S. after spending a year away, I was surprised by our wealth. I remember arriving back in Nashville, and asking – in the fog of jet lag – “When did they put a new car lot near the airport?” Dad answered: “That’s just the parking lot, Trevin.” Strange, but after so much time away, my mind couldn’t conceive of the fact that all the new, shiny cars were owned by average citizens. Even now, I remember the feeling I had when I noticed how easy it was to walk downstairs and get a glass of water. After having lived in a village with no indoor plumbing, water from the refrigerator seemed like a luxury.

3. Frustration with Materialism

The longer I looked at the U.S. from the outside in, the more I noticed our excess wealth. Closets stuffed full of junk… credit card debt racked up on frivolities… churches budgeting thousands of dollars to activities that seemed designed more for the comfort of church members than God’s mission in the world… Our priorities seemed so out of line!

And then there was the day I received an email invitation to take a pastor-led cruise with a number of famous preachers. I remember the odd feeling of walking from the computer to the window where I could see homeless Gypsies scavenging through the dumpster outside our apartment complex. The jarring juxtaposition of wealth and poverty frustrated me.

4. Repentance for my Patronizing Attitude

After the period of frustration, the Lord convicted my heart for my superior attitude toward my Romanian brothers and sisters. My initial mindset had been: “I’m the rich American here to help the poor Romanians.” That attitude was unhealthy, anti-gospel, and ultimately untrue.

God opened my eyes to see the problem of dividing people into categories of “rich and poor.” I had the opportunity to serve alongside “poor” Romanians who were doing mercy ministry to poorer people. We prayed as Romanian missionaries went to third-world countries to spread the gospel. Over time, my categories were shattered. Christians are poor in spirit, called to be generous. Forget the categories. Quit patronizing our brothers and sisters, many of whom are richer spiritually than we’ll ever be. We’re united in our service by the cross, not the size of our wallets.

5. Repentance for my Judgmental Attitude

Then, God started in on me from another angle. He exposed my judgmental attitude toward “wealthy Americans.” Though I had looked with disgust at the idea of a “pastor’s cruise,” I eventually realized that this type of vacation was attractive to many pastors – not because they were idolatrous materialists, but because being “inaccessible” on a cruise is one of the only ways they can feel truly “off”. A pastor-led cruise may, for some, lead to rest and spiritual renewal in a way I had not considered. Whatever the reasons, I needed to repent of my patronizing attitude to the poor and my superior attitude to the rich.

Where Do We Go from Here?

One of the most helpful books I have read on the subject of wealth is Neither Poverty nor Riches: A Biblical Theology of Possessions by Craig Blomberg. The points that Platt and MacDonald agree on are declared loudly and clearly in Blomberg’s work. We can gratefully enjoy God’s gifts. We must beware of the idolization of wealth. We must give where we want our heart to be.

I don’t claim to have figured out the debate about radical generosity and stewardship. But there are places where I think both emphases could lead to unhealthy extremes.

MacDonald is right that there is nothing inherently spiritual about poverty. But I’m cautious about his statement that financial blessing flows to fruitfulness. Sometimes. Maybe often. But not all the time. I’ve served alongside many pastors who didn’t reap financial rewards, even though they had very fruitful ministries. Conflating financial blessing with fruitfulness can lead to unwarranted appreciation of prosperity-gospel teachers who confuse the two (just as the ancient world did). Christ has set us free from the shackles of “success” defined by the world.

Platt is right that we live in a culture that seeks joy in more and more things. His focus on “radical sacrifice” as the outworking of gospel generosity should be commended. But I’m cautious that Platt’s teaching could be turned into a legalistic, obligatory exercise that leaves little room for the full-orbed theology of joy that MacDonald talks about.

A couple months ago, Platt tweeted: About to coach my first T-ball practice. Scared. Really scared. The next tweet was: Exhausted. Stressed. Filthy. Sore. Glad to be coach. Grateful to be dad. I chuckled when I read those tweets, and I was glad to see them. Why? Because that image of joy-filled leisure and recreation can easily get lost in the “radical” image that comes through Platt’s books, conference messages, and the branding machine of the publishing industry.

Conclusion

The more I think about those three points, the more I am convinced that it’s not a “balance between the three” that is necessary, but a radical, unshakeable commitment to all three.

• We need to pursue joy in the God who gives us good gifts, intentionally basking in His goodness to us, growing in gratitude for His provision, and enjoying His gifts as the good things they are.
• We also need to be radical in our realization of how idolatrous good things can become when they take the throne of our lives. Our commitment to enjoying the good things of life should be matched by our ruthless efforts to root out idols from our lives, to find our satisfaction in God alone, and not just the gifts He gives us.
• In the end, radical stewardship will look different from person to person, from church to church, – but we are all called to be good stewards, to prioritize rightly, to sacrifice for the King out of gospel-soaked generous hearts. Radical sacrifice must always overflow from a heart that is gripped by the gospel; otherwise, it becomes a joyless and fruitless effort of self-righteousness.

Trevin Wax - 5 WAYS TO ENCOURAGE CULTURAL ENGAGEMENT WITHOUT HIJACKING YOUR CHURCH

This article by Trevin Wax can be found HERE at the Gospel Coalition.

It’s a good sign when people in a local congregation see needs and want to meet them, see injustice and want to stop it, or see a good cause and want to support it. It’s a sign that their eyes are open to the world around them. They’re not simply going through the motions of life and school and work and church; they see themselves as agents of change in a world that is broken and fallen.

Think of it this way: When a church does a good job equipping people to think and live as Christians in a fallen world, the people become like rivers overflowing the banks of the church gathered (the lake). The landscape changes when there are lakes and rivers. But not all lakes need to be rivers.

So what do you do when one person wants their passion to be the primary passion for the whole church? 

This is the tricky part. You want to encourage and bless these efforts in the world without allowing your congregation’s primary focus be diverted to other activities. You don’t want church members passing out voter guides or hijacking every small group experience so that politics reign supreme.

There are no easy answers to this question because every church and every community and every activist is a different mix of personalities and passions. But here are some principles to keep in mind:

1. Be aware of how quickly the uniting factor of a congregation can become a cause rather than the cross. 

I hesitate to begin with a word of caution because it could give the impression that I am discouraging political or social activism. Far from it. The reason I begin with caution is because of how easy it is for the unifying factor of a church to become what we do for others instead of what Christ has done for us.

A church’s unity for a cause can eventually displace the cross. The gospel is still there, but it’s no longer in the center. Something else is uniting the church – a political cause, social work, a community ministry.

Put the gospel at the center, and various ministry opportunities will come alongside as demonstrations of the power of Christ’s work on the cross. But put a cause at the center, and various ministry opportunities may flourish for a time but then wither away, because they are no longer connected to the source of life that can sustain such activism.

2. Promote unity of goal, not uniformity in method.

Recognize the difference between unity regarding a cause and unity regarding methodologies. A church should be united in support of human rights for the unborn, but Christians may disagree as to how to best protect those rights. Some may picket abortion clinics; some may want to show graphic pictures; others may work in crisis pregnancy centers, etc.

On another note, all Christians should have open hearts and open hands toward disadvantaged people who need health care. But some may think charities and churches should fill the gap. Others may think universal health coverage from the government is valid. Still others may provide different solutions.

Christians can agree on the goal without agreeing on the specifics of how to get there.

3. Guard the platform of your church.

The pastor is constantly bombarded with self-invitations to take “just a few minutes” of precious platform time to give a report or make a congregation aware of a need.

Whether it’s people spreading Bibles around the world, missionaries coming home from furlough, medical missionaries providing essential healthcare or pro-life opportunities… everyone wants just a few minutes. Except for the congregation. They expect you to say “no” and protect them from the countless ministry opportunities that could be presented every week.

Do your congregation a favor and guard the platform of your church. Only put activities in the bulletin that correspond to your church’s mission and presence in the community. You can’t be a megaphone for every single thing people in your church want to promote.

One of the best ways to encourage community involvement without giving up your platform is to host a missions fair once a year or so. Invite everyone to come to potluck, set up their booths in the foyer, and make brief presentations after dinner. You’ll want to choose wisely which ministries you want to expose your congregation to, of course, but this kind of event provides an opportunity to show people you care, without sacrificing time in the worship service.

4. Observe your church’s particular gifts and passions, and provide opportunities for community involvement.

Right now, our church is involved with tutoring elementary school students down the street. Occasionally, we see reports of this activity via video in the worship service.

We’re helping plant a church in Cincinnati, so we’ve Skyped in the planter on Sunday morning during worship.

We’ve celebrated when families have adopted children from overseas, and we’ve hosted fundraisers to help them offset the cost.

We are currently opening up the church to homeless women and children in need of emergency shelter, with different groups hosting these women on different nights on different months.

These are ways that our church is ministering to the community. Enough people in the congregation were involved in the need for the church to realize it could help facilitate some of this good ministry.

J. D. Greear lays out three approaches to individual ministries – Own, Catalyze, and Bless:

To “own” a ministry means we staff and resource it directly.

Those we “bless” are those we know our members are engaged in, but as an institution we have little interaction with them other than the occasional encouragement. 

But the third category, “catalyze,” is where we put most of our energy. When we catalyze something, we identify members with ideas and ask them to lead us. We come alongside them, adding our resources, networking power, etc. We serve them. And that means sometimes they don’t do things exactly the way I would prefer. But in the long run, an empowered church catalyzed to do ministry will do more gospel-good in the community than if the church owns and staffs all its own ministries.

5. Publicly affirm and bless the kind of activism you want to see.

This is perhaps the most important thing you can do. Lift up examples of people who are the kind of activists you want to see.

When you hear of people in your congregation doing good in the community, don’t be shy in letting the rest of the church know. What you celebrate, you become.

What do you say? How do you encourage your church members to pursue various passions without losing your church’s primary focus?

Do Church Planting Movements Hinder Disciple Making Movements?

Do Church Planting Movements Hinder Disciple Making Movements? by Miguel Labrador

Posted by Miguel on June 13, 2012 in Christianity, Discipleship, Evangelism, The Church, The Gospel

Do CPM’s (Church Planting Movements) help or hinder DMM’s (Disciple Making Movements)?
Jesus said, “Go therefore and make disciples of all the nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and the Son and the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I commanded you; and lo, I am with you always, even to the end of the age.” Matthew 28:19,20
I think, for the most part, that those who have a desire to plant churches and those that have a desire to make disciples, have equal convictions to see the message of the Kingdom spread, to see the nations (ethnic groups) transformed, and see many come to know Christ. But, what if one of them were to inadvertently get in the way of the other or even hinder the other?
The Apostles or first disciples of Jesus did not start with what is typically known today as a “church plant.”  They started by becoming mobile, moving, and mission.  They planted themselves and the Gospel into communities until the Lord directed otherwise and made disciples from which gatherings were formed.  The task remained the same throughout the New Testament era, namely to “make disciples.”  In fact, I fail to see anywhere in the New Testament where they had a desire to multiply churches in the sense of location based purveyors of religious goods and services.
If one of these two camps had a propensity to get in the other’s way, I believe it would have to be the church planters.  I am not a church planter, at least not in the way many church planters describe their task.  I like to think of myself as a disciple maker that leaves the method of gathering or fellowship up to the disciples being made.  If that equates to a building, weekly meeting, and bit more structure, then great!  If it means a simpler or more organic approach to fellowship, then again, great.  But when the gathering of disciples takes priority over the making of disciples, then something has gone very wrong.
What I have seen time and again, is that church planters, or at least the idea of church planting, has gotten in the way of disciple makers.  They misdirect resources, time, talent, and energy away from the main mission of disciple making and funnel it into things which are secondary or completely unrelated to that task.  They say that they investment into the facility and structure may draw away from the primary mission for a short time, but afterwards the impact will be greater.  I can’t recall ever having seen that actually happen.  In fact, one of the most successful church plants in history, Bill Hybels’ Willow Creek, confessed that all of their organization, power, influence, programs, teaching and structure, failed to produce disciples.
As a disciple maker, I’d like to proclaim the kingdom of God and teach others about the Lord Jesus Christ–with all boldness and without hindrance! (Acts 28:31)  I want to do that and teach others to do the same.  If you’re a church planter, who’s hindering disciple making, isn’t it time to say “pardon me,” make some room, and let the disciple makers pass?
Eugene H. Peterson (Author of The Message Bible) once said,

“There are monuments & footprints. A monument only says, `At least I got this far,’ while a footprint says, `This is where I was when I moved again.’”

My friend Mike Breen, (Author of “Building a Discipling Culture,” said;

“I’ve said it many times: If you make disciples, you will always get the church. But if you try to build the church, you will rarely get disciples.” 

I think Church Planting Movements hinder Disciple Making Movements.
 Am I wrong?  

7 Signs

SEVEN SIGNS YOU'RE AN ANNOYING AMERICAN TOURIST

How to Care for Our Missionaries

Author: Richard Brindley Category: General, Missions

Share on facebookShare on twitterShare on emailMore Sharing Services

We tend to assign missionaries very extraordinary reputations—like “Varsity Christians” or “Gospel-centered Special Forces.” But, of course, they are just ordinary people. And while we may think of them solely as missionaries, they are not missionaries first. They are people first; ordinary believers who just happen to be missionaries.  

Their role in the Great Commission is to go and take the gospel to other nations. For the rest of us, our role is to send them. They go, we send. And as John the Apostle says in 3 John 6-8, we are to “send them on their journey in a manner worthy of God.” John continues, “For they have gone out for the sake of the name…Therefore we ought to support people like these, that we may be fellow workers for the truth.”

As fellow workers, there are two key ways we can help send and sustain missionaries: by caring for the person and by supporting their work.

Caring for the Person

Because missionaries are ordinary people, we can care for them just like we do any other person. We can encourage them, love them, pray for them, spend time with them, contribute to their needs, celebrate with them and weep with them.

But, while their identity may be ordinary, the context of their life is not. The extraordinary call on their life to leave the comforts and close community of home and move to a spiritually neutral or even spiritually unwelcoming people for the sake of the gospel means their ordinary day is not like any ordinary day in the Metroplex. This means we’ll be extending very ordinary care to people in very extraordinary environments. We will constantly need to ask, “How do we love and support someone in a high-pressure environment 10,000 miles away?” 

Here are a few suggestions:

• Get acquainted. Use Skype or Google Hangouts to get to know them. If you’re caring for a missionary as a Home Group, have each member of your group make a short video introducing themselves, quickly sharing about their life and praying for the missionary. Share the videos with them through Dropbox or send them with the next care package.
• Ask. Ask them how you can best care for them. Sometimes what we think would be helpful may not fit their context.
• Communicate often. Typically, two or three quick texts or emails a week are much better than one long email each month. These can be a quick prayer or a quick hello. Consistent little gestures of care and love tend to be much better than one rare, big one.
• Respond to their newsletters. It’s tremendously encouraging. Your response doesn’t have to be long, just respond.
• Pray with them and encourage them. Pray for their strength, for their affections and for fearless love for those they’re ministering to. Pray for God to move mightily. If you’re among their closest community, give them the opportunity to join your group in grace-filled confession and repentance and then Spirit-filled worship. Encourage them in the Word. Remind them of God’s faithfulness.
• Remember security. Check with the missionary or church to be sure your communication doesn’t endanger missionaries working in countries actively opposed to Christianity.
• Send care packages. Send some encouragement and some fun. Send things that would bless them based on your interactions with them.
• Visit. Few things are more loving and encouraging than face-to-face. Consider a short-term mission trip to see and support their ministry firsthand.
• Get creative. Do you write? Scrapbook? Make videos? Consider collecting pictures, prayers and stories of God’s movement in their life and ministry and recording them. On key anniversaries or during difficult seasons for your missionary, pull out the stories and remember with them God’s faithfulness (Ps. 66).

Supporting Their Work

We can support the work of ordinary people in extraordinary circumstances by two essential practices: praying and giving. Prayer is essential, as only God can bring people from death to life (Ezek. 36:26-27). Finances are essential, as sending a missionary to live in another country and providing for their ministry costs money. And while both the provision for the work and fruit of it belong to God, God tells us to ask Him to provide it (John 15:16).

• Support them with prayer. Pray for the missionary. Pray for their people. Get to know the people they’re ministering to by name. Consider assigning each one to a member of your Home Group to intentionally pray for that person’s salvation and sanctification (John 15:16; Jas. 5:13-18).
• Support them with finances. Search your budget. Give monthly. Sacrifice. Give prayerfully. Ask God to use your money to make disciples. When bigger needs or projects arise for your missionary, consider fundraising for it as a group.

Final Thoughts

John the Apostle goes so far as to call missionary supporters “fellow workers in the truth” (3 John 6-8). The apostle Paul calls them, “partners in the gospel” (Phil. 1:5, 4:15-20). Be encouraged that your role among the nations as a missionary supporter is never second-class. Support your missionary well, in a manner worthy of God. Finally, remember that a happy, healthy missionary is not the only goal of missionary care. A well-cared for and fully supplied missionary is our hope, but our greater hope is that by partnering with our missionaries as fellow workers, we will make more disciples together than either of us could on our own. May God use our ordinary efforts to build an extraordinary partnership between those who send and those who go.

Recommended Resources

10 Ways to Encourage a Missionary

Stay-at-Home Moms with Missionary Hearts

Prayer: The Work of Missions

How Can I Discern the Specific Calling of God on My Life?

Posted on: Mar 24, 2014

The Jonah Juxtaposition Why people gravitate to God's global purposes and why they run away.

     By Shane Bennett   

Who wouldn't want to have a book in the Bible named after themselves? My guess is that Jonah wouldn't. As far as I can tell, though, he's the only one to get four eponymous chapters dedicated solely to himself. And it couldn't be the recounting of noble exploits or sharing of time-honored, God-revealed truth. Not even an angelic visitation. No, it had to be a giant, unmitigated foul-up. It may be Jonah's one and only foul-up, but it's preserved so we can read it, raise our eyebrows, cluck our tongues, and judge poor Jonah.

Or maybe he's not so much "poor Jonah." He clearly disobeyed. And in the process, he may provide mission mobilizers with a moral on a silver plate: "Obey God. Become a missionary. Don't be a dope like Jonah." Powerful stuff if wielded well, but not as interesting to me as the "why?" behind the "what?"

Why did Jonah, on hearing God's call to Nineveh, head to Tarshish? Sometimes we go for a secondary moral: "Jonah was afraid of the Ninevites, so he ran away. Don't be a baby like Jonah. Be brave. Follow God to where there aren't even any Starbucks!"

But Jonah tips his hand at the end of his short bio and shows us it wasn't fear that made him run. It was his conviction regarding the character of God: "Isn't this what I said, Lord, when I was still at home? That is what I tried to forestall by fleeing to Tarshish. I knew that you are a gracious and compassionate God, slow to anger and abounding in love, a God who relents from sending calamity. Now, Lord, take away my life, for it is better for me to die than to live." Essentially, "If I preach, they might repent. If they repent, you'll relent. Ergo, no Ninevite carnage."    

Apparently Jonah was compelled by his logical conclusion that dead enemies are less likely to visit their nefarious plans on your beloved homeland. He prioritized his perceived national security over God's glory and Ninevite salvation. He didn't go because he didn't want them at the party.

What about us? What causes us and our people to run away from or toward obedience to God's purpose?

In the course of my job, I ask tons of people to jump into God's global purposes. Many of them don't say yes. And since I can't stomach the possibility that it might be me or the way I ask, I have to wonder why. I frequently ask students the following question in Perspectives classes: "What are some of the reasons people, perhaps including you at some point, run from involvement in God's purposes for the world?"   

  

A bright class will generate a long list. Long enough sometimes that we have to stop before we all get convinced to bail out! Here are some of the top reasons.

Reasons to Run away from God's Global Purposes

1.    I can't learn a language.

2.    I don't measure up.

3.    I'm really happy here and don't want to leave what's comfortable.

4.    I'm engaged in ministry locally.

5.    I can't (won't?) raise support.

6.    I don't understand what it looks like. No role models.

7.    I don't really care.

8.    I don't like foreign stuff.

9.    Life is so full and crazy, it's all I can do just to get by.

10. I just don't see the need.

11. I didn't know God was into that stuff.

12. It feels so imperialistic, intolerant, and non-pluralistic.

Reasons to Run toward God's Global Purposes

1.    I want to obey what the Bible says.

2.    I feel compassion for people in need.

3.    I sense an opportunity for adventure.

4.    I honestly think I can help.

5.    I want to join in what God's doing.

6.    I want to live a life of purpose.

7.    I believe God is worthy to be followed by all peoples.

For people like us, these lists do a couple of things. One, they give us language to articulate our judgmental, Pharisaical attitudes. I don't recommend using them that way. (Although I should probably add, "Do as I say. Not as I do!") But they also give us a window of understanding into the people we hope to mobilize for God's global purposes. And maybe if we're smart and work together, we can mitigate some of the first list and maximize the second one.

That said, I'd like your help. Can you take one minute right now and do something for me? Pick an item from each list and suggest a way to decrease its impact (first list) or increase its effect (second list). Because I'd really like this exercise to change things, pick items you feel have the best combination of "easy to address" and "high potential to make a difference."

This article is a full 25 percent shorter than normal! Whoop! Please use the extra time that just landed in your lap to share you smarts with the tribe. I'll follow up next month.

Editor's Note: For some more on Jonah, listen to a message from Shane, In the Steps of Jonah or Jesus?