Frequently Asked Questions: "Why Missions?" Part 1

James sauntered up to me while I was working at my laptop this afternoon. He was intently sifting through the various bills in his old hand-me-down leather wallet while he made his way toward me. Selecting the appropriate bill, he slid it out and laid a crisp ten on my keyboard and said, "Well, its February. Time to pay my missions support." I was shocked he remembered and truly pleased that he was following through with his commitment. I must admit, however, shock and pleasure were not the strongest emotions I felt. I was deeply touched and greatly encouraged. It was a eureka moment for me. As the Holy Spirit was speaking to my son, He was also teaching me a lesson.  Perhaps I should explain.

Last month we had an appointment with a couple that had interest in supporting us and the work in Colombia. The whole family went, as we often do, but this appointment was slightly different. Usually our children are busy talking or playing with each other in another room or off to themselves while Heather and I share the vision for mission ministry. On this occasion we shared the vision over a meal. The kids listened intently, but I thought nothing of it. Honestly, I was just glad they were behaving so well!

That evening when we returned home, Heather and I settled at the kitchen table to discuss our visit and how good God is. James came into the kitchen with his wallet and painstakingly counted every dollar in it. "Twenty, forty, sixty, seventy, eighty, ninety, ninety-five, ninety-six...one hundred seven." He then looked up at me with crocodile tears and said, "Dad, the Holy Spirit is telling me to give this to support you in missions." My jaw dropped and Heather and I began to tear up.

We held James and talked to him and he decided that instead of giving all of his money once, that he could give $10 per month as a way to support missions. He gave his first $10 that night and wrote on the calendar each month a reminder to pay his support. Today, he saw the calendar and brought his offering to give to the mission of God.

So how does this touching act of obedience from a seven-year-old boy create an "aha moment" for me? There are actually a few reasons. First, we had been spending most of our time sharing the what, where and how of our ministry assignment, but were leaving out the why. That night around the table we began to share our passion and the reasons we were moving to another country to serve God. James had heard the what, the where, and the how for a long time, but that night he heard his mother and father's heart.  Why would we risk so much, why would we leave everything, why go to Colombia? These had been James' questions for some time.  

The second "aha moment" is that I had looked for ministry support partners the same way Israel looked for a king in the Old Testament. They looked at stature, status and strength. Saul met and exceeded their expectations with flying colors, but was a failure as a king. I hate to admit it, but I consider people's ability to partner with us. The key is that man looks at the outside, but the Spirit looks at the heart. In James, the Spirit found a pure heart willing to feel Him speak and willing to obey even though it meant giving one of his favorite things...money! When the Holy Spirit called us to be missionaries we were not people that any agency would have ever considered recruiting. The beauty is when God calls and we respond, he changes us and enables us. When He leads and we follow, the miraculous begins to happen.

Can a seven year old afford $120 per year commitment for missions? I cannot wait to see all the ways God provides for James and through James to make Jesus known in Colombia and to the ends of the earth.

P.S. If you are wondering about our answer to "why missions", watch for our next blog.

 

Frequently Asked Questions: How Are You Funded?

Many people think that denominations or large churches fund missionaries. There is some truth to that, but if we relied only on the funding of denominational conferences or large churches we would never complete the Great Commission. The truth is that the lion's share of missionaries must raise their funds and most of that funding comes from individuals who commit to partner with a missionary and give from their personal income.

Heather and I receive no support from a denominational level. We do not (as of this writing) have a single large church supporting us. We do have 4 small churches that have committed to partner with us and several individuals that give on a regular basis. I do not share this as a complaint, but to make the point that the primary force behind the modern mission movement is individuals taking their place in fulfilling the Great Commission by financially supporting those whom God has called. I wish local churches set aside 25% of their budget to support missionaries, but they don't. Actually missions budgets are being reduced and the recent trend is to use the mission budget for the local church's "mission trips" rather than supporting long-term cross-cultural missionaries.

The challenge for missionaries is to connect with those who want to partner financially with them. We must effectively communicate with many, many people the vision and calling of God for our mission ministry in order to develop partnerships that will fund our ministry budget.

The challenge for supporters is to trust God to provide these finances through them. Some supporters also find the Lord convicting them of waste and extravagance in their lives that can be redeemed for mission support. Heather and I supported a missionary couple shortly after we were married by turning off cable television and giving that money. We haven't had cable television since! We recently spoke at a church where the pastor challenged the congregation to give one dollar per day. He said that was less than most of them spent on soda! A young woman approached us after the service and said, "I'm giving up my Cokes and sending $31 per month!"

The bottom line is that Jesus has called every believer to fulfill the Great Commission by making disciples of all nations (Matt 28:18-20). We must all consider how He is leading us to be part of this command. Will you go or send? I see no other options except disobedience.

Frequently Asked Questions: Why Go?

Why would you go when we need you to stay?

As we share our calling and mission goals with people, several questions routinely come up that I would like to address. The first of those questions, and probably the most frequently asked, is, "Why are you going to move your family into a new culture in another country when there is such a great need for evangelism and discipleship here in the states?" Another person stated the question this way, "Our nation is falling apart at the seams and the lost are everywhere. Why do you feel like you have to leave your own people to serve Jesus?"

If you are one of the people that asked this question, please do not feel ashamed. Many people ask this. Perhaps they are just the ones brave enough to vocalize what most people are thinking! Believe me, the greatest temptation in our life is to ignore the call to cross-cultural ministry and begin evangelism and church-planting here in the states.

So, why are we going to all the trouble to learn a second language, raise financial support, learn a new culture and move our family to another country?

First, we are cross-cultural missionaries because the Holy Spirit has called and marked us for this ministry. I know that sounds simplistic or perhaps a little too ethereal for our Western minds, but it is true. Heather and I experienced a specific and personal call to missions. Our hearts were fully broken for the lost of the world. It is a fairly natural human tendency to love those who are close to us and who are like us. God, however, loves the world, loves sinners, loves you and me and wants to reveal his love for all people through us. As the Holy Spirit changes and breaks our heart, we begin to experience the love of Christ that enabled Him to remain obedient to God's mission of redemption through the cruel cross of Calvary. In essence, God is reaching to all the peoples of the world with His gracious offer of salvation through the cross of Christ. We have the privilege and honor to join Him in publicizing this incredible gift, not only in our own culture, but to do so cross-culturally!

Second, we are missionaries because it is good logic. The vast majority of trained, educated Christian workers serve the minority of the population. It has been said that 90% of the world's Christian leaders serve 10% of the population. Therefore, it is only logical to send some of the resources of the Kingdom to the places that do not have them. A missions educator once placed a large log at the front of the conference hall and asked for ten volunteers to come forward and pick up the log. Ten strong men responded and distributed their lifting power equally along the length of the log and lifted it together. The speaker congratulated them and stated that this is how we should do missions, but unfortunately, do not. He then instructed 8 of the men to lift from the very end of the log and the other two to take the opposite end.  The result was that there were so many on one end that they all could not even get their hands on the log, it was simply too crowded. On the opposite end, the two men strained with all their might, but could not lift the log. The speaker then declared that this is how we do missions.

Third, we are missionaries because it is strategic. We are interested in motivating, mentoring and mobilizing Latin Americans that are being called by God to cross cultures as missionaries. In this globalized world, politics plays an exceedingly large and often detrimental role in the mission enterprise. Simply stated, Europeans and North Americans are not universally loved or accepted everywhere in the world. Evangelism and discipleship is not only dangerous for us in certain parts of the world, it is also generally unfruitful. Building relationships, sharing the Gospel and doing discipleship is difficult when it must be done cross-culturally. Add to that difficulty the baggage of perceived political and cultural hostility and the task becomes incredibly arduous. Please understand that I know God is calling many Europeans and North Americans to go the these difficult places I just spoke of. Further, God is working mightily through those He calls and is overcoming the difficulties stated above. However, it is short-sighted and naive to fail to recognize how God has called everyone to respond to the Great Commission. Thus, we must mobilize Cubans, Latinos, Indians, Africans, Chinese, Egyptians and people from everywhere to go make disciples. Our mission is to make leaders who continue the work of evangelism and discipleship and who cross cultures to fulfill the Great Commission.

Lastly, missions injects new life into the sending culture. It has been said, "The light that shines farthest shines brightest at home." Something spiritual happens as congregations covenant with God to be obedient to His command to preach the Gospel everywhere and to make disciples of all nations. There is almost always opposition, but there is also an abiding presence of the Almighty and His blessing. Churches that partner with missionaries and mission agencies experience the excitement and the celebration of what our God is doing in His world.

Those who partner through prayer and financial support become part of the mission force. They are the "senders", which is the necessary antecedent that launch the "goers" to the mission field. Our churches hear from and often host international Christians through their partnerships with missionaries. This results in cross-culture fellowship that opens our eyes to the lives of brothers and sisters around the globe and affords us a new perspective on the Christian faith. I recently sat at a table with three different cultures studying the Bible in two different languages. I was intrigued by the wisdom and insight that came from understanding the Scriptures through a different life experience. We need this diversity and it brings life.  Missions also injects new life into the church because the missionaries come back home with training and experience that can be the catalyst to start a movement in the sending nation; and oh, how we need a fresh move of God in the USA!

In conclusion, we are cross-cultural missionaries, because God has called us to this ministry, it is logical, it is strategic and it is the surest way to secure revival for the church of the United States.

Church Planting Movements Training

Two intense weeks have made an earth shattering impression on me. Every Community for Christ, the church planting catalyst for One Mission Society, trained around thirty missionaries from numerous places around the world in church multiplication methods. Both methods (Training for Trainers and Train & Multiply) are phenomenal tools for planting quickly reproducing churches. But, as the instructors said several times, "Methods do not plant churches. People plant churches. Methods do not disciple people. People disciple people." In essence, God does great things for people through people.

One of the great lessons that we can take away from church planting movements around the world is how new believers are quickly discipled to begin sharing the Gospel and teaching others. They are immediately taught that they are the gateway of salvation for their family and friends. We would do well to apply this lesson to our context and give new converts the tools and accountability they need to share the Gospel with their friends and family. Sharing the Good News does not require years of Sunday School or a seminary degree!

I saw this concept modeled today in our home. Kenley, who is two grades ahead of Madi and James, has determined that she will teach spelling to the twins. Why not? After all, she knows the words well. She introduced the words, gave the spelling, had them write it in their notebooks and used each word in a sentence. Tomorrow the pupils will be asked to make up their own sentences using the spelling words. By the end of the week they will know the words' meaning, spelling and will have mastered their use. Did I mention all this will be taught by an eight year old?

Allowing Kenley to teach has encouraged her to be a better student. The twins love having her teach and they pay closer attention to her than they usually do to Heather. It is a win-win situation. Even Heather gets to step back and watch Kenley teach the lessons that she has taught to her. Heather not only sees whether Kenley has mastered what she has been taught, but she is also able to coach Kenley in her teaching and communication skills. You know, somewhere in here is a lesson for the church!


Jesus told us to go make disciples and to baptize and teach them to follow all he has commanded. We share the Gospel with the expectation that people will surrender their lives to the risen Christ. That is evangelism. We disciple them with the expectation that they will share their testimony and the simple Gospel. We baptize them with the expectation that they will continue in discipleship and that they will make disciples as well.

Kenley is still a student and yet is also a teacher. Likewise, we are both disciples and disciple makers. We cannot "farm-out" this responsibility to a church service, Sunday School or to Christian schools. Programs and institutions do not make disciples; we make disciples! Those we lead will also live a lifestyle of doing what they have seen us model.















May God bless you as you seek to obey the Great Commission to make disciples!