Living faithful, fruitful and fulfilled on the mission field
Missionary adventures can turn into tragedy. Our journey usually starts with tremendous excitement. We are ready to take on great challenges for God’s Kingdom’s sake. Then, as the months and years go by, we often encounter circumstances far different from what we expected. Coup d’etats, …
“I love missionary life and doing ministry, but I hate the fund-raising aspect of it!” These are common feelings for many on the mission field. I’ve definitely had them too! We have to change our mindset. Developing ministry partners can be fun and exciting. It …
True or False: Fundraising is an important priority for a missionary. Do you believe this? Or is it rather an added nuisance to our lives as field workers? If you ask those serving to answer this question honestly. You’ll get a wide variety of answers.
To set aside the adequate time needed to raise up ministry partners, you need to know why you are doing it. It has to be more than that you need money. That is not a strong enough motivation to keep fundraising from drifting to that place in your “to-do” list… along with all those other things that never get done.
Some missions require their missionaries to raise a certain budget before they allow them to go to the field. That is one way to motivate. Threatened with the loss of a missionary appointment, this can be effective. But there has to be a better way!
Other missions won’t allow their staff to be full-time until they have a full budget in place. This may motivate some, but it is an external motivation, not an internal one. Faith missions like YWAM don’t do this and are often criticized for this position. The negative feelings especially stem from times when missionaries struggle severely to make ends meet. Some live below poverty levels.
These criticisms are somewhat valid. If we don’t require our staff to raise a certain budget, we must do our best to educate and train in this area. It’s not God’s will for missionaries to go without food or the ability to pay their kids school fees. Nor does it reflect God’s Kingdom and character to others.
Reconciling these issues is vitally important. Even more so as we look to see a new wave of missionaries being released from the global South.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah…fundraising is ministry,” I told myself. “If I believe that, why do I hate doing it so much?” I asked, inwardly groaning as I tried to force myself to prepare to make one more phone call to a potential donor.
“Do I truly believe it is ministry? Or do see it as a necessary evil? As the sacrifice we make as missionaries to be able to do what we do?” My internal conversation continued. “If I sincerely thought of it as ministry, I would enjoy it more. I dread having these conversations with potential donors.”
Two false ideas came to light as I talked to God about my anxiety.
With these ideas in my head, fundraising activities went to the bottom of my priority list. I’d get to it when I could (or when we were in desperate financial need again).
In the meantime, I’d hope and pray God would somehow provide for us. I hoped it would be without my having to do something as unpleasant as begging people to become our financial partners. (I hope you hear my sarcasm here!)
This was not the right attitude at all. Something needed to change – not just in my circumstances, but inside of me!
For Scripture says, “Do not muzzle an ox while it is treading out the grain,” and “The worker deserves his wages.”
1 Tim. 5:18 NIV.
The Word of God says those who work hard in the ministry are worthy of their wages. Our mindset has to change.
First and foremost, believe in the compelling cause of global missions. This cause is worthy of our everything, including our money! If we are crystal clear about why we are doing what we do, we will be able to explain to others why they should partner with us by giving.
What is it that made you ready to give up everything to go to the mission field? Your job, security, friends, and many other things were left behind when you said yes to God’s call. Remember the need that was so compelling? That burned in your heart (and still does)?
Communicate that “why” to your potential ministry partners. Reaching the unreached, showing God’s love and compassion, stopping human trafficking, mobilizing for missions, these causes were worth investing in.
We often doubt our own worthiness. While we believe in the cause, we question if what we are doing for the cause is worthy of the contributions of others. Or am I the only one who does this? I don’t think so!
Remember…it was God who chose you. He trusted you with this mission. If God thought you were worth calling that means you are worthy of being supported as well.
You may not have seen tremendous fruit…yet. You may not have had a massive impact in your area. If the dream is burning in your heart, and if you are actively serving and moving toward it…you are a worthy investment.
Not everyone will see it that way. Some people will think they should invest elsewhere. They want to see and hear exciting reports. If you can’t produce those, they may not give. That is okay. Don’t become bitter toward them. What matters though is how you think of yourself. As you see yourself the way God sees you, He will bring others across your path who see it that way too.
Do you view yourself and the work you do as worthy of investment? Would you give to your own ministry if you were a donor? If this is a struggle, ask God to reveal to you His heart once again. You are His beloved chosen one.
Jesus commanded all His followers to go and make disciples of all nations. This mandate is not only for a few…it is for all. Not everyone can go as you have.
By partnering with you, those who give have a chance to fulfill Jesus’ final command. It gives them a chance to obey. It helps them find their part in the bigger picture of God’s incredible ministry on this earth.
Christians need to give. It helps them obey and grow. As we give, God blesses us. Truly it is more blessed to give than to receive.
When you hold your head high and ask people to invest in your ministry, it pleases the Lord. No pressure. No coercion. No begging. Simply invite others to join you in the most important cause on the planet- taking the gospel to those who’ve never heard.
We are not ashamed of the gospel. We need not be ashamed to ask people to give toward this great cause.
What is your biggest fundraising challenge, obstacle or fear? Share in the comments below or on the Missionary Life Facebook page.
Facing trials…again…and again….and again. How do we keep going in the missionary life “race”? The following is a guest post by Rachel A. I am a long-term, hopefully, life-long missionary. The race marked out before us is a marathon, not a sprint. I’ve come to …
“Unlock your phone and show it to us or we won’t let you enter our country,” the immigration official demanded. Seizing his phone, the officers checked the emails, Facebook, WhatsApp and other private messages of the nervous missionary. Though they allowed him to enter the …
The education of children on the mission field is a major concern. This is especially true when they have special needs. God loves missionary kids and knows how to provide for them. Their destiny matters to God as much as it does to us, their parents.
This is the story of Josh, told by his mother. She and her family served in frontier regions of Central Asia for many years.
“Josh was a happy-go-lucky toddler though he was slow in learning to speak. He also was extremely shy. When we returned to the UK to attend a family wedding, our son had just had his second birthday.”
“One day, we were watching an orchestral concert on TV. The cameras suddenly focused on the cello section.”
“Josh ran across the room to the TV, pointed at the cellos and looked at me with a real sense of urgency. I asked him if that was what he wanted to learn when he was a ‘big boy.’ He nodded and had such a look of relief on his face.”
“I play the violin so I thought that he liked it because it looked like my instrument. Fast forward two years later, a few weeks before his fourth birthday.”
“We were at a friend’s wedding. During the meal, a string quartet played. Josh suddenly put down his spoon and toddled off. I followed and found him sitting on the floor gazing up at the cellist. This time it had been the sound of the instrument which had attracted him.”
“We were living in Central Asia. You are unlikely to see western classical instruments apart from the piano there. I was homeschooling Josh and his siblings. Josh didn’t show any particular musical ability, so I wasn’t in a hurry to find a cello for him.”
“I am a music teacher. My main instrument is the organ. I also have a piano teaching diploma and grade 8 violin certification.”
“When Josh turned six, he was still in the early stages of learning to read. I wasn’t yet thinking about getting a cello. God had other ideas. He knows how to nurture the destiny He has placed on a missionary kid’s life! God cares about missionary children with special needs.”
“Due to a misunderstanding, a local musician turned up at our door with a half-size cello. Surprised, I looked at Josh and asked him if he still wanted to learn to play this instrument. His little eyes opened wide at the sight of the cello and we bought it for him for $75.”
“I rang my mum up in the UK. ‘Could you send some beginner’s music and a set of cello strings?'” I inquired.
“While we waited, I wrote out music for him. He was so engaged. This was a child who had an attention span of about 1½ seconds for learning to read words. He was a completely different child on the cello.”
“About 4 months later we had to leave the country we were in. We spent a year in the UK. I found him a cello teacher who turned out to be the best teacher in the area for young kids. She also had experience teaching gifted children. God had provided the right person.”
“Within just three months, Josh progressed several levels. I was in a state of shock at his rapid progress.”
“We made a commitment to go to a new country in Central Asia to carry on the work. I knew there wouldn’t be any cello teachers in this land. Should we go back to Central Asia when we had a gifted child? By the following summer, he was playing grade 5 pieces. This was beyond the standard I could teach cello effectively. What should we do? We prayed, and we were in no doubt that God wanted us to return to C. Asia.”
“Josh was now nearly 8 years old. He could already play things like Boccherini’s Minuet (a quite complicated piece). I did my best teaching him and he started piano too.”
“After two years he was getting very frustrated with my level of teaching. He was already trying grade six and seven pieces when he was ten years old. Sadly, I didn’t know how to teach the technique at this level.”
“We stayed in that country for 3½ years. A year before we left, Josh broke his arm. Then, we had to be evacuated due to fighting in the city. He didn’t play his cello for four months.”
“When he went back to it, his heart wasn’t in it anymore. I wasn’t worried; we had decided to go back to the UK in a few months. I was sure that back there he would take it up again when he had a proper cello teacher again.”
“When we got back to the UK, Josh, now eleven, announced that he wasn’t a cellist anymore. He refused to play or to go to lessons.”
“I was heart-broken! Here was a child with a God-given gift. I cried out to the Lord, but for more than a year, he didn’t play.”
“Just before we returned to Central Asia we visited a mission base in the UK. At lunchtime, we sat next to a couple who were
“This was unusual in the UK. I told them that my most difficult subject to homeschool was my own subject – music. They pricked up their ears. The husband was a cellist and had played in some top orchestras and the wife was a violin/viola teacher.”
“I thought to myself – they could be useful on the field – at a boarding school for Christian missionary kids like where our kids were going!”
“Before we returned to Central Asia, I had a conversation with Josh about homeschooling. I told him I wanted him to study some music again. He was now twelve. Josh reluctantly agreed to take his cello. Then the next ‘miracle happened.”
“We were in the Istanbul airport at 2 am getting on the bus to the plane. When I got on the bus, right in front of me was a young man with a cello. It turned out he had just done a master’s degree at the Julliard Conservatory in NY. This is one of the best music schools in the world! He was coming to our city to teach cello for a year.”
“When I introduced Josh, he immediately offered to teach him. It didn’t take long before my son was totally back into playing cello with this cool young man.”
“Soon it was time for Josh to move to another school in India to finish high school. There wasn’t a cello teacher there, only a violin teacher. I was disappointed. How would God provide? Or was this the end of Josh’s musical development?”
“Then there was another surprising twist.”
“In talking with a music examiner, I asked for advice about Josh. When she heard his story, she suggested Skype lessons! She had a friend who was teaching at one of the specialist Music schools in the UK. Josh started fortnightly cello lessons by Skype with this teacher in February of 2015.”
“This instructor also ran a 2-week summer school at the music school. Josh was invited and had eight face to face lessons with this teacher there.”
“That first summer course was a real game-changer for him. It was his first experience of elite music and his first solo performance in this atmosphere. Josh realized that he enjoyed performing and that he could do it.”
“A year after his grade 8, Josh took a first level diploma (ATCL) and got a distinction. I was surprised when his teacher suggested he take the next level diploma (LTCL) only one year later at 17. He passed! He was now at the level required to get into a top conservatoire (music school).”
“The following school year, the musician couple whom I had met at the base applied for a job at Josh’s school. For his final year, he had two cello teachers!”
“In the UK the conservatoire auditions take place in November, but Josh was at school in India. We had to ask for special auditions in January. Both of his cello teachers knew the Head of Strings at all the top colleges in the UK. He went for auditions in Glasgow, Manchester and at the prestigious Royal Academy in London.”
“I honestly didn’t think that Josh would have a chance there. After all, he’d only had three years of specialist teaching, and that by Skype. But he impressed the panel that heard him play.”
“Josh decided to enter the Royal Northern College of Music in Manchester. God had made a way for him.”
“The Lord was the one who had given him this gift. He also knew of the special calling on our lives for Central Asia. God placed Josh in our lives and His musical gift within our son. Step by step we’d seen His unique provision.”
Do you have a missionary kid with special needs on the field? Unusual giftings or disabilities? The Lord is able to make a way for them. He certainly did for Josh! Let me know in the comments how God has provided for you and your children on the mission field. Or join the Missionary Life Insiders group on Facebook and share with us there.
Missionary burn-out is very real. We missionaries are a deeply committed people. We are willing to lay down our lives, do whatever it takes, to see people come to Christ. God regularly asks us, His people, to do things far beyond our own capacity. He …
Burnout signs – they are relatively easy to spot. Low energy. Reduced passion for ministry. Not getting things done that normally are quite easy to do. One way of addressing these issues is to consider taking a sabbatical. To make it a success, you need …
John Chau’s recent death in the Indian Ocean prompted many tweets, posts and news articles this past week. Murdered by Sentinelese tribesmen, John was a fairly young missionary. He went to a remote and unreached tribe with a passion to share the gospel with them.
His actions were illegal in the eyes of the government. Many have said they were foolish. In missionary circles, much discussion has taken place about John’s actions and death. Some of what is being said mirror the news and social media. Other perspectives are radically different.
The full story is yet to come to light. It is wise to withhold judgments and broad sweeping statements. Instead, let’s consider key questions as we reflect, pray and discuss this with others.
In a forum where missionary trainers discuss issues, the following things were talked about this last week. I report them here to help us continue to consider these issues.
Strong opinions were expressed. In humility, these were adjusted as meaningful dialogue took place. We learned from and with one another. I hope and pray that this will continue in discussions around the world in the days and years to come.
Here are a few quotes from our discussion:
“What a sad story of a misguided young man wasting his life needlessly. I know that some people in my home circles are applauding him. But he did an unwise thing (he could have wiped out the tribe with just his germs). We need to use it as an example of what not to do. Did he die a martyr or was he murdered for being an outsider?”
“It is becoming increasingly difficult in so many locations to do what we were perhaps able to do freely in the past. Times are changing but our mandate to go to the unreached remains the same. We need to be bold and wise.”
“How loving/wise is it to put unreached people’s lives directly at risk by bringing your diseases with you? Shouldn’t we ask the hard questions as to how things could have been done wiser, better prepared? As leaders, we are responsible to wrestle with the risk questions.”
“There are too many, including myself, where ‘wisdom’ is really just cleverly disguised fear that prevents us from taking a risk for the Kingdom and being bold. However, that doesn’t mean true wisdom isn’t necessary. It’s vital. We don’t make decisions out of fear. But we also don’t want to suffer persecution because of stupidity. It’s a balance to walk it out.”
“We question the wisdom of the five missionaries killed by the Auca Indians in Ecuador. But it led to an amazing movement. We honor Paul and we say Jesus glorify Your name and may hundreds of people join your movement all around the earth.”
Indeed this situation reminds us of that famous missionary story. It inspired so many, and is told in Elizabeth Elliot’s book, “Through Gates of Splendor.” Jim Elliot, Elizabeth’s husband, was also working with a remote tribal group. That group, like the Sentinelese, was also resistant to foreign influence and took Jim’s life.
1) What is admirable about John’s commitment and courage? Is it in his willingness to lay down his life to see an unreached tribe hear the gospel?
2) When (if ever) is Christian martyrdom a real possibility in our day and age? Does our theology include a willingness to die for the cause of sharing the gospel with all peoples?
3) Can risk assessment and cultural preparation help missionaries be better equipped for going into dangerous situations like these?
4) Should mission agencies allow their staff to go to places where governments don’t allow Christian witness? What if that is where they are called and the risks are high?
5) In what ways might God want to use John Chau’s death to catalyze a new wave of missionary efforts in the frontiers? How can we join with God’s purposes?
– Pray for God’s love to become known to the Sentinelese tribes in the Indian Ocean. Pray that this situation will cause fervent prayer to be focused on this unreached group.
– Pray for John’s family and friends who are grieving the loss of someone they greatly loved. Pray for comfort and protection in the midst of the news media’s criticism.
– Pray for the mission that John Chau worked with. They will come under new scrutiny as they are highlighted. Pray for wisdom for their leaders in how to respond. Pray that this will not have a negative effect on this mission’s efforts to bring the message of Jesus to the unreached.
– Pray for the release of boldness and courage (with wisdom) in the lives of missionaries around the world. Pray for protection as they take these risks of faith.
– Pray that as missionaries bring the good news to unreached peoples we would do so with cultural sensitivity. Pray for an ability to honor and respect governments who seek to serve and protect these peoples (Romans 13:1-7).
– Pray for missionaries to understand when to obey government restrictions and when to say as Peter did, “We must obey God rather than men” (Acts 5:29).
Let’s discuss, learn and pray. May John Chau’s tragic death be used by God to bring about His purposes.
Note: The above quotes are not the opinion of the author. They are listed here to help us think as we are exposed to different viewpoints on this important issue.
Ego-centric, direct, domineering, controlling, independent, critical…that list sounded down-right nasty to me. I didn’t want to be a “D” personality! I promptly decided I disliked personality tests. No one was going to put a label on me as to what personality type I had. Decision …