A Veteran Missionary's Guide to Missions

And He said unto them, Go ye into all the world,
 and preach my Gospel to every creature.

Mark 16:15

Part One: Why We Must Do Missions

Evangelism is a focal part of the Christian faith.  Sharing our faith with the lost is something that Christ expects from each of his followers. It is not a suggestion or a request; it is a mandate from God. Evangelism is the natural by-product of a mature and growing faith.  For the majority of Christians, evangelism takes place on the local level.  We witness to our family members, neighbors, co-workers, and (sometimes) even complete strangers. 

A part of evangelism is missions.  The word "missions" was coined by Jesuit monks to describe those who were "sent" to minister in foreign lands. They rightly believed that this special calling, with its greater dangers and sacrifices, was set apart from regular evangelism and deserved (at the least) a new classification.  Unlike many Christians today, who believe that "we are all missionaries," the early Church understood that leaving your family, your culture, and your heart language behind so that you could pour out your life in a strange land was not the same as spending twenty minutes telling your neighbor what Christ has done in your life.

During the early era of international missions, the crate that carried your possessions to the field often doubled as your coffin.  The average life expectancy for those early missionaries was less than five years. Fortunately, medical breakthroughs and advances in transportation has significantly improved the survival rate of missionaries.   However, the sacrifices they make are still very real.  Ask anyone who has spent more than a month overseas; it is not easy to live in a different country.

Obviously, Christians do not do missions because it is easy.  They do it because it is right.  The Great Commission was not limited to local evangelism.  Jesus commanded them to go "unto the uttermost part of the earth."  To me, that phrase always conjured up images of those places that I would LEAST like to visit- and that may very well be what He was saying.  Missions requires us to reach a greater level of commitment in our service to Christ because we often end up going to places that we never wanted to go to and doing things that are completely outside our comfort zone.

So, you may be asking yourself, "What is she trying to do, scare me from ever doing a mission trip?" No, that isn't my intent at all.  Instead, what I'm trying to say is that the missions experience will take your faith to a higher level because it is HARD.  Have you ever talked to someone who has just returned from a mission trip?   They go on and on and on about how incredible it was and how it changed their life.  The number one response that I've heard from first-time mission trippers is something like this: "I went, thinking that I might be a blessing to others, but I ended up being the one who was blessed."

Going on a mission trip is a lot like riding a roller coaster for the first time.  There is a lot of anxiety and trepidation before you head out, then you are overwhelmed with new sensations and experiences, and finally you are dropped back at the start feeling exhilarated and you can hardly wait to do it again. Face it, missions gives you a rush like nothing else, but (like the roller coaster) it can be a bumpy ride; whether it is your first mission trip or your fiftieth, you just never know what might happen.

Over the next few weeks, I'm going to be writing on what you can do to make your next mission trip a little easier.  If you've never gone on a mission trip, I hope that these blogs will spark a desire in you to stretch your faith enough to be willing to reach the lost overseas.  At the very least, I hope that it will give you the knowledge of how you can better pray for those in your church who will soon be taking mission trips and for the career missionaries who have committed their whole lives to reaching the uttermost ends of the earth.

The Power of Prayer

If you ask anything in my name, I will do it.

John 14:14

My birthday was this week and I can never celebrate a birthday without remembering the birthday that God used to remind me of the power of prayer.  My husband and I had been serving as missionaries in Indonesia for a couple of years.  Our teenage daughters were involved in a youth group called International Christian Youth, which was made up of high school students from a dozen different countries.

After one of the weekly Bible studies, my husband came home and told me that he had been asked to be the speaker for their annual retreat and wanted me to be one of the counselors.  That was no problem for me, until I found out that the retreat fell on my birthday.  As much as I enjoyed working with youth, I have to admit that I wasn't overjoyed at the idea of spending my birthday with a hundred noisy teens. I finally agreed, grudgingly, to go.

Arriving at the retreat site, we quickly discovered that the facilities were more rustic than we had expected- and that's saying a lot when you have been living in a third world country for a few years!  Our room consisted of a set of rickety bunk beds and was crawling (quite literally) with insects and lizards.  The bathroom contained a squatty potty (basically a hole in the floor over which you squatted) and a sink equipped with cold water only.  Since the temperatures hit close to 100 degrees and there was no air conditioning, it seemed that the cold water would come in handy. I'd like to say that I didn't grumble about the living conditions, but that wouldn't be the truth.  I had a terrible attitude about the whole thing.  Fortunately, God can use us; even despite ourselves.  Just look at Jonah!

Many of the youth had brought along lost friends from the international school or their neighborhoods.  Despite my bad attitude, it was hard to resist the atmosphere of love among those youth and the earnest desire to see their friends come to Christ.  The final night of the retreat, my husband led an appeal for the lost to come forth and receive Jesus as their Savior.  We were overjoyed to see twelve teens come down and accept Christ.

I had to admit that the ride home was not terribly pleasant for me.  The Lord was really dealing with me about my attitude about the retreat and I had to get my own heart right with God.  I couldn't help but wonder at the fact that He had so blessed the retreat, despite me and my hard heart. My daughter helped me to put it into perspective.  She was looking through our recent copy of the International Missionary Board's prayer calendar.

"Look, Mom," she said, pointing out my name in the booklet. "The churches back home were praying for you on your birthday."

That was a real light bulb moment for me.  It wasn't my husband's deep Bible studies (though he is certainly a gifted speaker) nor me and my bad attitude that had brought those twelve souls to salvation.  It was the power of prayer. And though God had taught me the lesson of prayer's power before that day, I can never celebrate a birthday without being reminded of how our Wonderful, Loving God allows us to partner with Him in His ministry through the power of prayer.