From the Pastor’s Desk (59)
Today we are having Mini Urbana Sunday. In presenting to us a glimpse of what Urbana 2000 was like, the delegates are hoping to pass on to us the passion and zeal for world missions they caught attending the conference. I saw several people practicing at church and I am very excited to see how God is going to use today’s service to challenge us for the work of world evangelization.
This is very timely as we are having our first Mission Fund Campaigning Month in February. I know there will be several of us who will be going on a short-term mission trip this summer. Some will go to Roca Blanca in Oaxaca, Mexico and others will respond to God’s calling by going to different places. The time commitment will vary as well. Some can go for only one week whereas others may be able to go for longer periods due to varying professions. Going on a short-term mission trip is a great way to expose yourself to the work of missions and I wholeheartedly encourage all of you to invest your time, resources and skills in doing God’s work through short-term mission trips.
Although there is no doubt in my mind that these short-term mission trips are valuable not only for those participating individuals but for the sending church, I have encountered some issues over the past several years as I supported short-term missionaries and led them myself. First thing I noticed is that there are some who go on these mission trips because they do not know what to do during summer. Of course they decide to go on short-term mission trips to do God’s work. However, they also seemed to want to go on these trips to see different parts of the world and also gain cultural experiences. In other words, some choose to go on short-term mission trips with tourist’s mentality. A few career missionaries have told me personally that these people, instead of helping, hinder missions work when they get there. You must understand that God’s work is done through His Spirit through His people who are called and prepared to serve humbly and wholeheartedly.
Another issue that troubled me is mission trip fund raising system. Somehow short-term missionaries think others have to pay for their mission trips since they are committing their time and energy. And it was not uncommon for many short-term missionaries to raise more than what they needed for their trips. It is true that these short-term missionaries are giving of their time and energy by going on these trips. However, there is a danger of not taking the missions work seriously once they get there because the whole trip is paid for by others. Saving our money all throughout the year and paying for a part of the trip, I think, is a great idea. It will reduce your chance of taking the mission trip casually because we take greater heart into that which we paid for!
Lastly, I cannot fail to mention the pressure I have experienced as I received a dozen support letters each year. Who gets how much was not easy for me to decide.
In order to deal with these issues, we have decided last year to set aside February as Mission Fund Campaigning Month. Think and prayerfully decide how much you are going to give to support short-term missionaries this year. If you gave $30 each to five missionaries last year, consider giving more than $150 this year. And when you give, please put it in your offering envelopes and indicate the amount and the purpose.
If you are thinking about going on a short-term mission trip this year, please remember that we as a church very much encourage you to ask for prayer support but not financial support. The financial support will be given through New Life. There will be an application for you to fill out by the end of April and you will have to show the Missions Team 10 prayer support commitments from your family and friends. The Leadership Team, then, will carefully decide how the collected mission fund will be allocated. Our goal is to be able to provide one to two thirds of the mission trip cost to every member who applies for it.
Let us go and let us give so that God’s work of reaching the lost may be fulfilled on this earth.
Pastor Eric
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