1070. Things to Consider

THINGS TO CONSIDER

Things to Consider About Missions.

WHAT WOULD BE YOUR BIGGEST OBSTACLE?

If you wanted to be a missionary, what would be your biggest hurdle? Here are a few answers we received. How would you answer?

1. “My greatest challenge would be language.”
2. “Going out of the country would be my hardest hurdle, since I’ve never gotten out of California.”
3. “I would have fear of going to a new place where I don’t know anything about the people or what is ahead of you.”
4. “It depends. If God is calling you, it’s an easy thing to do. You just do what he calls you to do.”
5. “trying to live full time as a missionary, especially in these times, finances are difficult. So income would be my biggest hurdle, but the work itself is not difficult.”
6. “I personally think the hardest hurdle to overcome would be raising the money, or getting support to live off.”
7. “You certainly have to have a calling, otherwise you won’t last.”

A young couple talks about obstacles to the mission field.watch this video »

WHERE WOULD YOU GO?

If you were sent out as a missionary, where would you prefer to go? Here are a few random answers. How wold you respond?

1. “If I was called to be a missionary, I would like to serve in a Latin Ameican country, because I speak Spanish and that would be helpful.”
2. “I don’t feel called to go. I support and pray for those who do go. I also do missionary work locally.”
3. “I would go to Mexico. I love the Mexica people. They are personable and hard working. I would feel comfortable with them.”

MORE THINGS TO CONSIDER

Before taking the step to becoming a missionary, there are are many questions to ask and things to consider. 
The ASK A MISSIONARY website has a full range of questions and answers, including,

They answer questions about these topics.
1. Guidance
2. Funding
3. Mission Agencies
4. Singles/family
5. Training
6. Professional Skills

For example, under “How do I select an agency?” they address the following related questions
1. Where do you start when looking for a mission agency?
2. What are key questions to ask an agency?
3. What types of training do agencies require?
4. What are the differences between various types of sending groups?
5. What are the ultimate deciding factors in choosing an agency?

THE ANSWER IN A BOOK

Ask a Missionary: Time-Tested Answers from Those Who've Been There Before. by John McVay
Paperback book: 224 pages. Paperback and Kindle
"This book is like having a dozen missionary friends at your side, coaching you with kindness and clarity. Who knew wisdom could be so encouraging?" Steve Hawthorne, Co-editor Perspectives on the World Christian Movement

HOW TO BECOME A CHRISTIAN MISSIONARY

Following God’s Call by David Peach 

Following God’s call to become a Christian missionary is a great way to serve the Lord. However, there is more involved than just declaring that the person wants to be a missionary. Each mission field, mission agency and mission work will have its own special requirements. The person interested in mission work needs to take time to prepare properly for serving the Lord long-term.
Read More

1040 Ways to get started

SIX WAYS TO GET STARTED

Ways to Get Started.

If you’ve made a commitment to missions, the chances are you still don’t know how, where or when you can help. You may even have some why questions. Hang in there. It will come in God’s time.

The best way to get started at anything is – wait for it – to get started. This is not double talk. How many people do you know who have talked for years about writing a book, but they’ve never sat down at the keyboard. Or what about those who want to see the world, but have never obtained a passport. I was telling someone about my website and their response was, “I wouldn’t know how to do that.” Well, I didn’t know either – until I got started.

Here are a number of steps that worked for me.

1. Pray first: 

This may sound trite, but I can’t emphasize it enough. Start with prayer. Some people put in all the work, and as an afterthought ask God to bless their plan. That’s doing it backwards. First ask the Lord, “Do you really want me to do this?”

2. Trust God: 

If you feel that God is saying, “Go ahead,” you need to trust Him to lead you through all the other steps.

3. Get help: 

When you have prayed and trusted God, he will lead you to the right source of help. In my case, for starting my website, I found a video of Michael Hyatt’s that gave step-by-step directions on how to get the site and the blog started. Then I read his book Platform that treats the whole subject systematically

4. Start small, think big: 

I remember watching the shadowy figure of Neil Armstrong as he stepped on the moon. I’ll never forget those memorable words, “that’s one small step for a man, and one giant leap for mankind.” Who knows the consequences of your first small step. We’ve all seen proud parents boasting about their toddler’s first wobbly steps. You can’t tell them that it’s insignificant. They can already see him or her winning the marathon at the Olympic Games.

5. Prepare a master plan: 

In other words, know where you are going. That is the second part of Neil Armstrong’s classic statement – “One giant leap…” You don’t have to know all the mechanics and the details at this point. Matter of fact, if you did, you might give up. As I worked through Michael Hyatt’s book, I had to ask myself a lot of questions, like “Why am I doing this? Who do I want to reach? What subjects will I blog about? This helped me focus my thoughts and actions.

6. Don’t be overwhelmed by the size of the task. 

If you have followed the first steps, God will take you further. A number of years ago, I felt led to take a team down to Mexico to place recordings in the hands of migrant laborers. I didn’t have the right vehicle, I didn’t have the equipment or supplies, I didn’t have the finances, I didn’t know how I would do it after I got there, and I couldn’t speak Spanish. Throughout the planning process, God supplied each of those elements one by one, and the people to do what I couldn’t. We had a successful trip.

Read this blog from Michael Hyatt: 

1050. Where Do I Start?

IF I WANT TO BE A MISSIONARY,
WHERE DO I START?

Let’s imagine someone who is called to be a missionary. That’s only the first step. There are multitudes of options that give rise to many questions.

Should our missionary go out alone?  Unless a person has a very specific calling, going alone is not the wisest choice. The apostle Paul took a team with him on his missionary journeys. In the early days of modern missions, pioneers like Hudson Taylor and William Carey were forced to initially go alone, but they worked hard to form societies and find others who would join them.

What are the advantages of joining a mission organization?  Among others are a sense of belonging to something greater that yourself, credibility among Christians who are considering supporting you, and a share in the combined wisdom gained by years of experience.

What types of organizations are there?  They are varied, but we can generally classify them as follows:

1. Denominational missions. They have a broad base of financial support and can usually pay their missionaries a regular salary.  
2. Inter-denominational missions. Missionaries often rely on a number individuals and churches for their support.
3.  Faith missions. These missions don’t generally solicit funds but rely on God to lead individuals and churches to support their work.
4.  Specialist mission organizations. 

 Can I work among a specific people group or in a specific country? Operation World has information under each country about the missions that serve there.

How much do missionaries get paid? Most missionaries are near the bottom of the pay scale, but closest to the top in job satisfaction.

Do missionary organizations work together? Everyone has the same ultimate goal so there is little competition. Agencies are increasingly partnering toward specific objectives. More than 190 missions and churches representing 35,000 evangelical missionaries deployed in every country have formed an association called Missio Nexus.

What else should our prospective missionary check out?

• The Internet. This is a good place to start. Practically every mission has a web site. 
• Check out Preparing to Go website. They cover subjects like "Get Guidance" "Assess Readiness" and "Explore Options." Click Here 
• Doctrinal Statement. Most evangelical missions have very similar statements. However prospective missionaries need to make sure that there isn’t something that they would be uncomfortable working under.
• Missionary-Blogs.com includes active blogs from 500 missionaries worldwide. Their website says, “See what God is doing first-hand, as these missionaries share their hearts.” 
• God’s calling. Even if everything seems to click, every step in the process should be covered in prayer.

1031 Your Committment

YOUR COMMITMENT 

1. Write down your commitment

You may want to write your commitment in your Bible or your notebook. Or you could frame it, or put it on your refrigerator. The choice is yours. The main thing is to have a record that you can look at from time to time. Writing it down adds a sense of purpose. How you express it is your decision, but if you say, “Some day I’d like to do something,” it will probably never happen. Be intentional.

2. Check (tick) one or more of the following phrases, or re-write them in your own words.

• I’m willing to be used by God 
• I want to make an investment in missions 
• With God’s help, I will prepare myself by following the steps in this book 

3. Read and review your commitment daily

• Tell God you really mean it 
• Tell Him you are expecting great things 
• Ask Him to show you what to do when the right time comes

1060 Ways to Pray

Ways To Pray For Missions and the Unreached

Prayer is very strategic because missions is on the front line in the spiritual warfare.  

1. Look for prayer partners. Some people can pray alone, but most of us can benefit from praying with others. You might want to invite a friend for coffee once a week followed by a time of prayer. Alternatively, you could arrange a regular time to pray by telephone. Skype allows you to see the person you are talking to. You can even arrange conference calls. Download it free. Click here then click on “Learn” 

2. Be prayerfully selective. Don’t try to follow every one of the following suggestions. You can’t pray for everything. It’s better to pray intelligently for two or three missionaries than to simply say, “God bless all the missionaries everywhere.”

3. Use Operation World. Here are some suggestions from page xxv.
(a) In Private:

• Pray using the running calendar, perhaps taking only one or two items the Holy Spirit lays on your heart. Mark items covered in prayer and later make note of God’s answers? Those of special, strategic significance are indicated by an outline around the blue number. 
• Keep the book near your television, radio, newspaper or computer. When news comes of major events in a far-off land, find out the spiritual dimensions and turn secular news into spiritual dynamite. 
• Use it together with prayer letters, mission magazines and websites. The wider context is missing from these valuable resources. This book will give depth and perspective.

(b) In the Family:

• Read a small section at family time (devotions, meals, while traveling), and pray for the country of the day. 
• Mark each country on the Operation World prayer map while you pray during your nightly, family devotionals. Let your kids see where the country is on the map while you read each section from the Operation World book and maybe even mark it with a pin or some other indicator as you pray for each country throughout the year. 
• Use it as a source of informative fun and quiz games. 

For more information from Operation World, click here

4. Get prayer information from your local church. Some churches have prayer cards with pictures of their missionaries and specific prayer points. If not, you can make your own. Rotate them and pray for one each day.

5. Consider the Peoples Prayer Project. This is a service of Global Recordings Network (GRN). Prayer partners take on a language group for 12 months. There are no Christians who speak that language. The Bible has not been translated for them, and there are no missionaries working among them. Click here for more information.

6. Subscribe to Global Prayer Digest. GPD is a unique monthly devotional booklet that gives daily glimpses of what God is doing around the world. It contains missionary stories, biblical challenges, urgent reports, and exciting portraits of unreached groups that will enrich your times of prayer for the world and help you cultivate a heart for the unreached. To receive a complimentary copy, click here

7. Get on a missions mailing list. We found out about mission agencies in Session #5. There are many opportunities to get on a mailing list.

8. Use resources from Joshua Project. 

• Prayer Cards. For printable cards with unreached people groups available in eight languages, click here.
• Prayer Ideas. Creative ideas of how individuals, organizations and churches are praying for the unreached, click here.
• Prayer Calendars. For prayer calendars for various countries and regions of the world, click here.
• Prayer Guides. For prayer resources to guide individual and group prayer for the unreached, click here.
• Prayer Videos. For Tribal, Hindu, Unreligious, Muslim, Buddhist (THUMB) peoples prayer videos, click here.

9. Pray for the persecuted church

• The Voice of the Martyrs. A non-profit, interdenominational organization with a vision for aiding Christians around the world who are being persecuted for their faith in Christ. Click here.

10. Books on Missions Related Prayer

• Operation World: 
• Pray for the World 
• The Future of the Global Church

1062. Mobilize

MOBILIZE FOR MISSIONS

Center for Mission Mobilization has resources to Introduce others to God’s global mission and help multiply other World Christians, goers, and mobilizers. Click here

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