When Becoming A Foreign Missionary

Back in my freshman year at NBBI, a missionary came to our missions class. He gave us this very helpful information, which I hope you will find just as useful. 

When Becoming a Foreign Missionary:

       I.      Be sure you are called by GOD.

a.       If you aren’t doing something here, you won’t be doing anything there.

    II.      In the field, remember: you are the foreigner. They didn’t invite you. God called you. Adapt.

 III.      Learn to discern between God’s Word and your culture or preferences.

a.       You are there to preach the Word, not to share your preferences/culture.

 IV.      Make it clear what you will do and what you won’t do.

a.       You aren’t going there to be their savior. Christ already did that.

    V.      Keep it balanced

a.       Ministry

b.      Health

1.      Spiritual

2.      Emotional

3.      Physical

c.       Relationships

d.      Family life

The Commands of Christ - Matthew 9:9-13

As Jesus passed on from there, He saw a man named Matthew sitting at the tax office. And He said to him, "Follow Me." So he arose and followed Him. Now it happened, as Jesus sat at the table in the house, that behold, many tax collectors and sinners came and sat down with Him and His disciples. And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to His disciples, "Why does your Teacher eat with tax collectors and sinners?" When Jesus heard that, He said to them, "Those who are well have no need of a physician, but those who are sick. But go and learn what this means: 'I DESIRE MERCY AND NOT SACRIFICE.' For I did not come to call the righteous, but sinners, to repentance." -Matthew 9:9-13

Who is this command spoken to? and what does it require?

You may have noticed that there are two commands in these verses. First, Jesus commands Matthew the tax collector to follow Him. Second, at the response of the Pharisees to Matthew and the other 'sinners' hanging out with Jesus, Jesus commands the Pharisees to go learn what this means: "I desire mercy and not sacrifice."

What truths do we learn through these commands?

Something interesting that I have not noticed in this passage is the power of Matthew's example. He arose and follow Jesus and the next thing we read is that many tax collectors...came and sat down with Him and His disciples. You never know how much influence one step of obedience can have on those around you. I'm sure that these tax collectors knew each other and probably worked together collecting taxes (probably worked together cheating people, too!). When Matthew chose to obey Christ and follow, the others were close behind.

The second thing I notice here is that the religious, self-righteous crowd didn't understand why Jesus was okay with hanging out with tax collectors and sinners. There were a lot of things that Jesus did that were misunderstood by this crowd. But they can't seem to understand why a 'Teacher' would want to be with the social outcasts of society. Perhaps the question they wanted to ask, but were afraid to, is 'Why doesn't the Teacher eat with us--after all, we've done so many good things?' 

Jesus heard that. Think about it--Jesus heard that. He was busy spending time with the sinners, but He heard that. That tells me two things. One, Jesus was paying attention to all that was going on, even if the Pharisees didn't realize it. Two, the Pharisees probably didn't whisper their question to the disciples. They probably didn't care if the tax collectors and sinners heard their biting comments and questions. Jesus has something to say to these critical, religious hypocrites. 

Let's take a look at the second command. Jesus says to the Pharisees, "But go and learn what this means: I desire mercy and not sacrifice." The Pharisees missed the point of Jesus. They didn't realize the tremendous work of God that was going on right in front of them. Sinners were being called to repentance, tax collectors are following Jesus, and all the Pharisees can do is criticize Jesus for being with them. It is important to realize that Jesus will always be with sinners and tax collectors. That is why He came. He didn't come to call the righteous, but sinners to repentance.

What are the consequences for disobedience to these commands?

Missing the point of Jesus...entirely

Measuring Your Commitment to Missions

Yesterday, I went to NBBI to visit my brother and to listen to Dr. Chris Gnanakan speak in chapel. It was a great time. Let me give you the basic notes of Dr. Chris' lecture.

The premise of the lecture is that there must be some way that we can measure our commitment to Christ. Just as we look at the dashboard of our cars, and see the fuel gauge that measures four basic levels of how much gas is in our car, we can look at four levels of commitment to missions and see where we stand.


"So it was, as the multitude pressed about Him to hear the word of God, that He stood by the Lake of Gennesaret, and saw two boats standing by the lake; but the fishermen had gone from them and were washing their nets. Then He got into one of the boats, which was Simon's, and asked him to put out a little from the land. And He sat down and taught the multitudes from the boat. When He had stopped speaking, He said to Simon, "Launch out into the deep and let down your nets for a catch." But Simon answered and said to Him, "Master, we have toiled all night and caught nothing; nevertheless at Your word I will let down the net." And when they had done this, they caught a great number of fish, and their net was breaking. So they signaled to their partners in the other boat to come and help them. And they came and filled both the boats, so that they began to sink. When Simon Peter saw it, he fell down at Jesus' knees, saying, "Depart from me, for I am a sinful man, O Lord!" For he and all who were with him were astonished at the catch of fish which they had taken; and so also were James and John, the sons of Zebedee, who were partners with Simon. And Jesus said to Simon, "Do not be afraid. From now on you will catch men." So when they had brought their boats to land, they forsook all and followed Him." -Luke 5:1-11

1. Passive missions - Peter listened to Jesus' words while washing his nets. This is the equivalent of attending church, listening to sermons, and 'being fed' as we call it in North America.

2. Proxy missions - Peter let Jesus use his 'stuff.' There is no real cost to proxy missions. Peter had just fished all night. He wasn't going to be using the boat for a while. I feel that this is where we are at in many churches in the west. We give our money and resources, but it really doesn't cost us anything does it?

3. Participation in missions - Jesus challenges Peter to launch out into the deep. Jesus shows Peter that it is not a spectator sport. In essence, this is being a part of the mission, such as taking part in a short-term trip.

4. Partnership in missions - Peter invites James and John to join him. They all experience the power of God. We need others to join us in missions for accountability, support, prayer, and many other things. 

Through this all, Peter realized two things. 1) He acknowledges his own sinfulness and 2) Peter realizes he is dealing with deity. 

So where do you measure up to on this missions-commitment gauge? I have been challenged in this. I would like to think i'm somewhere around 3 or 4, but it is more likely that during the daily grind, I am probably much closer to 2, proxy missions. Admittedly, I let Jesus use my 'stuff' and often I am happy about it, but it seems to be few and far between that I actually participate or partner in missions. 

Lord, lead me down the path of obedience, no matter what the cost, no matter how far it takes me, no matter what You do in me. My desire is to see Your power displayed in lives changed for the sake of the gospel.

Book Review: What is the Mission of the Church?

Making Sense of Social Justice, Shalom, and the Great Commission
By Kevin DeYoung and Greg Gilbert
266 pages, Crossway

This book is not quite what I expected. The first two chapters were released online by the publisher, so I read those before I ordered the book. The first two chapters were riveting. I quickly devoured them and ordered the book, hungry for more of this book about the Great Commission. The book arrived, and I read the next chapter. I wasn't impressed or unimpressed. Maybe it was waiting the few days for the book to arrive in the mail. And maybe it was that I had never given much thought to those who are 'missional.' Any rate, I didn't enjoy the middle 4 or 5 chapters as much as I did the beginning. But I figured I would plug away and finish the book before I got bored with it.

Don't get me wrong, I liked this book. It just didn't hold my attention through the whole thing. As it turns out, the middle chapters (Part 2 in the book) weren't as interesting to me as the first part. Then the end of the book (Part 3) got my attention like the first part did. Then, after finishing the book, I see the value of the middle chapters.

So what is this book about? Well, Part 1 sought to define some terms and give a general overview of what the mission of the church actually is. If you are going to get this book, and want to be surprised by it, skip to the next paragraph. For those of you who will never read this book, here is the one-sentence summary of the book: "The mission of the church is to go into the world and make disciples by declaring the gospel of Jesus Christ in the power of the Spirit and gathering these disciples into churches, that they might worship the Lord and obey His commands now and in eternity to the glory of God the Father." 


That is a great sentence! DeYoung and Gilbert have put in the time necessary to establish such a well-written statement of mission for the church. Part 1 culminates in this sentence. The first two chapters are dedicated to explaining what this sentence means, and why it is the mission of the church.

Part 2 begins by taking a look at what the gospel actually is. DeYoung and Gilbert go a long ways towards defining terms in a way that both the conservatives and missionals will understand. It is a revealing section that seeks to understand exactly what it is conservatives mean by the term 'gospel' and what the missionals mean by it. DeYoung and Gilbert also spend quite some time explaining what the connection is between social justice and the responsibility of believers. They do a great job explaining vast portions of Scripture in just a few pages.

Part 3 does a great job wrapping things up. Christians must be motivated by the mission of the church. Without the mission, we might as well not exist. Christianity is not just a 'holy huddle', but it is a 'holy huddle' that is supposed to break to go out into the world to fulfill the mandate.

I was surprised by the epilogue of this book. The title of the epilogue is 'So You're Thinking of Starting a New Kind of Church? Advice for the Young, Motivated, and Missional.' I seriously considered putting the book down and not reading it. But I wanted to finish the whole book, so I began to read. This chapter is in the form of a short narrative about a young, passionate pastor looking to start a church (Missio Dei) in an urban area. The young pastor happens to make an appointment with an older pastor in the area. They both sit down and have a discussion about this young pastor's vision for his church. The older pastor seeks to give him some advice for the future as he begins this journey. It was an extremely encouraging few pages for me. I am young, and passionate about ministry, but I also know that I have lots to learn. So I found myself identifying with the young pastor in the chapter.

This book is balanced and useful, especially if you have never really given much thought about mission. I have given some serious thought to the making disciples side of mission, but have not thought to much about the 'missional' side of things. I like what D. A. Carson says in his endorsement of the book:

"Among the many books that have recently appeared on mission, this is the best one if you are looking for sensible definitions, clear thinking, readable writing, and the ability to handle the Bible."

Last Day

Well, it's my last day in Ecuador. I'm leaving tonight. It has been a very diverse summer, full of firsts for me, though I've lived here many years. The Lord blessed me with more opportunities that I expected.

I have been taught many things, learned many lessons, and grown spiritually through all of the experiences here. God allowed me to teach children, young people, and adults, on various occasions. I can tell you honestly that there is absolutely nothing better than sharing the Word of God with others. It is what I truly enjoy doing, and I can't imagine doing anything else. I love the Lord with all my heart, and my life is His to do what He wants with it.

The time has come for me to return to North America, where soon I will return to New Brunswick Bible Institute to begin my senior year. This school year I know will be full of opportunities for me to be involved in the Lord's work there. This year I will be an RA, and I very much am looking forward to being a leader among others.

I ask for your prayers as I continue my training. Please pray that I will remain humble, submitted to the Lord's will, and that I will follow where He directs. I am going to continue my studies into the 4th year once I graduate, but I have no clue where I'll be doing that. Thank you for your prayers, and thank you for supporting me during this summer. I am sure the Lord used your prayers to accomplish His work. These three months have truly been a blessing to me, and to many others. May God bless you all, and may you ever be drawing closer to Him.

Missions Within Missions

Last week I was able to join John Rosado and Rafael Molineros on a trip to Milagro de Dios and La Concordia, 2 places in the coastal region of Ecuador. It was a great week.

Monday, July 1st, John and I traveled by various buses from Pifo to Milagro de Dios, a tiny village way out in the middle of nowhere. The only running water there is the river across the road, so we bathed there. Thankfully they do have electricity. John and I walked around visiting people, and inviting them to a Bible study we were going to hold at a neighbor's house. That night however, when we went to the neighbor's to have the study, there was no one home! So we returned to the Pacheco family house where we were staying. There I led the study in 1 John 5. It was a good time. The family is growing spiritually, little by little. We spent the night there and Tuesday we stayed until mid afternoon. Then we headed out to La Union, the closest town on the main road. We hitched a ride in the back of an old rusty mazda pickup truck. It took about a half hour or so I think.

From La Union we took a bus to La Concordia. I think that was about half an hour as well. Maybe less, I'm not sure. There we stayed at John's grandmother's house with his cousin. Each night from Tuesday until Friday John, Rafael, and I took turns leading a Bible study in the book of James. That was also a great time. Rafael met us there late that Tuesday night. He had been staying with some friends in Santo Domingo, about an hour I think from La Concordia.

Over the past couple weeks, John and Rafael had been going to the local schools where the opportunity had risen to share the gospel with kids from every grade. God truly opens doors. So that Wednesday we continued in the high school about a 5 minute walk from where we were staying. Rafael is part of the Open Air Campaigners group here in Ecuador, so he is skilled in evangelism through paintings. If you haven't seen an example I encourage you to check it out. It is a very effective tool that really captivates the kids' attention. The hook Rafael used was 'values.' He asked some questions like, what are values? and what are some examples of values? He then continued with a sort of game. he had numbers 1-36 painted on his board, and he cleverly went from talking about moral values to numerical values. His main point was that values never change.

Next, Rafael would continue by talking about Christian values. He talked about the emptiness in man and the futility of trying to fill that void with things of the world. Then he went on to explain the Gospel. After each meeting, a few kids showed interest and asked questions.

That Wednesday, one young guy wanted to talk to Rafael so they set up a meeting for 2:30. They talked and were gone for over 2 hours. Rafael later told us that the boy was struggling with homosexual tendencies and wanted some help. The kid had talked to the guidance counselor at school about it but she told him it was normal!!! What a foolish world we live in! It's not normal at all! I believe the boy was saved, but very confused. Rafael helped clear things up for him.

Wednesday and Thursday we did the same thing. The session was held 3 times each morning. We planned to return Friday, but they were having a sports day instead, so one of the grades didn't get to attend the presentation. We were able to talk with many teens, answer questions, and we discovered a few Christians, some also with problems. One girl talked to us afterward and confessed that she was finding it hard to be separate from the world. We talked to her and shared Bible verses and she left.

Friday afternoon we held a kids club at John's grandmother's house. We had about 7 show up. We played some games, John did a Bible lesson, and the kids colored and had a snack afterwards. We had also invited the teens to come later in the afternoon to have a youth group, but no one showed up, sadly. Rafael had to leave Friday afternoon. That night I led the Bible study in James chapter 2. Saturday morning, John and I returned to Pifo.

Each night we went to the park where there is a volleyball court, a turf soccer field, and a basketball court. The first night we played volleyball with some men that we met there that night. Thursday we played basketball with some other people we met, and Friday we played basketball again with some young people. During those nights we were also able to talk to people about who we are and what we were doing.

It was a really great week full of opportunities and blessings. John plans to continue working in Milagro de Dios and La Concordia as much as he can. The next few weeks will be very busy here with 3 VBS's and Camp, so the work in the coast will have to wait. I was encouraged to hear that at John's grandmother's, his relatives had continued the study of James without us. Pray for their spiritual growth, and pray that the Gospel will be shared in all of La Concordia. Pray also for the spiritual growth of those in Milagro de Dios. Pray for the young people in both areas, that they will seek the Lord first, and be separate from the world. The temptations are strong for them, and it is difficult. Pray also for the spiritual leaders, all over Ecuador. Pray for missionaries, pray that the Lord will send more laborers, and as you pray, be willing to go. Thank you for your prayers.

Luke 10:2