Category: Missions for Missionary

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Tips For Traveling On Deputation/Furlough For Missionaries

As we are on our second furlough, I wanted to make a list of ideas to help other missionary families as they travel on deputation or furlough.  At this time we have 5 children ages 10, 8, 7, 2 and a 6 week old baby.  Of course you may not use everything on this list, this is just things that we do to make the trip lighter.

  1. Leave with a clean vehicle. A few days earlier clean out the car. Everyone will feel so much better in a clean car.  Of course it won’t stay that way for long. J You can keep a small bottle of Febreeze in the glove box to keep it smelling clean.
  2. Cut the trip in half. Many hours on the road are hard on the whole family. If you have time to travel, try to break up a 9-10 hour traveling day into 2 days.  Or leave very early in the morning so the kids will continue to sleep if you are a morning person and can stay awake on the road.
  3. Use a GPS! Long gone are the days of figuring out a map.  I’m sure this one is a given, but it is worth the investment and you can even use them in the country that you are going to by installing the maps of your country.
  4. Have lots of patience! We have 5 kids so our vehicle is full.   There is not even one empty seat to stretch out into. J  Remember to keep your cool when things get “rough” and they will!  This is usually an indication that it’s time to get out and stretch.
  5. We have a small emergency bag of clothes and toiletries in the car. If a church is less than 3 hours from home, we will usually drive back home after the meeting.  Once we were stranded in a city because of slick roads and had no clean clothes for the following day.  After that I started keeping an emergency bag in the car.
  6. Make a list of things that you need to take so you don’t forget anything important. I keep a list on my I pad and just go over it, as I’m packing.  Some important things that I try to take are:
    • DVDs for the kids
    • Extra car key (in case you lose or get locked out of your car)
    • Wet wipes (great for sticky hands for the little ones), Antibacterial gel,
    • Thank you notes (to leave at prophets chamber, in homes you stay in or if someone gives you a gift)
    • Small recipient of Dish soap for washing out no-spill cups and bottles in hotel rooms
  7. Plan your trip ahead so you can call and find a Prophet’s Chamber instead of spending tons of money on hotels along the way. There is a list here: http://www.mwbm.org/images/propetschambers2006.pdf

Continue reading “Tips For Traveling On Deputation/Furlough For Missionaries”

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Ten Suggestions To More Effective Missionary Display Booths

SOURCE: By Butch Oglesby (Many of the suggestions in this article are
based on the book, “How To Get The Most Out of Trade Shows”, by Steve
Miller.) 31 Oct 2003

One of the many tasks of a furloughing missionary is to inform his or her stateside constituents about the work that God is doing where the missionary is serving. We do this not just to inform, but to encourage interest in and support for missions. Even those of us who serve in denominations that do not require us to raise our own support must encourage our supporters to pray for us and the people we are trying to reach. Naturally, we want them to become excited about missions and support our work financially, either directly or indirectly.

Speaking at churches and mission conferences is most often the venue for missionaries, and we are expected to have some sort of display and even dress in our national costume. Often these mission conferences take on the
feel of a trade fair. In fact they may best be thought of as missions fairs. In order to be as effective as we can possibly be it would be good for us to remember some simple and basic rules about one’s mission exhibit. Below a few suggestions and the dos and don’ts of manning your missionary display.

1. Make your display area open. People do not like to walk into a booth where they feel trapped. If you have a table, move it to the rear of the booth so the area feels open and inviting. Don’t be a border guard. That is, don’t stand in the way of your display.

2. Have as much interactivity as possible. If you have a laptop computer you can produce a continuous slide show in Power Point or other programs to encourage visitors to pause a few moments at your booth. People love to touch things; simple games from your country are always attention-getters.

3. Keep your exhibit area neat. People will move things and generally clutter your table. From time-to-time straighten up the clutter. If you have equipment or extra material you are not using at the moment, try to find an out-of-the-way place to store it where it is not visible.

4. Give something away: brochures, fact sheets, pencils, candy from your country; the list goes on. However, don’t give brochures to everyone. They are expensive, and research shows that 90% of them are thrown away before
the recipient reaches home. One researcher says that the average time spent reading a brochure is 1.3 seconds. So, be selective about giving away your slick, four-color brochures.

5. Don’t sit or read in your booth. This gives the impression you really don’t want to be bothered or that you are “off duty.” People will pass you by if you give them any reason to do so.

6. Don’t eat or drink at your booth. It is rude and messy; people are polite and will not bother you while you are eating.

7. Don’t chew gum or suck breath mints. It is not pleasant to talk to someone who has something in their mouth. If you feel you need a breath freshener, use a spray.

8. Don’t ignore those who wander into your booth. If you are busy with someone else, at least acknowledge the person or draw him or her into the conversation.

9. Don’t spend your time visiting with the other missionaries. You do not want to look too busy to spend time with a potential prayer warrior!

10. Wear your badge properly. It may seem more cool to wear it on your sleeve or waistband, but if you want people to read it, then it should be placed on your shirt or jacket wear it can be easily and quickly read.

These are only a few suggestions, but following them will help you stand out and be effective. After all, you want to give your people group the best representation possible.

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Survey Trip Check List

 

Name  __________________________________ Country ____________________________

Date of Trip _____________________________

Cities Visited: _________________________________________________________________

Living Expenses:

What is available to rent?  ______________________________________________________

What is the cost of an apartment? _____________ a house? ___________________________

Other? ______________________________________________________________________

What is the cost for utilities? Electricity? _______________ Water? _____________________________ Is the current 220 or 110?

Telephone? ____________________ Gas for house? ____________ Propane, Natural, Gas

bottles? What will set up cost be for the bottles etc.? ____________________ Continue reading “Survey Trip Check List”

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Missionary Racism

Court cases, marches, protests, books, movies, and much more reveal how racist the world and society in which we live can really be. But sadly there is another kind of racism that exists, one we do not hear much about: missionary racism. This article is not intended to slam anyone and definitely not to make anyone think less of missions, rather its purpose is to help the missionary and missionary sender avoid racism.

Here are a few attitudes that show “racism” in the area of missions: Continue reading “Missionary Racism”

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Major Mistakes of a Missionary

  1. Going with a pastor mentality instead of a missionary or world evangelist mentality. That attitude means starting a church, pastoring the church, and developing it until we are proud of it.
  • Doing things that nationals cannot reproduce. Money that we invest, materials that we have
  • Not training nationals to do the job
  • Not trusting the nationals
  • Never developing a strategic plan to reach the city and country. (doing a piece meal work, no plan, no goals)
  • Turning our work over to a missionary instead of a national worker that we have trained
  • Getting a defeatist attitude (it won’t work here)

Continue reading “Major Mistakes of a Missionary”

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King Makers – Part 2 of 2

Part 2 of 2 -. Barnabus

Barnabus sought out people to make them leaders. Paul and John Mark are the two examples we are going to use as we see how Barnabus helped them.

If we are going to be a king maker, there are a few things from Barnabus’ life that we must do:

  1. You Have to Take a Risk

Persecution has hit and everyone had left Jerusalem except for the apostles.

If you are going to make kings, you must be willing to take a risk. You might not be sure if a person will turn out good, but you must be willing to take a risk. If one fails, you must still be willing to take a risk with helping someone else.

  1. You must Have a Good Eye and a Glad Heart

Acts 11:23 says that when he saw the grace of God he was glad.

The person that is going to be a king maker needs to constantly be watching for potential people and when that person does a good job, rejoice and be glad for them, not jealous of them.

  1. You Have to be Humble and Self-less

After Barnabus finds Saul, the next four times the Scripture says “Barnabus and Saul”, but soon it begins to say “Barnabus and Saul” and in Acts 13:9, 13, Barnubus is not even mentioned. As Barnabus, you must be humble and selfless to be a king maker. Barnabus didn’t get mad and say, “I’m going home”.

If you are going to build leaders on the field, you must be willing to take the back seat. Barnabus didn’t leave but let Paul lead… and so must every king maker do.

  1. You Have to be Patient with the Failures of Others

After John Mark, the nephew of Barnabus, turned back from the missionary journey and when Paul says let’s go, Barnabus again wants to take John Mark (Acts 15:36-40). Paul was against taking John Mark but Barnabus was patient with him and took him under the same wing that he previously did Paul. The same love that Barnabus had with Paul that has become a success, he now has with John Mark who is currently a failure. Later, in II Timothy 4:11, Paul requests that John Mark returns and says “he is profitable to me for the ministry”. The same Barnabus that helped form Paul into a success has repeated the same procedure with John Mark… with much patience. And everyone who wants to be a king maker must learn to be patient!

  1. You Have to be Free from Materialism

In Acts 4:34-36, we see that Barnabus owned property but sold it and gave the money to God’s work. It was very evident that he was dead to materialism and that God’s work was more important to him than material possessions. He was free of materialism, they made no difference to him. It is apparent that he was more interested in building leaders than owning or obtaining possessions.

In I Corinthians 9:19, 23, Paul says that he has right to have a salary, money, but that was not important to him.

You don’t go to the mission field or work in the ministry because of conveniences. All we do is for the Gospel’s sake. We may have the right to have or do things, but remember we do what we do for the Gospel’s sake. If your are going to be a king leader and prepare leaders, you must forget about materialism and do all you do for the Gospel’s sake.

Here to Serve,

Jeff Bush

General Director of Vision Baptist Missions

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King Makers – Part 1 of 2

Part 1 of 2 – Jonathan

Think about the two characters presented in this passage: Jonathan and David. Jonathan is the son of a king, but David is a son of a shepherd boy. Jonathan was respected by everyone, David was ridiculed by his own brothers. And yet it is Jonathan that makes a covenant with David.  In I Samuel 18:4, Jonathan took off his robe and placed it on David.  Jonathan knew that David was the next king. He might not have known how, but he knew David was going to be the next king… but he still took off his robe and gave it to David. By giving his robe to David, he is revering and respecting David. Jonathan took off his own authority and chance of being next in line for king and gave it to David.

In the same way, the missionary is to work with the people on his field. The missionary is the one who feels called, raised his money to get to the field, prepared and prayed, yet his responsibility is not be the “hope” for his country but put others in the spotlight. The missionary is not a king, he is a king-maker. The missionary is to take off his robe of prestige or importance and give it to others who will be known for being a great preacher, soul-winner, counselor and man of God.  The missionary is to take off our authority and to give it to others.

Jonathan first gave David the robe, but he followed up by giving him the garments: the sword, bow and girdle – everything he needed to be a king.

The missionary is to take off his robe and give it to the national pastor (the authority), but the missionary also is needs to give him everything else the pastor or leader needs to be a good pastor and leader. The missionary is not to just say, “he’s the pastor”, but to help him be a successful pastor and have all the material and tools needed to be the best possible. The missionary is to step aside and lower himself just as Jonathan did to David.

To step aside is probably the hardest thing to do as a missionary, but it is what needs to be done. Remember that a missionary must understand that he is not a king rather a king maker! Everyone likes to be noticed but we must remember that its not about us, it’s about our King, the King of kings. Our arrogance doesn’t want to say that someone else can do it better than we can, but a missionary must understand that in order to have a Biblical as well as flourishing ministry, he must step aside. A missionary must understand that he is not a king rather a king maker!

Here to Serve,

Jeff Bush

General Director of Vision Baptist Missions

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Great Opportunities on Deputation

Deputation is the time where a missionary (in the Independent Baptist Churches) travels to churches seeking to raise support in order to get to the field he/she believes the Lord has called them to. When my wife and I were on deputation, I remember many people that had a negative attitude towards deputation, but for us it was a wonderful experience and we learned a lot. Sure there are challenges, like everything in life, but the overall time of deputation is actually a wonderful experience to be taken advantage of… so allow me to share a few short ideas of how to take advantage of the great opportunities while on deputation. Continue reading “Great Opportunities on Deputation”