It has been a very exciting time in the life of our home church. Lately, there have been quite a few families and individuals who have been called to the foreign mission field. One of the many ways that our church has wanted to love and care for us has been to have a monthly missions support group. These meetings are made up of people who are either preparing to go, have just returned or are home on HMA (furlough). During this time, we are able to share our fears, frustrations, joys and praises. We pray for each other and our missions committee seeks to encourage us and meet any practical needs we may have. Catherine and I are so very grateful for our missions pastor and his wife who open up their home for these meetings and for our missions committee who love us very well. Good on ya (as they say in Australia) OMPC!
Category Archives: A day in our Life
Friends of Missionaries Who Raise Support
What I Want For Every Support Raising Missionary
4. Don’t be afraid of not knowing what to ask. Asking anything at all, rather than nothing, is encouraging to your missionary friend. Frankly, we’re so rarely asked about what is a huge part of our lives and we will be happy to talk about what God is teaching us and calling us to do, so don’t hesitate to ask what may seem to you to be dumb questions. Simply asking is a way of demonstrating that you care.
5. Continue to invest in your relationship with them, even though you know they will be gone for a long time. Raising financial support can be an alienating and lonely process in many ways. Please don’t pull back: it only makes the prospect of leaving that much more difficult. Missionaries will continue to need you, especially when they are on the field (even if they don’t say as much), and it’s hard to see the separation begin even before they get on a plane.
6. Support your missionary friend financially. Nothing has been more encouraging to us over the past two years than to hear from close friends and family that they have decided to support us, in whatever amount they can. If all you have is an extra five dollars a month, don’t be afraid to send it! Time and time again in Scripture we see that the smaller gift, given with a glad heart, is the gift looked upon with favor. That said, if you aren’t able to support your friend or family member, let them know up front. They won’t be crushed, and you will have actually done everyone a favor by clearing the air.
7. Know your friend’s ministry inside and out. It’s very encouraging for us to have friends and family intimately know the ins and outs of what we’ll be doing in Slovakia. Take the time to read their newsletters, learn the names of people they’re ministering to, give them feedback, and ask them specific questions about what they hope God will do through them on the mission field. Knowing your friend’s ministry well also allows you to be an advocate for them as they are in the support-raising stage.
I’m certain there are other ways that you can think of to help your friends as they endeavor in their efforts. The best way to find out is to ask them. Be intentional in how you develop your relationship with your missionary friends: you have no idea how important this is to us.
Our two years of support raising has been fraught with difficulty, setbacks, disappointments, and hurts. Raising support is not easy by any stretch of the imagination. Though the other side of this difficulty is that we’ve also experienced unexpected joys, continuous confirmation of our call, and affirmation after affirmation to keep working towards our goal of leaving for Slovakia to pursue God’s calling for us there.
Most importantly, we’ve been given a deeper understanding of the gospel and its far-reaching effects in our day-to-day lives as we parent, develop friendships, and preach the same message of gospel grace to ourselves every day.
Missions Conference
Our church’s missions conference wrapped up last night! Exhausted from a busy week, but so very encouraged by the support from our church members. Thank you to our missions committee who worked so hard to make this happen & for giving us so many opportunities to share about the work in Sydney! We love our church!!!