In honor of Missions Month, our September posts have highlighted all sorts of ways we can live more missionally. But, there’s one suggestion you’d probably never expect. It begins with this…
I peered loathingly down at my bulging suitcase. After finally getting my extra set of clothes, hairdryer, makeup, and nail care kit to fit in the nooks of my already-full suitcase, I now faced a predicament - just one more pair of shoes. I pounced on my big, red suitcase and managed to manhandle the pair of shoes into an empty pocket of space that miraculously developed after removing my box of Pop-Tarts.
Sitting in a Nicaraguan bathroom with no toilet paper. Staring at a dead digital camera on the breathtaking mountains of Slovenia. Standing in your hotel room with no luggage...
These are all semi-worst case scenarios for the unprepared “mission tripper.” I’ve been on eight short-term mission trips, as well as lived on the mission field for five years with my family. In all those years, I’ve accumulated a system for an effective packing list and some tricks to it all… a knack I developed from the many inconvenient instances I mentioned above! Your suitcase may blow-up like Zaboomafoo’s closet when you open it, but it'll be worth it when you have everything you need.
To make a global impact for Christ, we need ministry partners all over the world. One of our CRBC partners, Crio International, is making a dramatic difference by caring for orphans and building churches in vulnerable communities in Africa. By equipping local church leaders, Crio’s mission is simple: providing hope and sustainable change to the people of Africa. Not only do I love Crio’s ministry strategy, their co-founder, Janice Hesser, is my mom and I can honestly say she has spent her life serving others.
The Lord calls us to be good stewards of our money. In Luke 16, Jesus tells a parable about a master and his money manager. After the manager makes a dishonest deal, the master asks him, “If you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?” The same applies to our lives today. How can the Lord trust us with true riches of this life and the next if we aren’t managing our money in a way that pleases Him?
I was recently asked how we incorporate our children with missions. I didn’t have an immediate response, but as I thought about it, my mind went all the way back a decade and a half to when we became parents. Aside from the obvious question of how we would keep her alive, the actual parenting part weighed heavily on us. How do you raise a child?
One of the things I love most about our church is how we embrace seasons: Advent, Lent, summer camps, and even the launch of new ministries (such as the fantastic Women’s Ministry Launch last week!) September brings with it a new season, Missions Month, and a time for our church to intentionally focus our hearts on the mission and work God has called us to do.
I love sipping a hot beverage in a mug. Anytime of day. Anytime of year. But, I do tend to be picky about what I drink and sometimes I have to drink what I'm offered.
In this their first book together, Rachel Myers and Amanda Bible Williams (authors and ministry partners behind the rapidly expanding She Reads Truth ministry), use the analogy of coffee mugs to represent our present circumstances - a new job, financial strain, singleness, miscarriages and so on. When we look into our cups, Raechel explains, we can easily become “unaware of how temporary our circumstances are. They feel permanent to us. We may not be alone in our burdens, but we feel them pressing down on us just the same.”
