***Disclaimer: The views expressed in this blog are solely Anne's and not MTM's. These are simply her observations and thoughts of this past week.
Oh man...what an amazing week. We attended the World Missions Seminar last Spring and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves. Ben planned on enrolling in MTM to get his Associates in Missions, but we thought he was going to have to do it online because the commute from Pennsylvania wasn't feasible. So, what a blessing to find ourselves just miles away!!! Because of this, and the generous help from many friends, we both were able to attend Module 1 this week. If you are unfamiliar with MTM, it is an essential ministry that exists solely to equip, train, and serve missionaries and sending churches. I am not sure how missionaries go on the field without this training. I have gained so much from them. The education we are receiving is far beyond what you could ever learn from a textbook or manual. I would highly recommend MTM for anyone considering mission work, any missionary on the field, and any sending church. In fact, I think all churches and all Christians should attend! Do I think everyone should be a missionary? No. But I hope after reading this you will see how beneficial attending this could be.
Evangelism
God commands all Christians to go and make disciples of all men. That doesn't mean everyone should be a missionary, but it does mean that everyone is responsible to share Jesus with others. It became clear to me through this training, that we do not equip ourselves to do this effectively. Churches are dying because the people in the pews do not know how to reach the people around them. With some training and encouragement, I think we can change that. We even got to hear from a missionary that worked with engaging and discipling Muslims. He gave us so much valuable information on their culture and beliefs. More importantly, he shared his heart, struggles and joy.
Spiritual Life
Here is an area that I have struggled with for years. I'm not sure how, but I have managed to live my life thus far following Jesus, listening to His call, and doing my best to give everything I am for Him; yet, barely spending any quality alone time with Him outside of church and small groups. I have continually asked for forgiveness for this, but the bold men that shared with us this week really brought light to how dangerous this is. I am now committing to spend at least a half hour each day with him, and leading my children to spend daily quiet time with Him also. This is imperative to maintain and grow our relationship with Jesus and will be even more important once we are on the field. I want to challenge you to join me in this. I know our pastors have told us for years to read our Bibles daily, but it is so much more than that. MTM did a phenomenal job of giving us the hows, whens and whys.
The Call
I thoroughly enjoyed hearing this topic. Ben and I were called last year, but have been struggling lately with the uncertainty of our where. We are praying about Kenya, but we have written God a blank check that He can cash anywhere in the World. (Don't be scared Mom!) We weren't sure if the uncertainty of our where diminished our call, but we got clear validation from Brother Lynn Raburn that it does not! Even more importantly we gained advice on how we can begin to get our call more refined. This was a session that I really wish more pastors would sit in on. We learned what it means to be a missionary, the role of the sending pastor and congregation on our call, and the necessity of the call. I wish churches had a better understanding of their role in the process, and could hear what the missionary needs to be "successful" in the field.
The thing that stands out to me in these trainings, beyond the highest quality of education we receive and the speakers that we hear from, is something I can hardly explain. It is the main reason I wish more people outside missionaries would attend...
The Heart
When you hear from a missionary from the pulpit, you get to hear about his work, his heart for the people he works with, and the challenges he faces. However, when you get him in this setting where he is preparing the missionaries who are coming alongside and behind him, you hear a different heart. I wish this was the heart that he could feel free to share among the churches. The raw, honest, brutality of his experience...The Wounded Missionary. In just about every case, intermingled with the excitement and bold encouragement and practical wisdom is pain. Pain that has been endured for the cause of Christ. Pain that can only be remembered with tears. Pain that can be felt for years after it was first suffered. The kind of pain where you can barely even look at him without feeling a portion of it yourself too. However, even after exposing the hurt, disappointment, fear and struggle each and every man would tell you it was absolutely worth it and he would do it again.
I wish everyone could witness this. It is such a beautiful thing. It gives you a glimpse into the unfairness of expectations and demands that we hold them to. It instantly humbles you and teaches you that mission work is way more then just about the numbers. It sheds light on the fact that the standards we hold them to and the judgements we make have no place in bringing lost people to Jesus. We think we know how it is and how it should be, but we really have no clue.
I have to say that bearing witness to all of this is not easy. That's probably why we don't hear about this from the pulpit. I'm not sure our congregations could handle it. It's much easier to imagine a missionary serving in an exotic location with his family surrounding him in smiles, baptizing new converts in the nearest water supply. Those moments do happen. It isn't all doom and gloom and misery. But for every soul saved, every family changed, a mighty battle had been fought to get there. Please pray for our missionaries. Please don't expect them to change a country in five years or have made progress every single month. Please take every opportunity you can to educate yourself on their behalf. MTM is open to everybody. You won't be sorry for they will bless you richly. If you want to find out more, please visit: http://www.missionarytrainingministry.com/
To close out this post, I just want to brag on God for a bit. He is so good to us. It's challenging to see your future in front of you and know that it won't be all roses and sunshine. I am so grateful to be given a realistic picture and brilliant advice on how to cope. This is one of the reasons I love MTM: they don't sugar coat it, they equip you. They don't just deal with the practicalities of your work, but they deal with your heart. They know that a missionary is more than his vocation. My God is so great that He knew this week would tear at our hearts as we watched grown, strong, men weep. So He sent along some encouragement for us. Phone calls from dear friends checking in on us. Cards and gifts from family members letting us know they are praying. A love offering from a church. Friends that made it possible for me to be away from the kids for several hours each day. Every one of these acts of kindness, was a huge gift basket of encouragement from God! Thank you Jesus for once again showing us you care.
Even Better Equipped, Anne
"Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil." -Ephesians 5:15
