Missions Blog for Churches

Some 50 Reformed University Fellowship (RUF) students and pastors from across the U.S. traveled to Bay St. Louis, La., in December for a “blitz build,” effectively constructing a house in three days for a family displaced by Hurricane Katrina.

The group, led and trained by MTW staff in partnership with Lagniappe Presbyterian Church, did everything from hauling trusses, building stud walls, and roofing and shingling to installing bathroom fixtures.

“It was really remarkable to see it all come together,” said Doug Mallow, senior project administrator for MTW. “It was a great experience for them and for us.” Click here to read more

The weakening U.S. dollar is having a profound effect on missionaries scattered all over the world.

“It makes things more expensive in their local currency and increases their cost of living,” said Bill Goodman, MTW’s director of field operations. “This problem is widespread throughout the world—it’s not just Europe that is being affected.”

While previous economic changes have caused support shortages for missionaries in the past, the breadth of this problem is unprecedented.

Christianity Today recently reported that “according to the U.S. Center for World Mission, many missionaries are finding their dollars worth 8 to 12 percent less than they expected this year. In Europe, dollars have lost 45 percent of their buying power since 2002.”

MTW recently lowered the amount of support missionaries must raise by decreasing the administrative fee for long-term missionaries and reducing health costs. But those gains are quickly being eroded by the falling value of the dollar. To combat the problem, many missionaries are seeking to raise additional support while still on the field—a difficult task.

“We need to ask for prayer for this situation, that God would supply additional funding,” says Goodman. “And we need to communicate with churches, so that they can be aware of the pressure on our missionaries right now.”

by, Richard Wiman

If you have a heart like Christ’s heart, a heart that longs to see the salvation of sinners from every tribe, tongue, nation, and people group, then Dr. Paul Kooistra’s devotional Faith Promise, should be on your reading list. As Dr. Kooistra points out in the introduction, our heart for Christ is the heart of missionary involvement and giving.

For some, the whole idea of “Faith Promise” may be new. In short, Faith Promise giving for missions is trusting (the faith part) in God’s faithfulness to supply funds (the giving part) above and beyond the tithe, for the purpose of supporting the work of world missions. Click here to read more

by, Jack Beall

What’s your preferred method for planning a trip by car? Over time, I have made the progression from maps to MapQuest (and sometimes back to maps when the printouts were incorrect!) and recently to GPS. I love the freedom that my new GPS provides when I am traveling. And I marvel at how much information my system provides along the way. There is everything from verbal turn-by-turn directions given by a female voice (with a British accent, no less), to speed limit changes as I’m driving (“Beware,” she says), to my estimated time of arrival. Even when the novelty of this new gadget wears off, I suspect I’ll still appreciate the travel guidelines it gives.

As MTW’s Church Resourcing team meets with churches across the denomination, we are finding that there is healthy diversity in how PCA churches generate and allocate resources for missions. Interestingly, there appears to be a widespread and growing appreciation for the GPS-like freedom that individualized, congregation-specific policies provide. Prayerfully- and thoughtfully-discerned mission policies offer help in navigating decisions about important matters like candidate selection and missions partnership participation.

So, how exactly does your church make decisions about whom to support and at what level? For that matter, how do you individually decide those things for yourself? Also, do you support either many broadly scattered missionaries or a few missionaries in specific target locations? What about a plan to involve people from your congregation in expanded missions roles? Click here to read more

by, Bill Hay

In 1988 I had a life-changing experience. I went on my first short-term missions trip to Romania. God used that experience to show me His kingdom throughout the world, and how the church I pastored could be a part of His work. Before this trip I believed in world missions and we supported a few missionaries. But after this trip, I made a commitment to world missions and we increased the number of missionaries we supported.

The 20 years since that first missions trip have been some of the most fulfilling of my life. During this time I have learned a number of things about growing your missions  giving—how to build vision, face today’s unique challenges, and maintain a year-round focus on missions…click here to continue reading this article

If you haven’t been keeping up with the happenings in Kenya, below is a good update by a writer who is living there (posted on WORLD magazine’s blog). We need to be fervent to pray for our brothers and sisters there, for God’s protection and for the spread of the Gospel. Remember especially our MTW national partners, Imbumi and Martha Makuku.

It has been two weeks since The Electoral Commission of Kenya announced the results of the 2007 presidential vote. While the most violent protests have been repressed, Kenya remains under a shroud of tension.

As the opposition party calls for mass action and rallies throughout the country, Kenyans worry… (click here to read more)

I was compelled to include this post from the Desiring God Blog today. In it, John Piper challenges us and gives specific suggestions on how to pray global prayers. It is worth the read and probably worth printing out and including in a church bulletin. Pastor John writes:

May I encourage you to build a global dimension into your daily prayers? “Grant that your name be hallowed. Grant that your kingdom would come. Grant that your will would be done on earth as it is in heaven.” These are global prayers—with personal implications. Both kinds of prayer are good: specific, local, personal prayers, and general, global, sweeping prayers for the church and the nations.

Here is the way I keep the world in my prayers… click here to read the rest of this post.