Missions Blog for Churches

Yesterday, Mission to the World (MTW) coordinator, Dr. Paul Kooistra, issued a letter of update and appeal for the long term needs in Haiti. I’ll paste his letter below.

I’m convicted by how quickly this situation fades from my mind. And I get pretty regular doses of it too, not to mention having edited (and am currently working on another) a few video projects. You’d think if anyone could remain mindful and prayerful of the needs in Haiti it would be someone like me. But I don’t. My kids help a lot. They remind me when we pray, all the things I’ve forgotten. And they remind me to pray for Haiti.

Dear Friends,

The crisis in Haiti has now become chronic. There are other big stories to cover, and media attention has dropped away. But orphans still roam the streets, many people are left with disabilities, and much of the population is living under shelters made with sheets and tablecloths. At the same time, life is about to become far more grim with the onset of the rainy season. Few of those who are affected have tents or shelter. The situation is made worse because of the lack of sanitation, which leads inevitably to disease and even greater suffering. Beyond the immediate, much building is needed—homes, schools, hospitals, and basic infrastructure.

The face of suffering is wearying, isn’t it? It is easier than we think to become accustomed to perpetual despair and need.

At MTW, we are preparing for long-term ministry among the Haitian people. While we can’t meet the needs of a nation, we can bring medical care and longer-term assistance to individuals with disabling injuries. We can establish care for orphans through our StreetChild Ministry. We can send short-term teams to help with construction. We believe new churches can be established and existing churches can grow. And we bring with us the greatest treasure of all—the gospel.

We are also hearing reliable reports that there has been an unprecedented surge of spiritual interest among the Haitian people. When the president of Haiti called for three days of fasting and prayer, the nation came to a stop. Most people gathered in their churches—or in the streets—in worship and prayer. Those scenes call to mind the words of Christ from John 4:35 in which He said, “I tell you, open your eyes and look at the fields. They are white unto harvest.” There are many hard places in the world to carry the gospel, but in Haiti hearts are open. The fields are white. We have an unprecedented opportunity to proclaim the gospel in word and deed.

We are asking members of PCA churches to commit to giving toward Haiti recovery for one year. Attached to this message are a brochure and a commitment form that you can print and use if your congregation would like to participate. You’ll see that commitments of any size are welcome, as are one-time gifts. It could be a good project for groups or for families.

Thank you for considering the involvement of your church in this effort. We believe that we, together, have an unprecedented opportunity to serve the people of Haiti and grow the kingdom of God.

In Christ,
Dr. Paul Kooistra

PS: We are also posting the attached brochure and commitment form on our website (www.mtw.org/haiti). There you will also find regular updates and a prayer guide for Haiti. Your prayers are even more important than your gifts.

One of the pastors at Faith PCA in Birmingham, AL, Steve Hood, posted on Facebook today, “Steve Hood is excited that the kids of our church raised $749.01 for Mission to the World Disaster Response in Haiti. And they did so by selling goodies, homemade bookmarks, necklaces, and various other creative means. Way to go kids!!” He later told me that the number had surpassed $800. This is a great idea (and example) of how everyone can get involved to help Haiti, as medical teams continue to treat wounds.

Dear partners in Christ,

Thank you very much for all your prayers and your mobilization behind us in these very difficult times. Since yesterday we have an assessment team of four from Mission to the World, which includes a dentist, a trauma nurse, an engineer and a counselor. Their purpose here is to assess the situation in order to better coordinate their relief effort. I believe this is a very strategy because this looks to the long term. We have gone around the city of Port-au-Prince and we have seen scenes beyond imagination, and we have talked to people and the priority now is a medical team because the injuries are so overwhelming. Please help us financially to support this relief effort and to help continue our ministry here in Haiti.

In Christ,

Esaie Etienne
MTW missionary to Haiti

In a year of financial woes, missions giving has certainly seen the pinch. Although we don’t track and maintain statistical data on how churches handle missions giving, we certainly have a great deal of anecdotal evidence that the churches who use Faith Promise are the ones who have seen increase in giving during a difficult year. Faith Promise isn’t magic, but it does provide the mechanism through which people can be generous when they are led by the Holy Spirit. And so, many of those which use Faith Promise have not had to make cuts in the past year, and some have actually seen increased giving.

For churches that have an established Faith Promise program, here is a great suggestion from Brett Carl, Missions Pastor at Westminster Reformed PCA in Suffolk, VA. This year they are challenging people in their congregation who have not participated in Faith Promise. The challenge is just $10 a week, for a total of $520 a year. You can see their Faith Promise Card here. I like this idea because it gives a reasonable challenge to first-timers, something they can envision. And when you multiply that $520 by the number of new participants, the impact becomes apparent.

Mission to the World is number 377 on The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s top 400 list. The map this link points to is the only free resource you can see from this work. A subscription is otherwise required. Still, it is something of interest and something for which I thank God, that MTW has been able to be such a vehicle for His use for His kingdom.

MTW missionary to Japan, Michael Oh, was the featured missions speaker at the February 2009 Bethlehem Pastors Conference (home of Desiring God Ministries). His sermon title was, Missions as Fasting: The Forsaking of Things Present for the Global Exaltation of Christ. Last month I finally had the chance to listen to the sermon on a road trip to West Virginia. Immediately upon its ending I called my wife saying, “You’ve got to listen to this!” It encouraged and challenged me in so many issues that we are facing.

There are a number of ways you can connect with this sermon: read the manuscript in PDF here, read a synopsis of it here, listen to it here, or watch it here.

In the sermon, Oh gives a cursory definition of fasting, then focuses on how missions involves “doing without” on many levels. One exhortation that sticks with me was his question, “Do I simply want to go to school and study hard so I can get a good job and work hard, so my kids can go to school and study hard so they can get a good job and work hard, so that their children…?”

He also confronts the notion (which I agree is incorrect) that “we’re all missionaries.” The great commission is to all of us, but we are not all called out and sent to minister cross-culturally, giving up our home and stability, depending on the support of others, and subjecting ourselves and our families to the risks and challenges in another country.  There is a unique calling of “missionary.”

There are also some great challenges to consider, personally. I could go on, but you’ll be glad if you just read it, listen to it, or watch it yourself.

In the past year, Faith Promise and giving to missions in general, has been on my radar screen a bit more than usual. This is due mainly to the economic times we find ourselves in, but also partly to my own struggle between a heart for God’s Kingdom and a heart for this world’s stuff.

In grabbing a cup of coffee before SS on a recent Sunday, I noticed on the counter a brochure entitled Giving Through Faith Promise. Our pastor, Chuck DeBardeleben, wrote it some years back, and in reading it I discovered it was one of the best, brief explanations of Faith Promise. I especially appreciated Chuck’s pastoral heart in helping people understand this concept. Click here to view the explanation of Faith Promise.

Remember, when it comes to missions giving that goes beyond the tithe, one explanation and/or exhortation isn’t enough. We have a culture that screams in our faces, every waking moment, “buy stuff to find happiness, contentment, pleasure, etc…” So your people aren’t simply going to find ways after just one sermon to sacrifice so that they can give more throughout the year. You are competing with the world’s message, and they are getting more than a healthy dose of that seven days a week. Continue to encourage and challenge them to look for ways to live differently today, so they can be more generous tomorrow (e.g. How can not eating out tonight enable me to give that $40 to equip a national pastor in India? How can not buying every feature on my next car enable me to give to see another church planter launched? How can my being thrifty with my clothing enable me to give provide medical care than opens the door for the sharing of the Gospel?). Maybe the church can lead the way by example, choosing to do something differently in their daily business, or in building/expansion plans, or some other way so that the church can redirect that money for missions giving. I met with one church who tithed off of their capital campaigns and through that saw entire churches built in other countries. What ideas do you have?

If you have anything like this in your files that you’d like to share with others, please send it my way.

I have not used this software, so I’m not recommending it, other than it is free so it may be worth a spin.

Compu-Books of Glendale, AZ is offering their Church Missions 3.0 software free to Christian churches and Mission organizations. This solution tracks church mission projects with missionary information, contribution records, communication log and reports. They give you a free single-user version – a contribution receipt for the donation is requested in return ($99 value). It’s available for Mac and Windows. Visit their website ‘products’ page to request your free copy.

MTW has issued a minuteman appeal to assist the victims of Cyclone Nargis in Myanmar. Today we hear from our national partner there (an RTS graduate), and expect him to be a key component in our response there. But much prayer is needed.  Pray not only for the survivors as they attempt to recover, but pray that the military-government will relax and let outside agencies in to assist. You can read the appeal online here and find out more about how you can help.

When churches endeavor to begin Faith Promise, they often do not have members who have their own stories of how God grew their faith. So one of the requests I have heard regularly is to have some Faith Promise testimonies that churches could share with their members to both instruct and encourage their people. If you have such a story that you are willing to share, would you send it to us? We will only use first names (and you can change those if you want), and the city and state you are from. This would be a great help to your PCA brothers and sisters across the country. Send these to cr@mtw.org.