No one talks about this! We should talk about this. Your church, your people, the family members of your missionaries, and the missionaries themselves need to have right and realistic expectations about their accountability, focus, and communication while on the field. It should not be a surprise to anyone that the missionary has a lot of pressure and change to cope with on the field. They also have more expectations of them in accountability, focus, and communication than ever before in their l...
Jun 24, 2022•13 min•Ep. 101
Even before your missionary departs for the field, it's good for you and for them to have realistic expectations for a healthy, pastoral accountability field visit. This episode will help prepare for the wholistic scope of interests for the sending or supporting church field visit.
Jun 17, 2022•17 min•Ep. 100
So, your missionary is fully prepared and qualified. Now what! Celebrate! Give God glory publicly! Invite friends and family and all those supporting your missionary. Send him/her/them well. Also, be aware that de-commissioning is no light matter. Learn how to navigate those reefs and help your missionary, if necessary, understand the gravity and significance of leaving the field. Help them re-acclimate and re-integrate to the home side.
Jun 10, 2022•15 min•Ep. 99
Though it is a challenging topic, it must be discussed with your prospective missionary. It's a good thing for every Christian to think about! Missionaries, though they say they are willing to sacrifice and to suffer for Christ on the mission field, have a very hard time putting into practice the humility and servant spirit required to life in another culture. We all fight against giving up our personal autonomy and independence. Yet, we must do so, under the Lordship of Christ and the constrain...
Jun 03, 2022•15 min•Ep. 98
It's not all classroom work! Missionary candidates need to embrace and be self-motivated to do some research on their target group before they leave for the field. They need to lay a foundation of practical understanding of the Bible, theology, culture, history, language, and more! You can facilitate and encourage them to dig deep. Lastly, the field or vision trip to the target area is a significant capstone of their studies.
May 27, 2022•16 min•Ep. 97
Let's take the mystery out of a training sequence for your candidate. This episode gives an overview of a 40-week curriculum which includes most of the content and experiences you will want to build in to your own curriculum. You won't be able to do all of it in-house; plan on outsourcing or bringing experts in to fill out the course. The capstone is a field visit that exposes your candidate/s to real life on the field.
May 20, 2022•14 min•Ep. 96
Starting the training and development process, we encourage assigning a mentor, or a series of mentors, to the missionary candidate. Begin with an inventory of personal spiritual disciples, discussing in-depth and candidly the major areas of life in which they may need attention, help, counsel, and qualification. The purpose is not to disqualify them. Rather, the intention is to identify areas and concerns in which the mentor and the church can come alongside them to help them qualify for missio...
May 13, 2022•15 min•Ep. 95
Every missionary candidate has a similar sequence of steps in preparation that must be taken to get from HERE, at home, to THERE, on their target field. Every church should know those steps and walk that pathway with them, guiding them along the way. This little book, available on Propempo.com and Amazon, is a great little primer of practical priorities, counsel, and resources to help all those involved.
May 06, 2022•16 min•Ep. 94
Let's demystify the "missionary call." This thing involves both a subjective inner compulsion but also requires the external validation of the local church. How do you go about evaluating it? Take your time. Get to know your candidate well. Remove the most common and obvious barriers to missionary qualification. Walk with them through the preparation process. In the end, it should be apparent to the whole congregation that God has His hand in leading and equipping on them to to the work of missi...
Apr 29, 2022•16 min•Ep. 93
The most important biblical qualification for a missionary is character. The scope of character includes integrity and reputation. Biblical qualifications for church leadership apply to missionaries, as well! It takes time and conscious effort to observe, mentor, examine and evaluate a missionary candidate's character. Don't take short-cuts! These qualifications are great goals for any mature Christian. We can all learn and grow in the process.
Apr 22, 2022•16 min•Ep. 92
Very significant to your missionary training process will be defining some basic concepts which will serve you well. Not only does this work in developing new missionary candidates, but it frees your church leaders to be more discriminating, in a good way, and more focused in all the missions ministries your church supports. Learn how to distinguish priorities in relationship to the church, access to the Gospel, and priorities of ministry.
Apr 15, 2022•15 min•Ep. 91
Discovering a new missionary candidate from your church should be as glorious as finding a new diamond. That diamond may still be "in the rough." But, it is the joy and privilege of the church to cut and polish that diamond specifically for cross-cultural service to the King of Kings. How do you inculcate a local church culture that produces awareness of missions and develops people willing to give their lives to this great Cause of Christ? Listen to this and the following episodes of this serie...
Apr 08, 2022•15 min•Ep. 90
Church-based missionary training is both exciting and scary! Yet, it's nothing to be afraid of. If a church wants to send its own, it should be willing to invest in training them to be as fully prepared as it takes to give them every expectation of being long-term, effective missionaries on their appointed field. You can do this! Stick with us as we walk through Introduction: benefits, basic concepts, and the joy of church-based missionary training, as we begin this series.
Apr 01, 2022•13 min•Ep. 89
OK. Our missionary is ready to be sent out to the field. We're done, right? NOOOO! This is where the true sending church steps up to ongoing responsibility and ownership of the missionary, their ministry, and the goals for which they were sent. It is still a team sport! There is plenty to do in full-orbed support, partnership in several levels, and a heightened sense of shepherding care for them "across the water." Listen and go for it.
Mar 25, 2022•15 min•Ep. 88
Somehow churches freeze when a young person comes back from college or some spiritual experience and announces that they are going to be a missionary. Sometimes they are absolutely confident that they are going to do a particular ministry in a particular place with a particular goal. AND, they expect their church to foot the bill! Wait a minute! The missionary's direction and guidance are a function of the relationship and spiritual oversight of the sending church. Step up and learn how to do th...
Mar 18, 2022•15 min•Ep. 87
So many missionaries dash to the field without a loving check to assure they have the training and qualifications for effective long-term service. They come home dashed to pieces in avoidable attrition. We are passionate about training churches and their candidates to build the right mindset, skills, and expectations to survive and thrive in cross-cultural ministry. Get your church and mission leaders to grasp this essential commitment, for the good of the work and the glory of Christ.
Mar 11, 2022•15 min•Ep. 86
If your church aspires to be a missionary sending church, you don't have to wait for volunteers. Create a culture that expects God to raise up missionaries from your membership. Look for opportunities to challenge and encourage your people to consider vocational missionary ministry. Draft, recruit, join, mentor, call people to give their lives for God's glory on the missions field because Jesus is worth it!
Mar 04, 2022•15 min•Ep. 85
This is #6, the last, of this six-part series on "Missiology You Need to Know." The simple concept is that the means, methods, and tools/resources that the missionary uses must be reproducible by his audience. The content of the teaching and training has to be able to be replicated by the local people. So, don't use things that are inaccessible to them! Find out how they would do things if it were up to them and/or if the missionary wasn't present to do it.
Feb 25, 2022•15 min•Ep. 84
This is a big one because failure to understand and apply these principles has caused a lot of confusion and problems for us on the missions field today. We must continually ask ourselves and our missionaries if the Gospel is clear, biblical conversion is clear, and the key definitions of ministry results are biblical. Let the stumbling block of the Gospel to unbelievers be the message and not the messenger.
Feb 18, 2022•17 min•Ep. 83
Please listen carefully. It may seem like a "no-brainer". However, the missions world is always fighting popular definitions and methods that are primarily driven by pragmatism and sometimes cross the line into twisted beliefs and practices. The traditional biblical definitions of our faith and the traditional methodologies that arise out of steady, relational, and Word-based ministry will always prevail in the long term. We have a right and an obligation to ask the questions and challenge fadis...
Feb 11, 2022•15 min•Ep. 82
It seems embarrassingly simple, yet this principle is one that we even fail to apply appropriately in our ministries here in our home country. It is very significant and necessary for the missionary to point their local people to the Bible as the sole authority for Christian life and practice. God's Word is truth. It is trans-cultural in its application. The missionary must consciously and humbly point to the Scriptures as the source of answers for his people. That implies teaching them how to r...
Feb 04, 2022•15 min•Ep. 81
Somehow this simple, intuitive, and practical principle gets lost in the mix of missionary activity. Yet, it is one of the most important principles for long-term results and indigeneity on the field. The missionary MUST intentionally and systematically reproduce him (or her) self in the ministry. Producing partners rather than dependents is key to fruitfulness. Listen. Pass it on. Ask the questions. And, please support this podcast.
Jan 28, 2022•14 min•Ep. 80
Missiology - what is that? If you have an interest in missions, leadership of missions, or are going into missions, you must know some basic principles of missiology. Sound, biblical principles and practice of missiology will be the lens for your understanding and evaluation of missions ministry. The first one is the first priority: the missionary must make culture and language learning their first priority on the field. It is the foundation upon which all other ministry is built. It is a proces...
Jan 21, 2022•15 min•Ep. 79
The topic of expectations is full of land mines! Somehow we hope that our missionary loved one coming home is going to yield our fulfillment of every our dreams for time together. Think again! Right expectations are going to yield joy and fulfillment. Wrong expectations will yield disastrous results. So, listen and learn. Grow up and take responsibility for embracing good and proper expectations centered on them and not on yourself. You'll make your and their life better in so doing.
Jan 14, 2022•15 min•Ep. 78
This episode is loaded with practical observation and counsel on how to deal with the unique challenges of your loved one serving overseas. Understanding builds empathy and a helpful safety net for both you and your missionary. Learn what those challenges are all about and how we can overcome them with wisdom and prudence.
Jan 07, 2022•15 min•Ep. 77
Every profession has its own set up specialized vocabulary. Missions does too! If you want to relate well to your loved one in missions, learn the glossary of terms they use in their context, their mission organization, their field. It will help you and them a lot! This episode could be viewed as a little quiz on missions terminology. See how well you and your family or friends score :-)
Dec 31, 2021•16 min•Ep. 76
Oh, no! My loved one has moved thousands of miles away. I won't see them very often. What will I do? Hey, this episode of Missions on Point will help you generate helpful and wise patterns of communicating your love and appreciation for their ministry overseas. God has provided wonderful means of communication. There are easy and simple ways to show your care for them. Listen to this and the next episodes in the series to learn more. Tell your friends to listen to Missions on Point, too! :-)...
Dec 24, 2021•16 min•Ep. 75
Help! My family member (or close friend) is a missionary! They're leaving me behind! Sometimes the family left behind can feel betrayed, hurt, jealous, bitter, angry. It's hard to even describe how it feels. The missionary is being obedient to the Lord for His glory and for the sake of the Gospel. How is that a bad thing, especially as a Christian family member? Yet, these heart issues are real. Friends and church leaders should be aware of this battle and come alongside - both in compassion, ac...
Dec 17, 2021•15 min•Ep. 74
This final installment of the four-part series on Missions Funding deals with an oft-misunderstood distinction between "local" and "cross-cultural" missions. The Great Commission does apply to local ministry and outreach; however, the drive of the command and the rest of the New Testament compel us to distinguish between ministries inside the reach or scope of our own church and ministries clearly outside the reach of our church. Practical considerations help us understand this dynamic and equip...
Dec 10, 2021•15 min•Ep. 73
The question addressed in this episode can be troubling. Here we give four key principles to fuel discernment about your choices. Ultimately, we want you to make good decisions, based on what is best for you, for the recipient, for the ministry, and for the long term. Feel free to give us comments and feedback through email: [email protected]
Dec 03, 2021•15 min•Ep. 72
