My wife is a 3rd generation missionary, her grandfather is entering 50 years on the mission field, and her parents have been missionaries for 25+ years. Now we are missionaries, raising our kids in a foreign country.
Many things have changed about being a missionary over the years. 50 years ago you came across the globe on a boat. It took an entire month. 20 years ago you got 1 phone call back home once a year because of the cost. Life was much different.
What has changed the context of missionary life more than anything? The internet.
Here’s a list of things not possible for a missionary 10 years ago:
Family Benefits
I can text my mom and dad back in the States 24/7. For free.
I can video chat with my family in the States. On my cell phone. In the car.
My boys know my parents well, because they video chat every week. Did I mention for free?
I can watch anything on TV in the States, in my living room in South East Asia. (slingbox.com)
I can watch live church services from our home church in the States.
I can see pictures of my niece and nephew in the States practically the moment they are taken.
Ministry Benefits
You can watch live videos of our ministry in the Philippines. (RIP “prayer letters”).
After you visit us on a mission trip, you can stay connected to the people you meet here.
I can give a live video report to your church on our ministry activities. For free.
I can manage bank accounts, transfer ministry funds, and exchange money. Instantly. For free.
I can download the latest ministry resources and books straight to my tablet, in under a minute.
No doubt the internet is overused and addictive to some. But for missionaries in the 21st century, I can’t think of a greater thing.
I am currently studying a foreign language that is very foreign to me. As some of you are aware, I live and work in the Philippines as a missionary. One of the languages spoken here is Tagalog (Filipino), and I am studying the language now. Tagalog is heavily based on Spanish – of which I know nothing about. I took 3 years of French in High School and 1 in college. No Spanish. At all.
So, learning Tagalog is proving to be a very difficult thing. But I’ve realized something in the process. To really learn the language, you have to be willing to try to speak it in public situations. And that means being willing to make mistakes. It means being willing to be laughed at (and laugh at yourself). It means being willing to be dumb; admit that you don’t know.
The same applies to our leadership. In order to grow, we must be humble and admit that we don’t know. We must look to others for guidance. We can’t take ourselves too seriously. And we have to admit, to ourselves and others, that in certain areas – we’re dumb.
Once we arrive at that level of clarity, we can being to move forward.
And if you are surrounded with great people, your humbleness will give them a chance to help you – and lead in their own right.
To become a great leader, first be willing to be dumb, and then you can be excellent.
One of the most common analogies the Bible uses to help us understand our relationship with God is a parental one. The Bible teaches that God is our Father.
Now picture your relationship with your earthly dad. What if, for your entire life, you had a brief, one hour meeting with your dad once a week. How well would you know each other? More specifically, how well would you know his mind? Would you know his opinion on issues of life? Would you recognize his voice? Would you know the way he thinks?
Now imagine that you met with your dad once a day, every day, for breakfast. You had long talks about life, family, recreation, and many other topics. Then on the weekends, you got together some more. You spent hours with him then. How well would you know each other after keeping this routine for years?
See the difference?
It’s exactly the same with God. We can be sure God is speaking to us, if we are spending consistent time with Him. We will recognize His voice. We will understand and appreciate His instruction. We will know His opinions. We will be certain it is Him speaking.
And knowing God’s voice will help you as a leader make correct decisions.
As church leaders (lay or “professional”) we are all involved in making disciples. But if you haven’t defined “disciple” how will you know when you’ve done it?
Yes, yes a disciple is “a follower of Christ”. I got that. But what does that look like in your church?
In our ministry, a disciple has the following “qualities” or “accomplishments”:
Profession of Faith
Assurance of Salvation
Baptized by Immersion
Small Group Involvement
Worship Service Involvement
Serving Faithfully
Giving Regularly
We accomplish these qualities in individuals through a variety of different means including classes, mentoring, small groups, and preaching, to name a few. But the point is that we know what the finish line looks like.
What does a disciple look like in your ministry? Comment below on your “qualities”.
As a missionary and a pastor, I juggle many different responsibilities. My tasks can change from day to day, especially when there is a special event or service planned. But normally, 9 out of 10 times, these tasks fall into a certain category of ministry.
Keeping all of these categories straight in my head proved to be impossible. Knowing what to prioritize or how much work was left on a specific project was as hard, or harder, than the work itself.
Thankfully I found a solution.
For the last year I have been using Action Method by Behance to keep my ministry life organized and in sync.
A big stress in ministry is realizing (or being told) that you need to finish a certain task, but having no good way to record that “to do” for later. So you end up emailing yourself, making a note on your phone, or (cringe) writing a reminder on a scrap of paper. No more. Enter Action Method.
With Action Method you can:
Record tasks that you must finish later
Track progress on a specific task or event
Plan your “To Do” list for the day
See a snapshot of work to do, by project or by date
Here’s an example of how I use it:
I’m in a meeting for our church plant, and the discussion ends with the realization that I need to produce a new document for internal staff use. I don’t have time to produce it now, but it needs to be completed and emailed to the staff by next Wednesday . I create an action item in Action Method: “create and email new meeting format guide to staff”. I categorize it as “church plant admin”. Then, next Wednesday morning when I am creating my to do list for the day, I open Action Method and see this task. It’s also color coded, so I immediately know at a glance it’s a church plant item that deserves my full attention. When I’ve completed it, I click the check button and it disappears. Ah, satisfaction.
I use Action Method to tell me what I need to do and when I need to do it. It is my guide for accomplishing my goals – both daily and long range. Without it, I would be less effective, unorganized, and frankly a little frazzled.
What do you use to stay organized? Comment and describe your “to do” process below.
