Archive for missionary

Feb
1

Jeff Iorg: Live Like a Missionary

by newhope

Are you frustrated by your ineffectiveness in sharing the gospel and winning people to Jesus Christ? You have tried new approaches to witnessing—which work for a short time but then become stale. You need a lifestyle adjustment—not a clever new method—that will connect you with spiritual power for witnessing and meaningful relationships through which your witness can flow.

Live Like a Missionary challenges readers to adjust their lifestyles to implement missionary principles in everyday settings, thus increasing their effectiveness at reaching people for Jesus Christ. You live on a missions field. It’s time you started living like a missionary!

Jeff Iorg is the president of Golden Gate Baptist Theological Seminary. Prior to his service at the seminary, Iorg was the executive director of the Northwest Baptist Convention for almost ten years. Jeff is a graduate of Hardin Simmons University (BA), Midwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (MDiv) and Southwestern Baptist Theological Seminary (DMin). He and his wife, Ann, have three adult children.

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0 Categories : Podcast
Dec
23

Christmas Eve in the Jungle: A Missionary Wishes for Home

by newhope

This story has been excerpted from Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?: Untangling Expectations and Truly Experiencing Jesus.

by Brenda Poinsett

When Bernie was a missionary pilot, flying Bible translators for the Jungle Aviation and Radio Service in Peru, he and his wife Nancy were nostalgic for Christmas back home in Pennsylvania. It was their third Christmas away from home, but their 3 boys were excited as Christmas approached. To the boys, Peru was home. And the air around the mission center, with more than 300 translators and support personnel, was festive.

The week before Christmas, Bernie’s flight coordinator asked him to make an emergency flight to the Maranon River basin, carrying medical supplies to an Indian tribe where there had been an epidemic. He scheduled Bernie to return to Nancy and the boys on the evening of December 23.

Bernie made the 5-hour flight without incident. The old Aeronca plane with its bulky pontoons droned through the scattered clouds and safely landed on the river near the Indian village. He planned to spend the night at the village, sleeping in a jungle lean-to between two palm trees, and depart the next morning for home.

During the night, however, he heard rain splattering on the thatch roof over his head. When he awoke in the morning the entire river basin was covered with fog and rain. There would be no flying that day.

It rained all day and through the next night. Christmas Eve was the same. The clouds were down to the tops of the trees. The rain fell steadily.

In the Wrong Place?

Bernie slipped on a poncho and trudged through the village down to the river’s edge. The plane was tied against the bank, rocking gently on the rain-splattered water. He crawled out on a pontoon and sat under the wing, feeling desperately sorry for himself.

It was Christmas Eve, and the night was descending on the jungle. He knew there was no way he could get back home.

Back in Pennsylvania, his folks would have returned from church and his mother would be getting the turkey ready. Outside, the snow would be falling. The big tree, with the star on top, would be standing as always in its corner.

Back at the mission center, 6 hours away, Nancy and the boys would be sitting at home alone. They knew that he was stuck in the jungle because he had been able to radio them. He would not be with family for Christmas.

“Oh, God,” he moaned, “I’m in the wrong place.”

More than anything else he wanted to be home for Christmas.

Instead, he sloshed his way back to his hut in the little village. He shared some yucca with a couple of Indian children, and read them the Christmas story out of the Bible, doing his best to translate it so they could understand.

A Radical New Perspective

That night, under his mosquito net, Bernie had a visitation from God—a midnight clear moment like the shepherds experienced on the hills outside ofBethlehem. There were no angels, and no bright light, but the clarity was there, and so was a voice.

As he lay in his hammock, desperately homesick, he heard God say: “My son, this is what Christmas is all about. Jesus left heaven and on Christmas morning He woke up in the ‘wrong place’—a stable in Bethlehem. Christmas means leaving home, not going home. My only begotten Son did not come home for Christmas—He left His home to be with you.”

Bernie opened his eyes. Overhead, through the mosquito net, he could see the brown palm-thatch leaves that formed the ceiling of the lean-to. Beneath him was the hard-packed dirt floor. All around was the sound of gently falling rain.

But out there in the darkness were men and women, boys and girls, tiny babies—all part of the Indian tribe. He was there, away from home Christmas Eve, because Jesus left his home on Christmas. Bernie was there because Jesus said, “As my Father hath sent me, even so send I you.” (John 20:21 KJV)

During the night the rain stopped. On Christmas Day Bernie was able to take off from the river and by nightfall he was back with his loved ones. He went back knowing in an indelible way that Christmas is God’s ultimate missionary outreach. In the wrong place for Christmas, a silent night turned into a holy night.

Brenda Poinsett is the author of Can Martha Have a Mary Christmas?, The Friendship Factor, and Wonder Women of the Bible. Passionate about sharing knowledge that changes lives, she organizes retreats on topics such as women in the Bible, spiritual transformation, and dealing with emotions. Brenda and her husband, Bob, have 3 grown sons and reside in Union, Missouri.

0 Categories : Articles
Dec
21

Bringing the Light of Christmas to Japan

by newhope

This is the 13th in a series of articles from New Hope authors this month on the theme Celebrating Christmas in a World of Need.

by Kimberly Sowell

It looked like the twinkling landscape of any major American city square readied for Christmas. But we were far from home. We were in Japan.

I was standing on a corner of Fukuoka with my daughter, a friend and her daughter, and our male teammate as we beckoned people to come talk with us about the true meaning of Christmas. The dazzling display of Christmas lights was breathtaking, but those lightbulbs seemed dim in comparison to the light of Christ that was shining through my daughter. I stood back with tears in my eyes as my 9-year-old told a woman that Jesus is the King of kings and He means everything to her. She was sharing Jesus with a world in need.

God at Work

This was a missions trip like no other. Our method for spreading the good news was to work with our resident missionary to share the gospel on the city streets and to do several Christmas parties around the city. God opened the door for 10 Christmas parties, and God brought more than 300 moms, children, senior citizens, and college students to hear the true meaning of Christmas and the story of why Jesus came.

One woman said, “I saw a picture of Jesus dying on the Cross, and it always made me feel sad. But now I know that Jesus came to save the whole world.” Wow!

Another woman came to a party and asked if she could come again the next day; the story of Jesus impressed her and she wanted to hear it again. One lady asked about prayer, another person asked to hear a testimony . . . God was at work.

At Christmas and throughout the year, the world needs to hear that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world (1 John 4:14). How will God use you? Share that Christmas cheer!

Editor’s note: You also may be interested in listening to a podcast next week with Kimberly on the subject of world evangelization. Scheduled to be posted on December 29, 2011.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries. She is also a regular voice on New Hope Digital. Her most recent works include Soul Shaping, Women of the Covenant, and A Passion for Purpose.

1 Categories : Articles
Sep
8

Where Missional Discipleship Began

by newhope

Jesus went through cities and villages proclaiming and bringing the good news of the kingdom of God. He sat on rocks, walked up hills, sailed on boats, visited in homes, worshiped in synagogues, and traveled through wheat fields. He didn’t avoid the hard places, those where He was hated or misunderstood. He wasn’t fearful of the unknown. He didn’t hesitate to step off the beaten path or walk through the fruitful fields. With His heart overflowing with love for His Father and a burning urgency to accomplish His Father’s mission, He led the way to Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and even the farthest reaches of the world.

Jesus didn’t go alone. He took His disciples. He took some women whose lives he had redeemed. He took many others who contributed to His ministry. It’s hard for me to imagine this large contingency of people who left their homes to travel with a radical itinerant preacher. Yet, those of us who know Jesus realize He fed their hunger for truth and satisfied their thirst for righteousness.

Jesus could have traveled alone, or with a small select group. The large crowd who went with Him wasn’t accidental. Jesus’ plan was the intentional missional discipling of these men and women. He was equipping them to live in the same way He lived. They heard Him, watched Him, and then helped Him. They learned for themselves this radical new lifestyle.

To understand missional discipleship in today’s world I encourage you to read two new books: Live Sent by Jason Dukes and  Live Like a Missionary by Jeff Iorg. You, too, can live for God’s mission.

0 Categories : Blog
Aug
24

NFL Vet Has a Heart for Missions

by newhope

by Greg Singleton

Whew! That was close! Just about the time we thought there might not be an NFL season this year, the owners and players’ association got down to business and came to a working agreement. There will be pro football in 2011.

Most of us fans were relieved, but we were also a bit disgusted by the whole fiasco. Billionaire owners quibbling with millionaire players about money matters seemed so greedy and selfish, especially in these financially difficult days. The scene left a bitter taste in some mouths. Perhaps you’re wondering if there are any decent people associated with the entire league.

While my wife, Martha, and I were writing our newest book, we found at least one (and there are certainly more). Samkon Gado is a powerful running back and 5-year veteran of NFL battles. We tell his story in Let It Shine!: Partnering with God to Raise World Changers, just released by New Hope Publishers.

Samkon was born in Nigeria. His parents, Jeremiah and Grace Gado, were second-generation evangelists and missionaries to Nigeria and surrounding African nations. Jeremiah made a visionary decision to move his family to the United States where he could further his education and share his heart for the people of Africa with missions-minded churches and organizations. So the family left their beloved homeland for South Carolina.

Nine-year-old Samkon adjusted quickly to his new home. He was an excellent student and his outgoing personality won him many friends. And then there was football. The only thing Samkon had known about the popular American sport was that “the ball was shaped funny.” But he soon discovered that he loved the game, and he was very good at it.

After an outstanding career in high school, Samkon played college football at Liberty University. Then, the door opened for him to play professional football. It wasn’t Samkon’s plan. He knew that, several years before, God had called him to become a medical missionary back in Nigeria.

“I’ve learned,” he said, “that God places these desires in my heart—for football, for medicine, for missions—and it’s for His purposes, not mine. I understand that wanting these things is not selfish as long as they’re in their rightful place.”

Green Bay (2005–6). . . Houston (2006–7). . . Miami (2007). . . St. Louis (2008–9). Whenever a team’s running back corps has been depleted by injuries or incompetence, they’ve looked to the durable Gado to provide depth. He’s played in 41 NFL games and amassed 972 yards in his career. Most recently, in 2010, he was signed by the Tennessee Titans but was released before the regular season began. For most athletes, this NFL rollercoaster ride would be frustrating, but Samkon understands his role.

“I’ve known for many years that God wanted me to be a missionary,” Samkon said. “I remember praying that He would send me somewhere that was very difficult, where the people I was around really needed to hear the gospel. I had no idea that God would answer my prayer by sending me to the National Football League.”

As this 2011 season begins, Samkon is back in South Carolina, waiting. He’s waiting to discover God’s next mission. It may come in another phone call from a team desperate for a running back, or the doors may open for him to enroll in medical school (as he’s already passed the MCAT). Either way, he’ll be salt and light in a dark world.

“I’ll just wait and let God unfold it for me one piece at a time,” Samkon has told us. His desire continues to be to minister as a doctor to the people of Africa.

Samkon Gado is changing his world. From the locker rooms of the NFL to makeshift hospitals in remote Nigerian villages (where he recently visited), he selflessly reaches out to others. His heart is broken for those who need Jesus.

For more on Samkon Gado and other stories about world changers, read Let It Shine! by Greg and Martha Singleton. They have, for more than 30 years, met the challenges of balancing successful professional careers in journalism and marketing while raising a faith-filled family (a son, Matt, and a daughter, Annie). Together, they creatively share their experiences and insights on family life at conferences, seminars, workshops, churches of various denominations, schools, and businesses. They live in San Antonio, Texas.

 

 

1 Categories : Articles, Columns, Singletons
Jul
8

Kelly King: Fighting Human Trafficking in Her Town

by newhope

Kelly King discusses the fight against human trafficking in Oklahoma, as well as her (positive) reactions to the message of Jeff Iorg, “Live Like a Missionary.” King is on the board of Oklahomans Against the Trafficking of Humans (O.A.T.H.) She is also women’s missions and ministries specialist with the Baptist General Convention of Oklahoma. Recommended resource on human trafficking in the US and abroad: Not in My Town by Charles Powell and Dillon Burroughs.

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2 Categories : Podcast
Jul
5

Want a Burger with Those Fries?

by newhope

By Mark L. Russell

In 1993, my brother served for about a year as a missionary at a Baptist hospital in Asunción, Paraguay. During his year there, I visited with him and completed a study abroad program. Through this opportunity I was able to meet several missionaries.

One day I asked what types of jobs one could have as a missionary. At the time I knew missionaries who were serving in the hospital and others who were preachers and teachers, but I didn’t know of anything else. I remember distinctly a missionary responding, “Well, you can be a doctor, a preacher or a seminary teacher.”

Apparently those were the only opportunities open to missionaries back then. Or maybe they were the only 3 positions considered worthy of “missionary” status. I have come to vehemently disagree with this kind of narrow thinking, which has been perpetuated for decades. God calls each of us to be missionaries wherever we are.

Being a missionary simply means you are on a mission to love God and neighbor, and that mission is not reserved for people with divinity degrees or special ordination; it is something God calls all of us to do. I am not trying to minimize the importance of missionaries who serve cross-culturally, often in pioneer contexts overseas, but I am asserting that God calls all believers to a missionary lifestyle.

Businesspeople all over the US and the world are starting to realize that they too are called to be missionaries through their businesses. I hope the younger generations will take hold of this concept and serve Him passionately in a variety of professions.

One shining example is my good friend, Blake Lingle, owner of the Boise Fry Company. His restaurant is a good one but beyond the fact that he runs a popular and much loved community establishment, Blake has gone the extra mile and lives as a missionary through the various aspects of his business.

The Boise Fry Company is focused on creating great French fries and with those fries people can have burgers on the side. Burgers and fries don’t have a reputation as health foods, but, determined to make a difference, Blake insists that Boise’s fries be made only with peanut oil.

No other ingredients—just potatoes and peanut oil. Most other fast-food fries are likely to contain ingredients such as partially hydrogenated oils, wheat and milk derivatives, preservatives, antifoaming agents, dextrose, and salt. Blake tells me he made this decision in light of the mandate to love his neighbor.

Another way that Blake loves his neighbors is by intentionally employing disadvantaged refugees, giving them a hand up as they rebuild their lives. He seeks to create an environment in which all of his employees feel loved and learn to treat one another as they would like to be treated.

In addition, the restaurant seeks to use and purchase organic, sustainable, and biodegradable products. (The hospitality industry has historically been a big polluter.)

The sum total of these efforts is that Blake is a functional missionary in the business community. He’s making a social and spiritual impact while still running a successful enterprise. Boise Fry Company was recently named as the restaurant with America’s Best Fries by the Food Network.

Mark Russell is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has lived in Russia, Chile, and Germany, and has traveled to more than 70 countries to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. He is the author of The Missional Entrepreneur.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Mark Russell
Jun
29

International Business Equals Gospel Opportunity

by newhope

by Mark L. Russell

For most people, the word missionary implies living in another culture. I have spent a great deal of time overseas, traveling to more than 70 countries. Totaling my travel time and years spent living in Russia, Germany, and Chile, I have 10 years of international experience (about a quarter of my life so far). Nevertheless, I have also spent a lot of my energies arguing that the essence of being a missionary is living in God’s mission wherever you are.

I do believe God calls us all to be missionaries, but God does call some of us to spend some time overseas living cross-culturally. That could be for a couple of years or maybe even for a lifetime. Increasingly, people from a business background are being called to live overseas and utilize their unique business calling and background to make an impact for the kingdom of God.

One businessman whom I know sensed a call to go to a country in a part of the world very hostile to the gospel of Christ. He started working for a telecom company owned and operated by a famous individual from the region. This man is internationally known to be hostile to the gospel.

My friend worked within the company to build trust and develop friendships. In the context of these relationships he began to expose colleagues to views on God and life that they had never before considered.

Several years ago, before most Americans were really catching on, my friend realized that Twitter could be a useful tool for mobilizing people, even in this hostile country. As a result, he worked through his colleagues and his company to educate citizens on the use of social media and how it could be used to communicate with others in short bits. 

While my friend is first and foremost a citizen of the kingdom of God, he has equipped the people of the country where he now lives with tools to express themselves in a context where freedom of speech is violently stifled. Freedom of speech leads to freedom of religion.

Most American Christians don’t realize or grasp the fact that millions of people in many parts of the world are denied free access to hearing the gospel. They have no opportunity to respond to Christ. Throughout many regions, people are given one view of god/gods/God and life, and then are forced to accept it. No alternative ideas are tolerated.

Like a medicine slowly working its way through the veins of a body, so my friend’s strategy is slowly working its way through a country in desperate need of freedom. Let’s pray for the eternal healing of Jesus Christ to follow.

Mark Russell is a widely respected voice in the missional community. He has traveled extensively to carry out a variety of business, educational, humanitarian, and religious projects. He is the author of The Missional Entrepreneur.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Mark Russell
Jun
27

Jeff Iorg: Praying Aligned with God’s Mission

by newhope

Author and seminary president Dr. Jeff Iorg shares how we can assume responsibility for praying strategically and specifically for missional advance.

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0 Categories : Podcast
Jun
22

Step-by-step Missional Parenting

by newhope

by Kimberly Sowell

When my son was 10 months old, I helped him learn to walk. I talked about it with him, modeled the skill before him, and held his hands to guide him through the process. It was an age-appropriate skill that he needed to master.

When my son became a toddler, I turned my attention to helping him eat with a spoon. I talked about it, modeled my spoon skills, and held his hand in mine as we wielded the spoon in the direction of his mouth. It took a lot of paper towels and gobs of stain remover for both of our clothes, but it was time; he needed to master a spoon, and I guided him through the process.

It’s a basic strategy of parenting. We decide what our children need to learn, and then we talk about it, model it, and train them in that skill by providing them with real-life experiences. We introduce these skills and values to them at age-appropriate stages of life, knowing that what we emphasize to our children today shapes their skills and priorities for tomorrow.

As Christian parents, we’re training our children to be followers of Christ, and we joyfully usher them to the next stages of discipleship as they grow and mature. Our challenge as parents is to give training, as age appropriate, in every aspect of what it means to be a follower of Christ—including learning about cross-cultural missions and living like a missionary in any context.

Perhaps we hesitate as parents because missions is an act of surrender and sacrifice; exactly when are our children ready for missions? When is it age-appropriate to expect them to deny themselves, pick up a cross, and follow Jesus (Mark 8:34)? The greater realization is that they’ll never be ready if they see us shielding them from sacrifice, but they’ll embrace missions as a lifestyle if we’re talking about it, modeling it, and guiding them through the process.

What can missional parenting look like at each stage of a child’s life?

Preschoolers. Allow your preschooler to give of his possessions—toys, coins, or clothing—and take him with you to deliver the donations; encourage donations that require sacrifice from your preschooler. Ask your child to pray with you by name for people who need Jesus.

Children. Shop with your children to fill a soldier’s care package, then ask them to write a letter of encouragement and witness to the soldier, using Scripture in the letter. Ask your children about their classmates’ spiritual needs, and encourage them to pray for boldness to reach their classmates for Christ. Discover your child’s heartbeat for missional living and take a family missions trip to serve together in that way—feeding the hungry, helping the homeless, distributing Bibles, etc.

Teens. Make God’s will the center of every conversation about your teen’s future. Instead of the make-up-your-mind speech or heavy talk about money and financial security, continually encourage your teen to stay surrendered to God’s will. Then, give your teen the freedom to delve into missions, trusting God with your child. Challenge your teen to give of his resources, more sacrificially as his resources gradually increase.

Living on mission for Christ is not out of reach for even the youngest child when we as parents break down this act of worship into its basic elements. Missions is about Christ-like compassion put into action, seasoned with truth and wrapped in love. Your children can embrace it as you lead one missional parenting step at a time.

Kimberly Sowell is founder and president of Kingdom Heart Ministries, dedicated to inspiring women to make their relationship with Jesus Christ the center of who they are and how they live each moment—growing in Christ and sharing their faith with the world. She and her husband, Kevin, along with their children, make their home in Lancaster, South Carolina. Contact Kimberly at ksowell@comporium.net; www.kimberlysowell.com.

0 Categories : Articles, Columns, Kimberly Sowell
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