Overthinking Missions
Confession: I am an over-thinker. Whether a decision at hand involves simply choosing an ice cream flavor or determining where to eat for dinner I “need” to know all the proper input. While knowing all your options can be informative, there is also a reality where simply knowing all the options available bring on a bit of paralysis. The internal question of “how do I know which is the right choice?” materializes often while making decisions. If you’re like me, you may have noticed a good number of para-church organizations, non-profits, and missionaries that make a call to action.
Being a limited individual we obviously are incapable of supporting all good organizations; to be honest, sometimes paralysis by analysis takes over during the call to action. We must not allow paralysis to make indecisions for us. Missions exist because God has called us into His work; therefore, we must join God in supporting missions.
How do we join in this call?
My wife and I have worked with a missionary organization for nearly 20 years. We have relied on the prayers and financial support of faithful partners the last two decades. One reality missionaries face is the loss of 10% annually in their giving. When you have decided to financially support a missionary, keep in mind the faithful impact of the longevity of your giving. When my wife and I meet with new potential partners who have expressed their intent to financially partner with us we always verbalize that if this gift takes away from their church or another missionary we’d prefer them to continue supporting the other. Thus, one significant way to partner with missionaries financially is to commit for the long haul, in faith.
If financial support isn’t an option for you right now there are many other ways to engage in God’s missionary work. Start with your local church. What work are they doing locally, nationally, or internationally? What people are passionate about reaching the Gospel with? What vision does your family have in reaching others with the Gospel? It’s important to ask these questions to help intentionally target people and begin creating that heart of hopeful longevity in supporting a missionary. Praying for missionaries is not a back burner theology or an over spiritualized opportunity of involvement. Praying for God’s mission field is primary and all God’s people should be active in doing so.
On a practical level, you can craft emails, letters, and make phone calls to missionaries anywhere in the world. Talk about missionaries with your family by name, pray for them together as a family, and hang their photo on your fridge or prayer board. While geography is limited in many ways, we have the ability, access, and information needed to push some of that geography down. While prayer support and financial giving are two immediate opportunities for us to be involved with missions we can also be actively praying about ways to visit locations and serve with these organizations. Again, missions exist because God has called us into His work; therefore, we must join God in supporting missions.
Below are a few links to our partners to get more info on how to be involved:
Submitted by: Mikey Conrad