Raising funds for your salary is often a necessity in ministry work. However, we must not forget that support raising, although necessary, is as much a spiritual work as serving at your church, praying fervently, or reading your Bible. These all take a little bit of discipline and a lot of the Holy Spirit. Each of these gives us the greatest joy when done with the right heart, but can quickly spiral into legalism and shame if we are not careful.
Everyone has a place and role in the Great Commission. God wants to use you for beautiful things! Here are some things you can do right now to start reaching the nations whoever you are, wherever you are.
What works against you in grasping Christ's love for you? When I think about this question, my answers create a long list, sadly. My sin, fear of rejection, not being good enough, not being faithful enough, being a burden, seeing and experiencing broken relationships, feelings of shame.
During my time with Cafe 1040 in Europe, our group navigated the city through a "buddy system," ensuring no one ventured out alone. When a teammate sought a companion for a rendezvous with a girl she had met at a local Korean Festival, I volunteered without hesitation, completely unaware of what God would do from this encounter.
During my time with Cafe 1040 in Europe, our group navigated the city through a "buddy system," ensuring no one ventured out alone. When a teammate sought a companion for a rendezvous with a girl she had met at a local Korean Festival, I volunteered without hesitation, completely unaware of what God would do from this encounter.
Home Stays are one of the most powerful tools our program offers to cultivate a love for Muslims in the hearts of our students. There is an amazing transformation that takes place in your heart when you are given the incredible gift of hospitality at the hands of people most often described in our media as terrorists. The hospitality of this culture is indescribable.
In this episode of the Global Mission Podcast, a Cafe 1040 mobilizer is invited to discuss ways to help strengthen and equip your local church as it engages in global missions efforts.
Setting down my chopsticks after yet another dinner of chicken and rice, I looked up to see three rough, wrinkled fingers waving in my face. “Three… three”, she says in her best English. Although we couldn’t communicate verbally, I knew what she meant. She was planning for me and my team to wake up at 3:00 a.m. to go fishing with her family, a daily routine for most people in this remote fishing village. She seemed overwhelmed with excitement to be hosting three American girls in her home for the weekend to experience their culture first hand.
Truly, I have seen how much I have taken for granted the liberties and freedoms we have in America. Abiding in God looks so much different here, having to gather discreetly, safe language, praying with the blinds shut, and not being able to worship out loud. But even in the midst of limited freedom, God is present and God is good.
It isn’t often that God peels back the curtains on someone’s life to show us how he has been working in them long before we met them. We can sometimes believe that we are a person’s only hope for salvation, and that if we do not bring them to faith in the Gospel then they will be lost forever. That is not how God works. My interaction with Anthony reminded me that it was not I who was the first one to desire Anthony to believe the Gospel, nor was it Colton. It was God Himself.
He has revealed many characteristics of Himself and reminds me that no matter what the external view of the nations may look like- they are still created in His image (Genesis 1:26) and that they too will get to experience Him (Revelation 7:9-10). Therefore, I can truly enjoy the ride and allow God to take the wheel!
How beautiful is it that our fruitfulness is dependent on our relationship with God? Above performance, work, or anything that we could strive for on our own, the Father really desires relationship with us. This text has been a great reminder to me in this season to slow down and prioritize my relationship with the Father, and that only then can we see fruit in the work that He invites us into.
I thought forward to my returning to Base Town where I would see my local friend Annie again. I cried out to God, “It seems hopeless for this people group… for Annie who always says that our faith has gotten us both where we are and that they are both good. When will you send someone to these people to stay longer than a few days or months?”
