Passion for Short-Term Missions

Historically, the mission field was reserved for a select group of people; those who were called to go around the world for extended periods on time. However, there has been a recent explosion of interest in short-term missions. A short-term mission trip still consists of going to the mission field, but not for extended periods of time, usually a week or two. With globalization the world is becoming smaller and thousands of people are responding to the world’s needs.

Last week I led my 17th short-term missions trip. I took an incredible team of young adults to the South Bronx of New York City. During an eight-day period we saw God impact hundreds of people’s lives, as well as the lives of our team members. That is one of the great benefits of short-term missions. A team of friends, family or even strangers comes together for a unified purpose… tell people about the love of Jesus. While trying to fulfill the Great Commission in the lives of others, Christ works in the lives of the team.

God brought the quiet person from our team out of the shadows and used them to shine as a bright light in the midst of darkness. God took the gregarious team member and taught them to wait on Him and listen for that still small voice. Whether we were in the park with face painting and balloon animals or performing a drama in the middle of the housing projects God used this short-term mission trip to make an eternal difference in the lives of those we came in contact with and those we journeyed with.

We should strive to be used by God in our journey of life. A short-term mission trip is a great opportunity for that to happen. I have had team member after team member share with me how, after returning home after their short-term mission trip, they continued doing in their hometown what they learned on the mission field. I have even seen people called into missions after spending one week on a short-term mission trip.

If you have never experienced the effect a short-term mission trip in your own life you need to sign up for a trip and go. You will not be disappointed. We are all called to be world changers – when you step out to change the world, you’ll find your world will change too.

Fall and Winter Outreach Ideas

When it comes to outreach, churches often only think of reaching out to their community during the summer. While summer outreach is great, there are many fall and winter outreach ideas that can give your church and community a boost.
Outreach Magazine ran an article (special addition 2009) on 100 Ideas for Outreach Year Round containing several great ideas. I have chosen a few from the article, plus a couple I have firsthand positive experience with to share with you.

Fall/Winter Outreach Ideas:
1. Home game Pizza – Before a home football game, host a pizza feed at your church for high school students.
2. After School Tutoring – Start an after school tutoring service at your church, offering individual attention in subjects like reading, science and math.
3. Thanksgiving for Internationals – Work with area colleges to host international students at either a large Thanksgiving church celebration or through families who sign up to host students in their home.
4. Adopt a Family for Thanksgiving – Contact your local schools and see if they will give you a name of a family that they know are struggling during these economic times (most schools will have a list of families they know need assistance). Then as a church, put together a complete Thanksgiving Dinner Basket and take it to that family.
5. Winterizing Homes – Provide a home-winterizing service for the elderly and single moms. Repair broken gutters, seal windows and give away bags of salt for slippery walkways.
6. Snow Removal – Enlist a crew of young men (and women) and clear driveways for free after a big snow.
7. Hot-Drink Service – On a wintry morning, pass out hot chocolate and coffee with a connection card at your local grocery store or area place of business.
8. Finals-Week Breakfast – The mornings of finals week, head for a high school or college campus (with permission from the school) and hand out free orange juice and Pop tarts to tired and hungry students.
9. Military Presents – Receive a special offering to send gift boxes to deployed men and women. Consult a soldier to learn which items to buy. If you live close to a military base, adopt a family for Christmas whose husband or wife is deployed.
10. On your Own – Become a neighborhood secret Santa. Pick a family in your neighborhood to send baked treats to throughout December. Reveal yourself the week before Christmas with an invitation to a worship service.

There are many other great ideas (free babysitting, Cinematic Christmas, food drive, etc..), but the important thing is, as Christ followers we all do something on a regular basis to share this gift we freely received.

Partners for the Cross

Surprises from Modernisms

Have you ever been somewhere or met someone and they really tried to come across as modern, or “hip,” as I like to say? The other day I went to a pretty swanky restaurant and when I went to the men’s room (like I do every place I go) I had to flush the toilet myself, turn the faucet on myself, dispense my own soap and then get my own paper towels. I didn’t really think much of it at the time (key word is “at the time”).

A couple of days later, I went to breakfast with my family at an Amish/Mennonite restaurant. So, as I always do, I went to the restroom. After reading the Amish Gazette, which was posted on the wall above the urinal (I know TMI), I stepped away and there was an auto flush. I thought, “Nice.” I went to the sink and there was an auto faucet, soap dispenser and even an automatic paper towel dispenser. Who would have thought… in an Amish joint?

Needless to say, I was surprised by the modernisms in a place where I didn’t expect to find any, which made me think how disappointed I was in the un-modernism of a place where they should have been (the swanky place).

Do you think we ever surprise people? What if someone knows we are a Christ-Follower? If they get to know us at all, they compare us to their idea of what a Christ-Follower should be. I know this has happened to me, especially when I was a pastor. To be honest I don’t know how many times I have heard, “Never expected that from a pastor.” Not that I was doing things a pastor shouldn’t, but it was that people had a preconceived notion of what a Christ Follower (Christian) is suppose to be; that happened to be different than what they experienced from me.

I sometimes think if people really got to know us they would be a little surprised at what they find (either good or bad), like I was by my visit to the Amish (indoors) restroom.

Peace!
Andy

Expecting Something…

One thing you quickly learn living in Kansas is that the weather is unpredictable and can change at any given moment. I say that to say, in the ministry I am a part of (Assemblies of God Kansas) we just cancelled an event because we are expected to get 5 to 8 inches of snow over the next couple of days. Will it happen? Who knows, but we are living with the expectancy that it will.

This decision made me think, “What if we as Christians lived with an expectancy that Christ already forecasted, that he is coming again.”   Would it cause us to change our plans or the way we think, live, or act? Would we think of others and do whatever it took to share this message with them?

One of the reasons we cancelled this event was because of our concern for the safety of others. Would they make it here or be able to make it home? Have we had the concern lately whether or not our family, friends, coworkers, the general public will make it home when Christ comes?

For the majority of my life I have been taught that Jesus is coming.  I have not always lived like I believed it, but down inside I knew it was true. Will the storm come this weekend? Well, that is yet to be seen, but better safe than sorry.

Maybe we should adopt the same principle for the forecast of Jesus; better safe than sorry. Maybe there are things we should change in our lives. Maybe there are people we know who need to hear of this coming King.

I encourage you: be safe not sorry.  Share the forecast of Christ’s return and maybe you’ll lead someone to safety. Might also help you live expecting something.

Peace!

Relevant, what does that mean?

Relevant (rěl’ə-vənt)

 

The term Relevant has become a catch-word over the past several years. We hear how people, music, clothes, and even preachers (ministries) are relevant, but what does that mean? 

 

People often think they are relevant and they are not; at best they are just trendy.  Just because you have trendy clothes, listen to trendy music and have a vocabulary full of trendy words that does not make you relevant.  Trendiness can impact your image, but alone it is powerless to impact your community.  Being relevant has the possibility to change not only your image, but your community as well.

 

Dictionary.com defines Relevant as:

1.   Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.

2.   Pertinent to the matter at hand

 

Maybe being relevant is not as much about who you are as it is what you are; “Having a bearing on or connection with the matter at hand.”  What was relevant to us when we pastored in the inner city of Kansas City will not be relevant to someone pastoring in Western Kansas or Northern California.  Not because what we did was better than what they are doing, but because we had a bearing on what our community needed, and their communities may not need what ours did.

 

Relevant means that you are in touch with what is going on around you and you know what to do about it.  I made a comment on my Facebook page about a friend of mine being the most relevant cat I know and another friend ask me what I meant by that.  To me, my friend who is relevant has a great bearing on or connection with the matter at hand, whatever that matter may be.  He just gets it when it comes to being connected to his local and global surroundings.  He is trendy, but more importantly, he is relevant.

 

Awareness is one of the core values of the Comprehensive Outreach Ministry I direct.  To me awareness needs to be more about us (as Christians) being aware of what is going on around us than it is the unchurched being aware of us.  We spend so much time trying to get everyone to see what we are doing, but we spend little time to see what is the ”matter at hand.”

 

What if we as ministers and/or Christians strived to have a bearing or connection?  Would we have a better, or more relevant, understanding of what needs there are in our church as well as our communities?  Maybe so!

 

I encourage you to take some time and see what relevant means in your journey of life.  Try to develop an awareness of what is going on outside of yourself and see if that helps you be relevant.

 

Peace!

A Look…

To be honest I have never thought of myself as a blogger.  Don’t get me wrong I always have plenty of thoughts and always plenty to say, just never thought anyone would want to listen.  A friend of mine is a great blogger and I really get inspiration from reading his blogs.  So I thought maybe I could inspire someone. 

For 10 years I had the privilege to pastor an urban church in Kansas City, KS (where I was raised).  Over those 10 years I learned a lot and hopefully taught (or inspired some).  I am no longer a pastor of a local congregation, but I am still a minister.  I now work in the district office for the Assemblies of God Kansas (AGK).  I work alongside our District Superintendent as his Executive Assistant.  I am also the District Outreach Director.  I am anticipating that this is where most of my Post 10 blogging will come from.

One of the things God helped us to do in our Kansas City church was reach our community.  I truly believe we were a community church.  We did everything we could to help meet the needs of our community (physically, emotionally, and even financially at times).  We actually started in Jerusalem, before we went to Judea and Samaria.  Don’t get me wrong we gave, supported and went on mission trips, but our purpose from God was to reach out to our multi-cultural community, and that we did.   A lot of what we did was benevolence type outreach: We were in an urban area and there were always plenty of people needing benevolence. 

Ministering in the area I was raised in was a big plus for me and our church.  I understood the people, because I was one of them.  Now, I don’t live in an urban area, but I find myself still drawn to the needs of others.  With the economy today there are people hurting in all walks of life.  They may not need a free meal or free school supplies for their kids, but they do need something; they need someone to listen and understand their hurt. The pains of life are not restrained by social or economical status.  The attacks may be different, but the pain is real.

Look around and see where you can be involved in your community and begin meeting the needs of others as you look to meet your own needs.  Sometimes all it takes is a look.