Category: Practical Mobilization

What Do You Think about Missionary Hero Stories? 

Dear Readers,

How’s your tolerance for ambiguity today? Fairly high? Good. I have a practical mobilization question to ask and would love your input. Read all the way through, and you’ll find some helpful links to what others have to say, along with a poem of sorts to leave you with a laugh.

We recently shared a positive review of a devotional book honoring pioneering missionaries. Naturally, a thousand-word version of someone’s life story is bound to leave out a lot. The stories weren’t straight hagiographies, but they were hero stories, crafted to inspire.

Here’s the question: 

Should we exercise more caution when sharing stories of missionary heroes with the next generation? Could they sometimes do more harm than good? 


To be sure, generations of missionaries have learned from and been inspired by those who’ve gone before them, and particularly by reading their biographies. Mission history is full of such accounts, and that’s what keeps me telling them.

But do they also contribute to the tendency of some to put missionaries on pedestals that can’t support them? That makes it easier not to be one. Maybe you’ve told a missionary (or been told), “I could never do what you do.” Not what I want to hear as a mobilizer.

“I grew up on missionary biographies and wasn’t scarred for life,” wrote a friend. “But at least a vocal portion of the younger generations, especially, feel as if the heroic missionary model creates pressure on them to achieve spectacular, and unrealistic, exploits for God.”  

Similarly, Bible stories are sometimes retold in a way that focuses on David, Esther, or some other figure as the hero, rather than God. Then we may write ourselves in as the star, expecting God to use us in the same way. Maybe the key point is to tell the stories more carefully and make God gets any glory.

I’ve also seen pushback against books that aim to deconstruct or disillusion us of our heroes, and I don’t know if those are any better. And some memoir writers go to great lengths to highlight their own flaws and failures. Helpful or not?  

What do you think? Has the appeal and usefulness of “hero” stories waned? Could they be somewhat generational (e.g., more appealing to baby boomers than to millennials) or cultural (more attractive to Americans than, say, Australians or Germans)? 

Are you more for or against such stories? Can you offer guidelines for picking stories to tell or how to tell them? Let me know what you think.

Honest Conversations and Hidden Concerns

Related to the question of missionary heroes, the latest edition of Catalyst Services’ Postings is the first in a two-part series addressing hidden missionary concerns: the struggles missionaries keep from those who see them as superheroes. It references and reflects on the results of an anonymous survey of missionaries, recommends two helpful books, and offers practical recommendations for missionaries and those who support them.

Read Honest Conversations, Part 1. Great stuff.

For a personal account of one Christian’s struggle to come to terms with the life and legacy of a ministry hero, read Laura Fabrycky’s What Do We Want from Dietrich Bonhoeffer? (Christianity Today). It’s both a fun and thought-provoking read.

D Is for Dysentery: The A to Z of Christian Missions

As we discussed missionary hero stories over dinner, my husband said he didn’t think anyone would buy a book about a missionary family putting in four tedious years in training and two years traversing their country to raise support, then spending their first term slogging through language school while suffering from one illness after another and quickly coming home. Maybe not.

Trying to be helpful, he asked ChatGPT for a more balanced picture of missionary life. Here how AI sees it (lightly edited). Let me know if it makes you grin or cringe. Probably both?

A survival guide for the called, the curious, and the culturally confused

A is for airport – where all missionaries cry, say goodbye, and question their calling, often five times a year.

B is for bugs – in your bed, in your rice, in your ear, but mostly in the stories that will seem funny later.

C is for convert – the one person who actually came to Jesus during your first term and who is now your pastor.

D is for dysentery – because the Great Commission includes great bowel movements.

E is for evangelism – sometimes it’s street preaching… sometimes it’s eating weird food while waiting for someone to ask a spiritual question.

F is for fundraising – or is it sanctified begging?

G is for goat – you’ll eat it, pray over it, and once, you’ll ride it.

H is for hospitality – when someone gives you their only chicken, and you realize you’re eating dinner and their income.

I is for interpreter – because your attempt to say, “God loves you” came out as “Your pig is on fire.”

J is for jet lag – the spiritual gift of being awake at 3 a.m. for no reason.

K is for kid – the one who calls you “aunt” or “uncle” after four minutes of conversation and one piece of candy.

L is for luggage – the stuff that made it to Nairobi, but not to your village.

M is for mosquitoes – tiny missionaries of malaria. Anointed. Persistent. Demonic.

N is for nationals – the people who teach you that this was never about you.

O is for outreach – involving skits, puppets, and a donkey that wasn’t part of the plan.

P is for prayer letter – a monthly guilt trip in 500 words or less.

Q is for quarantine – because someone brought back something from the jungle.

R is for reentry – when you return home and cry in the cereal aisle because there are too many brands.

S is for supporters – people who send checks and ask if you’re “still doing that missionary thing.”

T is for team conflict – because iron sharpens iron, and sometimes stabs it.

U is for unreached – the people group you went to reach, only to find out your neighbor back home was one, too.

V is for visa – that magical document that determines if you’re on a mission or on vacation.

W is for water – if you can drink it without boiling it, blessing it, or fearing it, you’re not on the field.

X is for xenophile – you loved the culture until the third power outage.

Y is for yes – what you said to everything, until your immune system said no.

Z is for Zoom – how you now do missions, conferences, and spiritual warfare.


 

Podcast: The 100 Best Practices of Mission Mobilization

Source: Gospel Mobilization Podcast

To celebrate their 100th episode, the producers of the Gospel Mobilization Podcast compiled a list of 100 best practices of mission mobilization! Take a listen—especially if you’re in a recruiter/mobilizer role for a sending organization (but even if you’re not).

In this episode, mobilization experts Katy White, Mark Stebbins, Chelsea Christopher, and host Dave Jacob unpack some great, practical tips for missions mobilizers. Ask the Lord which one(s) you should focus on in days to come.

Listen to the podcast and/or download the list as a PDF.

Research: Knowing and Believing in the Next Generation

Source: Young Life

What do you think of when you think of Gen Z? In 2023, The RELATE Project investigated relationships, sense of belonging, identity, agency, and beliefs among 7,261 adolescents aged 13 to 24. This study involved surveys and focus groups conducted in various regions, including 1,994 participants in the United States, 1,004 in the United Kingdom, 1,768 in Mexico, 997 in India, 627 in Kenya, 447 in Uganda, 413 in Ethiopia, and 11 in Tanzania, thus covering a representative sample from Eastern Africa.

Among their findings:

  • More than 40% of Gen Z doesn’t feel worthy of being loved.
  • Mental health is a concern for more than 40% of Gen Z.
  • More than 33% of Gen Z turns to social media when they’re feeling anxious.
  • Half of teens and young adults are stressed by school and finances.
  • Gen Z wants to be known as kind and good—earning the moniker “The Empathetic Generation.”
  • Their belief in a higher power actually strengthens with age.

Download the report, follow links to media coverage, and more on the Young Life website. The report includes helpful advice addressing questions like, “How can you deepen your relationship with a young adult in your life?”

For a taste, read Connecting with the Next Generation: Insights from Young Life’s RELATE Project (Fuller Youth Institute).

To see how these issues relate specifically to mobilizing a new generation to serve in missions, read Mobilizing Gen Z: Challenges and Opportunities for the Global Age of Missions, by Jolene Erlacher and Katy White.

Been There. Done That. Now What?

Mission Opportunities for People Who Used to Go Places

By Marti Wade

It’s summer in the Northern Hemisphere. Schools are out or soon will be. And many in the mission world are pulling out their suitcases for a journey overseas, perhaps with others from their church, a short-term team in tow, or an important mission to complete.

That’s not me. My passport expired a while back. When I was young and single, I went abroad about once a year. And I was single a lot longer than many of you. Now, though, I have less energy and fewer opportunities come my way. I’ve been there, done that, and even if I’d like to go again, I don’t see how I can justify taking the place of someone who may have more to give and not had such privileges in the past. So, I stay home and just read about other cultures.

Yet, this choice brings on some troubling trends. My skills and confidence for navigating actual, in-person, cross-cultural situations have atrophied like unused muscles. Living through a pandemic and working from home for years have also taken a toll. What to do?

Maybe some of you are in the same boat. Or perhaps you know others whose hands-on cross-cultural ministry experience is becoming ancient history, something they used to do, maybe before mortgages, gardens, and grandkids. I think our churches have more than a few like this.

How can we find and offer the middle-aged a way back into more active roles? I’ve got a few thoughts. Some might also work for those who are new to missions. What would you add? If enough of you send me more ideas, I’ll shape them into a part two.

Thanks for reading.

Three Ways to Reengage in Missions

1. Visit a friend

If you used to do missions, you probably know someone in another country, someone you’d love to see in person again, encourage and learn from. What about a visit? Maybe they’ve said, never expecting a response, “You should come see us sometime!” Reach out. Bring it up. Explore how that could work. Maybe they have a job for you to do, but perhaps they just need a friend. If you have numerous missionary contacts or friends in other places, contact several and see who responds. Then, make a plan. Renew that passport and save up money or frequent-flier miles.

If you’re a church mission leader, think about who in your church could get on a plane and be a blessing to a worker or ministry you support. Talk to them about going, maybe with some help and direction from the church.

Read The Special Role of a Missionary Friend or In-Person Care (Catalyst Services).

2. Be a more active advocate.

Maybe you can’t make that international trip, but that doesn’t mean you have to sit on your hands at home. Buy a go-er a coffee and ask how you can be a bigger help and part of what they’re doing. Pray with and encourage them. Brainstorm about a problem they need to solve. Offer to host or organize a gathering or represent their needs when they are gone.

You may also have relevant experience or connections to share. Perhaps you can help missionaries-in-the-making grow in practical skills. See, from our archives, What World Travelers Should Know Before They Go. Church mission leaders, as you get to know candidates, look for ways to encourage such connections.

To make a stronger contribution, link arms with others. Read Revisiting Advocate Teams (Catalyst Services).

3. Invite the world in.

Many middle-aged missionaries will tell you they first got interested because they heard a missionary speak at church or met missionary families Mom and Dad invited to their house for dinner. Both may be less common in today’s culture. So, be counter-cultural. Find out when a missionary will be in town and send them a note about getting together. Do they need a place to stay? Offer them hospitality.

And what about hosting a neighbor from another culture, like having an international student or an immigrant family join you for a holiday? Contact local cross-cultural ministries or student exchange programs or talk to your church about needs and opportunities.

You might start small. But ask the Lord to show you if you could play a long-term role as a “welcomer” through sponsoring refugees, teaching English, or hosting an exchange student. Church leaders, share opportunities like that with people in your congregation. You might be surprised who responds.

See befriending the bewildered (Pioneers) or learn how to become a friendship partner to an international student (ISI).

Conclusion

You may have many more ideas or stories from your own experience. I hope you do. I’d love to hear them.

To get the creative juices flowing, you might check out an article I found deep in the Missions Catalyst archives: 21 Easy Ways to Introduce Your Friends to the Nations or read Adopt an International Restaurant (Pioneers-USA).

Header image: Paul Nelham/Flikr

Tips for Your Team: Frugal, Resourceful Innovation

Source: Jon Hirst, Innovation in Missions

Article: When Tennis Balls Will Do

Innovation doesn’t have to cost a lot to deliver significant learning and change. Sometimes the resourceful, frugal solution is the one we should be aiming for. But in a world full of venture capital and big dreams, we can forget that spending $100 dollars strategically can lead to more innovation than $10,000 without discipline.

Read When Tennis Balls Will Do. Love it!

Resource: 10 Activities to Generate Better Ideas

We all want better brainstorming sessions, but the challenge is how to design creative spaces where your team can think in new ways. This is harder than it seems and so its always good to be on the lookout for new tools. Here is a list of 10 ideas that may give you some new places to start.

Read 10 Activities to Generate Better Ideas. I think you’ll find more than one your ministry team can use.

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Resource Roundup: Celebrating St. Patrick and the Great Commission

Source: Various

Did you know Patrick was one of the earliest Christian leaders to think deeply and write clearly about completing the Great Commission? You might read the chapter about Patrick in the book Missionary Monks, watch the docudrama I Am Patrick, or follow links from a resource list by missiologist J.D. Payne.

Via Family (formerly Weave) has suggestions you can use to help your kids learn more about the real St. Patrick. Read Beyond Shamrocks and Leprechauns. It includes an activity you can do with your family.

See also The Real Story of St. Patrick (Voice of the Martyrs). Looks like it’s from their series of books for kids highlighting courageous Christians from Scripture (Paul, Stephen, Thomas) and early church history (Saints Patrick, Valentine, and Nicholas). Praise God that many more have come after them. May we, too, be faithful in lifting up Jesus and introducing others to him, despite the obstacles and challenges.

Article: Why Easter Matters for Missions

Source: Radical, April 6, 2023

The needs of the world can quickly overwhelm us. The Lord will send his church to countries ravaged by war, camps filled with refugees, villages living in abject poverty, and trauma-laden communities right next door. As they go, members of his church will meet the physical needs around them, just like their Lord. And this is but the beginning.

Jesus came to give his people abundant life, but he didn’t stop there. Jesus came to bring us back to God. The resurrection ensures that the message that missionaries bring to the lost offers them a path to eternal joy, not just relief from temporal suffering.

Read Why Easter Matters for Missions. And thanks to OSCAR for highlighting this article.

For more to help you refocus on things that matter most, read Why Spiritual Formation Is Central in God’s Mission (Bradley Bell).