![\"Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_large\"](\"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2014\/05\/Missions-Catalyst-no-tagline_large.png\")
![\"summer](\"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/06\/summer-mob-header.jpeg\")
Here in the northern hemisphere, it\u2019s summertime. I\u2019m typing this after 8pm, and it\u2019s still light enough to read. I don\u2019t know about you, but for many of us, summer brings a shift in the basic schedule as well as in the heart: It\u2019s an opportunity to try something new, go somewhere cool, kick back for a few minutes, and think about stuff.<\/p>\n
Summer offers us some special ministry opportunities. Here\u2019s a quick list of summer mobilization \u201cto do\u2019s\u201d with a few \u201cto don\u2019ts\u201d thrown in for fun.<\/p>\n
If you\u2019re reading Practical Mob when it launches, the FIFA World Cup<\/a> starts tomorrow. If you\u2019re getting to it later, the tournament is already underway. If you\u2019re game, shoot me a note<\/a> and tell me why I should root for someone other than Egypt and Senegal!<\/p>\n Bonus points: Watch a match with representatives of one of the six Muslim nations who are competing. Boss level: Show up with halal snacks.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Go on endlessly with your friends about how you watch the World Cup and like football<\/em>, what the whole rest of the world calls it, not soccer<\/em>.<\/p>\n Summer doesn\u2019t mean the need for prayer takes a pause. If you haven\u2019t yet, set a daily alarm for 10:02am. When it goes off, wake up and pray like Jesus said to in Luke 10:2\u2026 Ask the Lord of the Harvest to send laborers into his harvest.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Forget to also pray for the laborers you know. Sometimes they feel like lambs among wolves (Luke 10:3).<\/p>\n Eat a good meal and watch a sunset. If you\u2019re an overachiever, make it a sunrise. This kind of advice is straight up from Ecclesiastes, so you\u2019ve got solid biblical backing.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Forget that much work remains and needs to happen during the summer, like promotion for that upcoming Perspectives class<\/a>. If someone\u2019s going to take a class that starts in August, they may need a kind person like you to invite them in July. If your church has a fall missions conference, book the speaker now before someone else snatches her up.<\/p>\n You may find that as you hang out with your friends and family around the campfire, something happens after the sun and some beers have gone down: People open up and talk about real stuff. Look for the conversational openings. This might be a great chance to dream and speak deeply of the purposes of God and his plan for your lives and maybe even the nations. Unless you\u2019re Baptist, in which case you might skip the beers.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Try to do this during a game of Watch Ya\u2019 Mouth<\/a> or, if you live in the Midwest, anywhere near a Euchre tournament (where table talk<\/a> is discouraged). Also, don\u2019t pout because I teased you in the last paragraph if you\u2019re a Baptist. I know you all are taking some hits lately, but you\u2019re still leading the way at many of the global frontiers of the gospel. I\u2019d be honored to drink sweet tea around a campfire with you.<\/p>\n Of course it\u2019s better to learn from native speakers. But it\u2019s less embarrassing to learn from an app. Drops<\/a> is my current favorite. I\u2019m getting a few minutes of Italian each day. Ever so slowly it\u2019s adding up. I challenge you to beat my best streak, 29 days.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Be obnoxious<\/a> with your little bit of language, por<\/em> favor<\/em> (or as I might put it, per <\/em>favore<\/em>).<\/p>\n Check out a local cultural festival or visit a mosque. Again, if you\u2019re reading this soon after publication, you might be able to join in some end-of-Ramadan festivities. The fast wraps up on June 14th.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t: Just do this on your own. You have friends who want summer fun. Take them along.<\/p>\n Take some international students or newly arrived refugees out into the wild. Depending on where the newcomers have come from, you might have the honor of taking them on their first canoe trip or giving them their first opportunity to venture into nature or a major league ball park.<\/p>\n If this is in your wheelhouse, now may be your chance. Pastors go to the lake sometimes. Offer to fill in and then knock it out of the park. If kids are more your gig, be a Sunday school sub or pitch in for VBS.<\/p>\n Read some things that are fun, helpful, and maybe a bit outside your standard fare. You could take a thoughtful stroll through the challenging and profound pages of Ecclesiastes. I\u2019d love to have you check out my weekly email, Muslim Connect<\/a>, which helps us make sense of the Muslim world. I\u2019d also like you invite you to join me in reading John Eldredge\u2019s recent book, All Things New<\/a>.<\/p>\n If summer allows you to dip into fiction, let me recommend the profound and gut-wrenching journey of All the Light We Cannot See<\/a>.<\/p>\n Listen to someone who came back from a summer mission trip. Maybe they didn\u2019t go where you would have gone or do what seems to be the most valuable work, but they may have had a profound or challenging experience. Hug them, ask good questions, and nudge them to consider how this summer fits in to all the summers ahead that God will give them.<\/p>\n Don\u2019t forget that God loves and delights in you. I\u2019m so grateful we get to share in this calling, this adventure of joining with Jesus in seeing his abundant life extended to all peoples.<\/p>\n Have a great summer (or winter, for our South African, Aussie, Kiwi, and other Southern hemisphere colleagues).<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Here in the northern hemisphere, it\u2019s summertime. I\u2019m typing this after 8pm, and it\u2019s still light enough to read. I don\u2019t know about you, but for many of us, summer brings a shift in the basic schedule as well as in the heart: It\u2019s an opportunity to try something new, go somewhere cool, kick back … Continue reading Do’s and don’ts for a summer of mission mobilization | Practical Mobilization<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7942","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-practical-mobilization"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7942","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7942"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7942\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7944,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7942\/revisions\/7944"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7942"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7942"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/missionscatalyst.net\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7942"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}Do: Keep praying.<\/h3>\n
Do: Enjoy time with your family.<\/h3>\n
Do: Discuss issues of global importance.<\/h3>\n
Do: Learn some language.<\/h3>\n
Do: Venture into another culture.<\/h3>\n
Do: Take a newcomer on a field trip.<\/h3>\n
Do: Look for some local speaking opportunities.<\/h3>\n
Do: Stretch your mind as well as your body.<\/h3>\n
Do: Take some time to listen.<\/h3>\n
Finally, one more don\u2019t:<\/h3>\n