Y'all Do Missions Work?

An excerpt from Y'all Do Missions Work?
By Preston Masters, Men With Vision
November/December 2010

Men, I challenge you to get involved in a Men With Vision group, or start your own with others from your church. It’s a great time to pray together, support missions, do local outreach projects (help the elderly with yard work and fix-it projects, volunteer for Habitat for Humanity, etc.), and study what it means to be missions active. You’ll be surprised how God can use you.

In 2006, Flint Hill Church received a gift. “We were pleasantly surprised when Flint Hill Church was honored with the Church of the Year Award at the Southeast Celebration of Missions on St. Simons Island, Georgia. We love our missionaries, and we want to make sure we can help them in any way we can,” noted Masters. The Church of the Year Award is given to WGM partner churches for achieving greater growth through their activities in the Great Commission.

MORE: Learn more about Men With Vision activities at www.wgm.org/mwv.

Where is Your Faith?

An excerpt from Where Is Your Faith?
The Gift of Using Your Talents for His Purpose
By Deb Cunningham, Support Staff
November/December 2010

Are you ready for what the Lord will show you through cross-cultural service? Is the Lord whispering or even shouting at you to step out of your comfort zone? For me, it simply took my sister-in-law asking if I would be interested in going to Bolivia with her on a women’s work team. The Lord spoke through her by encouraging me to serve on this team. In the words from Isaiah 6:8 (NLT), “Then I heard the Lord asking, ‘Whom should I send as a messenger to this people? Who will go for us?’ I said, ‘Here I am. Send me.’”

Have you considered what God-given talents the Lord may be directing you to release through a cross-cultural experience? What excuses or justifications are you presenting to the Lord in defense of answering His call? Opportunities are available for any age, any skill, and anyone. God only requires that we be obedient. As Jesus asked of the disciples when they were in the boat after calming the waves in the lake in Luke 8, “Where is your faith?” Trust in Him and He will provide the resources, skills, and blessing through your obedience.

The Gifts Inside an Internship

An excerpt from The Gifts inside an Internship
By Savanah Nisbett, Volunteers In Action Participant, Hungary
November/December 2010

On the hunt for a journalism internship for college credit, I stumbled upon WGM’s writing internship. I was excited about writing for a Christ-centered group and the possibility of doing the internship in another country. As the process unfolded, I decided Jesus was leading me to be at home in Arkansas for the summer. I was sad to not be serving internationally, but I knew God was at work in that decision.

Through my internship with WGM, I discovered that I loved writing about other cultures and issues that transcend national borders. I realized that my passion for writing is multiplied when it includes my passion for people of other cultures. This internship shaped my career plans through a personal realization that I desire to write about “big” things. Writing for WGM provided me a phenomenal outlet to achieve this, but I still had a desire to serve with them internationally.

ACT: Journalism internships are still available. To apply for a WGM internship, visit www.wgm.org/internships.

Show Me Where to Put the Sugar

An excerpt from Show Me Where to Put the Sugar
By Daniel Tolan, Special Assignment
November/December 2010

Daniel and his wife, Cindy, served at Tenwek Hospital in Kenya for several years. Now on special assignment in the U.S., Daniel and Cindy often lead short-term teams for World Gospel Mission. In the wake of the January 12, 2010, Haiti earthquake, Daniel left on a short-term team to offer medical assistance to many hurting Haitians. Read more about his experience and listen to the advice he offers those taking part on a short-term team.

I kept looking for the sugar. Would it appear? Would it be used? I wish I could report to you that I saw hundreds of wounds now being treated with sugar. I wish I could say.… No, I cannot.

But there is sugar in Haiti. I know, because I drank it in my morning coffee and I watched as it was applied to one wound. My impatience told me to apply sugar myself everywhere, anywhere it was needed. I waited.…

The Good News must be like this. Missions must be like this. What we want to give, and even impose on others, will do no good unless the heart makes the decision as one’s own. It has taken me 53 years to learn something about this, and yet I still want to just have people do it my way or believe as I do.

Great good can come out of Haiti. The people are beautiful. They are fully capable of managing their lives, making decisions, and bringing about change that can lead to restored relationships, productive land, and a brighter future. Will we give them permission to do so? Will we communicate that we believe in them and support their decisions? Will we allow them to discover the joy of the kingdom of God that He wants for the Haitian people?

Change takes patience over time.

On the last evening before I left Petit Goave, as I was helping clean up from the day’s work, I noticed something. Sitting on a table under the white tarp in the wound clinic that was held under a large mango tree was a small coffee cup. It was not mine. The spoon in it was not mine. The sugar inside the cup was not mine. But there it was.

There is sugar in Haiti.

MORE: There is still much to be done in Haiti. To learn more click here: http://www.wgm.org/page.aspx?pid=6423

Life-Changing Experiences

An excerpt from Life-Changing Experiences
By Hubert Harriman, President
November/December 2010

The thing about these experiences is that they not only changed me, but also I know in my heart that they somehow changed those I connected with. God used little ol’ me! It just doesn’t get any better than that. I think this is what the apostle Paul must have felt when he went on short-term ministry experiences, taking others with him, such as Luke and Timothy. Do these names mean anything to us? You see, these short-term experiences changed these men, but these men also helped change the world. And look! Short-term experiences led them into careers. Once experiencing missions, they would always be involved in missions. How could it be otherwise? They had life-changing experiences and they would never be the same again.

One of the things I really like about WGM is that we offer the possibility of short-term service for anyone who wants to have a life-changing experience personally and relationally. Do you wish for an experience like that? I think every believer does. The beauty of these life-changing experiences is that you can do them when you’re young, but you don’t have to be young—just young at heart! WGM carries an abundance of stories and memories, both on and off the field, with the difference a short-term experience made in the life of a VIA participant, an MWV member, an MVP, or an MD. It somehow changed some part of the world—then and later.

Do you want to know what the initials VIA, MWV, MVP, and MD stand for? Do you want to know what these experiences hold? Go to www.wgm.org/go to learn all about it. But don’t just learn what they mean. Listen. Listen! Listen quietly. Listen carefully. Another Timothy? Another Luke?

Gifts Bigger Than the Super Bowl

An excerpt from Gifts Bigger Than the Super Bowl
By Todd Eckhardt, Support Staff
November/December 2010

But do not think you have to leave the country to impact missions as a volunteer. WGM wants to be sure that you can find a role in the Great Commission to offer your skills and service. One of our volunteers regularly hosts missionaries in their home. What a great service they offer. Another regularly works to be sure missionaries are part of their church’s outreach plan. Without volunteers such as these, WGM could never be the extension of the local church that God has asked us to be.

To be sure we maximize the gifts of our volunteers, WGM has designed programs to fit the needs of the volunteers. For believers who have a burden to see their churches or communities go far in the Great Commission, WGM has a program to assist. We have tools to help others go deeper with their role in missions. This program is the Advance Volunteer Network. For the ones the Holy Spirit has touched to go to a country or field of service and offer their God-given talents, the Missionary Volunteer Partners program is designed with their burden in mind.

The great thing about volunteering short term in missions is that the impact lasts a lot longer than if you volunteer at this year’s Super Bowl.

MORE: To learn more about the Advance Volunteer Network, visit www.wgm.org/avn.

The Gift of Love

An excerpt from The Gift of Love
Sharing Jesus on the Mission Field as a Short-term Volunteer
By Chrissy Greenwell, Mexico
November/December 2010

Some people believe they have nothing to offer on the mission field. Nevertheless, letting people see Jesus in you is what ministry is all about. So if you know Jesus, you can have an impact on lives. I moved back to Saltillo in August 2009. When some of the children saw me on the street, they came running to me to ask if Kevin was back. I have never met Kevin, but I found out he was on a team that ministered in Saltillo. The interest Kevin expressed and the love he showed for Jesus made a huge impact on the children in my neighborhood. Kevin opened a door for further ministry on the field. Although this is wonderful news, it also leads to a huge need: more missionary workers.

Please keep praying for missionary workers for WGM Mexico. Great possibilities for ministry exist but nobody to fill the need…or are you available?

ACT: Here are three ways you can support Chrissy in Mexico. Pick one and let her know you want to be her partner in ministry.

* Contact Chrissy at www.wgm.org/greenwell and ask to be added to her prayer letter list so you will know how you can better pray for her.

* If you would like to financially partner with Chrissy, go to www.wgm.org/greenwell and click on the Donate button.

* Work beside Chrissy on the field. Are you available to serve God in Mexico? Contact Troy Simpson at recruiting@wgm.org to ask what opportunities are available.