Where Will You Put Your Faith?

An excerpt from...

Where Will You Put Your Faith?

By Mike Banks, Member Health
October-December 2014

In speaking with another adult PK (preacher's kid) recently, it was confirmed that one of my greatest challenges is shared by many PKs and others raised in the church: making my faith my own and not the faith of my parents or my church! If I choose not to put my faith in Christ, I will be putting my faith in someone or something else. This realization helped me greatly in youth ministries in Bolivia and now in the United States.

As the MK (Missionary Kid) Ministries coordinator for World Gospel Mission, I am privileged to work with young people who have had incredible life experiences. Whether raised in the wilds of Africa, a large city in South America, near a Native American reservation here in the United States, or in another one of our many world cultures, their worldview has been greatly influenced.

Assisting and encouraging missionary kids in transition is a vital aspect of my ministry. While each person goes through various life transitions, MKs can go through major cultural transitions several times before their late teens. They define “home” very differently than their parents and might even have difficulty in that very definition. In other words, when a missionary family returns from their place of service, Mom and Dad may be “home” while their children just left what they may consider their home.

Although I cannot write about their specific struggles, a recurring theme comes to the forefront: their personal faith or lack thereof. Even if they’ve had incredibly positive life experiences or study on a Christian campus, they’re still searching for where to put their faith. One young lady told me that even though she sees her parents’ great faith and has no doubt in that, she struggles to see or feel a loving God. Even though my heart aches when I hear about their struggles, I have the privilege of sharing the only hope I’ve found, and that’s in Christ.

It boils down to one thing: we are going to put our faith somewhere. Many of us will put our faith in work, church, a mentor, possessions, and even ministry; however, only One deserves our faith, belief, trust. We may not understand all of Christ’s ways in a fallen world, but He cannot fail, He cannot change, and He is faithful.

Please pray that I will be an encouragement to our missionary kids and other youth as God opens doors of sharing and as I am able to ask, “Where will you put your faith?”

GIVE: Partner with Mike Banks. He has asked you to pray regularly for him, but you can also show your support for this vital MK ministry through a gift to his ministry.

If You Have a Family Camp

An excerpt from...

If You Have a Family Camp

You Can Organize a Fantastic Missionary Day!
By Rachel Elwood, Support Staff
April-June 2013

David Grissom had a problem. He had been attending his beloved Camp Sychar, a family camp located in Mount Vernon, Ohio, since he was 10 years old. After David had gone on his first missions trip to Haiti in 2003, God gave him a passion for missions. But as he looked at the Missionary Day events at Camp Sychar, it was obvious that something was missing.

“It was a total snoozer,” David said, who self-admittedly calls things out for what they truly are. He knew that God had given him an interest in missions and he wanted to transfer that love to others. Overall, Camp Sychar was amazing—filled with godly evangelists, Spirit-filled worship, and great fellowship. But that Missionary Day needed a serious upgrade.

David was invited to join the Camp Sychar board and served as secretary of missions. David realized that the key to getting people excited about missions was through relationships—actually having time to meet and interact with missionaries in a low-key environment.

So he took over the cafeteria, the one building in the camp with air conditioning (this is Ohio in August, after all) and had missionaries set up their display tables, bring along some fun foods from their areas of service, and have an open house. People came for the Nutella fry bread and a respite from the heat and stayed for the conversations with real people doing real missionary service.

Earlier in the day, the teens—over 100 of them—went into the nearby town and handed out fliers advertising a Missions Festival for later that afternoon. After the open house ended, the action moved outside to the dunk tank, games, throw-a-pie-in-someone’s-face, food vendors, handicrafts, and much more. All proceeds, of course, went to missions. The crowning glory of last year’s Missions Festival was when one man who had come after being invited by the teens was so affected by the love he experienced at Camp Sychar that he gave his life to Jesus Christ that day. 

With over 1,000 attendees, Camp Sychar celebrated its 142nd anniversary last year. Over 60 missionaries and ministries are supported by the camp, including many from WGM.

Are you a part of a family camp like Camp Sychar? Is your Missionary Day a “snoozer”? Think about ways you can make this day impactful for all generations. Check out www.campsychar.org to see how one camp makes Missionary Day something special.

Not part of a family camp but have other missions events that you are a part of, such as at church, school, etc.? The Camp Sychar missions day model can be duplicated various places. Take the lead for your event and keep missions day from being a “snoozer.”

Nice Roads, Radio, and Making a Difference

An excerpt from Nice Roads, Radio, and Making a Difference

By Kenneth Hopson, Uganda

October-December 2012

There once was a little girl who grew up like most little girls in America. She went to school and had lots of friends and many birthday parties, and her life was great. She went on family vacations where she stayed in hotels and a couple of times even got to fly on large airplanes.

Well, it wasn’t very long before Jesus got a real hold of the young woman’s heart. She gave her heart to Jesus and promised to serve Him for the rest of her life. Soon after that, she began to see things differently—looking at others’ needs. 

One Sunday evening service, a couple of missionaries from Africa spoke at her church. She thought it would be great to hear about Africa! The couple began to tell stories of churches being started, people reading the Bible, and children being saved in Bible schools.

They wanted to let people know that whatever they gave, whether a little or a lot, it all made a big difference for God’s kingdom.

That day, she made a commitment to God to help those whom she couldn’t see in Africa but who needed to know about Jesus like she did. She thanked God for opening her eyes to the spiritually hungry in Africa, and she began giving again to the couple so they could return and tell the people of the One who died for them.

GIVE: Will you consider supporting a missionary financially or will you commit to give faithfully to the ministries in Africa or other places? Many people still need to learn about Jesus and know His love and forgiveness.