Intercultural Teams

An Excerpt from...

Intercultural Teams

By Don Moon, Argentina
January-March 2014

Partnership for my wife, Glenda, and me means working under the umbrella of the Whitened Fields Association in Argentina, although we continue to be missionaries with World Gospel Mission. Whitened Fields exists to provide training to Latin Americans who have a call to ministry and missions. Several different ministries are under their covering. We serve with one of the ministries called the Center for Cross-cultural Missionary Training. Our fellow team members are from Argentina, Chile, and Peru. Students come from all over Latin America. We serve side by side with our team members, living on the campus and interacting daily with the students during their three-month training sessions. Although all communication takes place in Spanish, as an international, intercultural team, we have to work hard to apply cross-cultural principles and practices to our own team dynamics as well as teach them to the students. Most of the students will be serving on intercultural teams, so this is a good opportunity for us as a team to model the process for the students.

Culture is a foundational part of who we are as people. We learn what is considered to be the right way, or wrong way, to do things according to what we are taught by those around us. As people from different backgrounds join together in a team, their understanding of how things should be done often conflicts with those from other backgrounds. Issues we face in partnerships and intercultural teams include things such as, What kind of leadership style is to be used? How are decisions made? How is work divided up? How are meetings organized? How are conflicts resolved? How does planning take place? How are resources handled? If the leader or one group of the team tries to impose their cultural preferences, team relationships suffer. Therefore, it is important for the group to go back to the basics, to understand the image of God and His principles for how we as His children, created in His image, are to work together.

When this is figured out, it is extremely rewarding to work together on a team with those of other cultures who bring fresh perspectives, new ideas, and rewarding relationships.

ACT: Take this challenge from the Partner chapter of the World GO! Manual: Join a community-wide, faith-based outreach project that includes more than just your local church. Join a group that is addressing the particular needs of your community that God has given you a burden for.

"Imitate Me..."

An excerpt from...

"Imitate Me..."

By Kristy Weinert, Argentina
April-June 2013

There are as many definitions of discipleship as there are discipleship materials. Paul understood this when he invited the Corinthians to imitate him. In 1 Corinthians 4:15-16, he said there was an abundance of “instructors” but few “fathers” who are willing to take on spiritual children and demonstrate Christian living through their own lives. This kind of discipling requires a personal investment.

We are involved in a ministry that requires a 24/7 investment. Brad and I accepted the challenge to open a residence for Christian university students. Every year, over 100,000 students fill the university campuses of Córdoba, Argentina. Many come from around the country and have no family or contact in the city with whom to live while attending the university. We provide Christian students with low-cost living quarters, a weekly Bible study, Christian principles for living together, and the encouragement to stand for Jesus in a very non-Christian campus.

But it’s more than the daily involvement or Bible study; we’re being watched! We received comments such as “I didn’t know what a Christian marriage looks like,” or “I know you have devotions each day because I’ve seen you.” Even now as we live next door on the same property, they’re watching us daily to see how we deal with discouragement, financial needs, crises that arise, or spiritual needs around us. They need to see practical Christianity lived out in everyday life. What a responsibility to keep our own hearts in fresh contact and renewal with the Lord. It’s not about how flawless we are (we’re not!), but about how evident He can be in us if we walk as closely to Him as humanly possible.

What an awesome thing to say with Paul to a young Christian, “Imitate me, just as I also imitate Christ” (1 Corinthians 11:1). Do you dare to invite someone to come alongside you and walk with Jesus?

Discipling someone will teach you how to help another mature in faith. If God is calling you to invest in a young Christian, read the Plant chapter of the World Go! Manual to help get you started. Download the chapter for free atwww.wgm.org/worldgo.

Discover Your Cause

President's Perspective

By Hubert Harriman, President
January-March 2013


Steve and Alene Burgert, missionaries to Kenya recently spoke at WGM's chapel for support staff. As they began to share, we immediately sensed the energy of a God-given cause. Alene’s training and experience in prison chaplaincy ministry in the United States had “unknowingly” prepared her to play a vital role in the new prison chaplaincy training program envisioned by the Africa Gospel Church. She exuded passion and compassion as she told the story of Peter, who was converted while serving a life sentence. He was miraculously released and is now studying at Kaboson Pastors Training College, preparing to go back into the prison as a chaplain. Alene had not only discovered a God-given cause; she was intent on duplicating that cause in the lives of other people, in order to touch needy communities with the life-transforming message of the gospel. There is no greater cause!


This is why WGM has captured this as its central ministry focus. We state simply, strongly, and succinctly that our central focus is“Whole person transformation into the heart and soul of all communities.” We truly believe God can do this, and it is the reason Jesus came among us. This is happening over and over again across our fields of ministry. We have some incredible God-given causes that bring healing and help into individual lives and into the heart and soul of communities.

By the help of God, WGM is intent on helping believers discover missions—to discover their God-given cause. Without this, we die. With this, we live!

So, what is your cause?

ACT: Discovering your cause may seem a daunting task, but WGM is here to help. A resource to get you started on this journey is the World GO! Manual. Download the first chapter and get started on your path to discovery at www.wgm.org/worldgo.

What God Can Do

An excerpt from Do You Believe…In What God Can Do?
By Shushan Richardson, Ukraine
October–December 2011

My church in Ukraine was given the opportunity to serve Jesus through the blind in our community. It started with a simple relationship and grew into an opportunity for ministry.

Blindness in Ukraine happens at a high rate. Many people who were once sighted have become blind from lack of adequate medical care.

In Berdyansk, Ukraine, a community center for the blind hosts different classes and activities. It began with a simple connection to one person and grew to the whole church being invited to hold a service at the center on Saturdays. Through the relationships built during these Saturday services, many of the blind started attending church. In one week, five ladies were saved—four from the ministry to the blind and one lady from the community.

God can do mighty things through a body of believers willing to minister to others in a community. Would you like to see the family of God grow? The World Go! Manual is a great resource to help you be the hands and feet of Christ starting right in your community. Share a copy with your pastor to discover what missions impact your church can have.

ACT: Get the World Go! Manual here!Purchase a copy of the World Go! Manual at www.wgm.org/worldgo.

It Takes a Team!

An excerpt from It Takes a Team
By John Muehleisen, Africa
April/May/June 2011

By this time, Ruthven’s heart had softened toward spiritual things. He and other families in the community agreed to offer their homes as security against the church loan. Soon, a church was started.

Ressie and her family prayed for Ruthven for over 30 years. In 1979 he was hospitalized with heart problems and black lung disease. Thinking he was near death, Ruthven asked a pastor to come pray with him. He was saved and he lived a few more years as a transformed man.

Ruthven and Ressie’s youngest child, a son named C.R., accepted Christ as his Savior and felt called to preach. He attended Asbury University (Kentucky) before going on to Asbury Seminary. He was a student at Asbury during the 1970 revival. As a result of this revival, many student teams went out to minister in churches on weekends. C.R. was a member of a team that went to a church in St. Clairsville, Ohio, for revival services, and at the end of the Thursday night service, a 13-year-old boy walked down the aisle. C.R. prayed with him as he gave his life to Jesus. That young man’s name is John Muehleisen.

Whose redemption depends on your obedience today?

What neighbor, family member, or stranger is waiting on you to persevere in prayer and to give of yourself, your time, your money?

ACT: God used Team Ressie to make an impact in her community. What can you and your sphere of influence do to leave a missions impact where you live? The World Go! Manual is a great study to get you started. Call Tara Mast at 765.671.7244 to purchase a copy, or download it for free at www.wgm.org/
worldgo.

Enroll Your Church in Missionary Boot Camp

World GO! Manual
Enroll Your Church in Missionary Boot Camp
By Tracy Dubois, Web Writer/Writing Internship Coordinator
July/August 2008 Call to Prayer

Sound off…1, 2! Sound off…3, 4! Sound off…1, 2, 3, 4! Throughout the July/August 2008issue of Call to Prayer, WGM’s bi-monthly magazine, readers were invited to return to school as WGMU taught them about educational ministries around the globe. In this edition of Church Challenge, we’re not sending you back to the comforts of a classroom with desks, chairs, heat, and A/C. No, we’re sending you off to boot camp—WGMU style.

Attention! File in, shine those shoes, and drop and give me 30!

As Christians, we are called by Christ, our CO—commanding officer—to minister. Whether we live in the hills of West Virginia or the streets of Budapest, Hungary, we are called to preach the gospel wherever we are. WGMU works to support missionaries who serve in faraway places, but we also exist to train and equip Christians who minister in their daily lives as waitresses, bankers, salesmen, etc. This is where the World GO! Manual and your church come in.

Just as the military’s boot camp is intended to train soldiers, the World GO! Manual is designed to train us in the church to be witnesses for Christ right where we are. Our CO set out a missionary-training model in Acts 1:8, “You will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Our Jerusalem is where God has planted us right now—our hometowns, neighborhoods, and workplaces. Our Samaria is the people we have the least desire to help, and the ends of the earth are where we train other soldiers for battle.

Attention! Time to suit up for missionary training. Meet me at the track at 0500 (that’s 5 a.m.) for a five-mile run, and drop and give me 20!

In order for us in the church to accomplish our call, we need to develop specific skills—praying, witnessing, serving, loving, giving, partnering, enduring, teaching, and planting. And guess what? Each skill is covered in a section of the World GO! Manual.

As you study the book, you will follow the fictional life of graduate student Mark Evans. Each section features a story about Mark as his notion of a missionary is revolutionized through his encounters with missionary to Africa Randall Volarez.

Attention! You are to be commended for your faithful service! Now drop and give me 10!

Just as military personnel earn medals for their service, you will receive a reward as you complete each section of the World GO! Manual. After reading each section, you will complete one of four action items, each of which includes questions to answer before, during, and after the process. Complete your assignment and receive a missions merit pin as a reminder of the skill you learned.

The World GO! Manual can be used by small groups, Sunday School classes, youth groups, or the church as a whole. You can go at your own pace and even work through the manual several times, choosing a different action item each time. Remember those choose-your-own-ending books from the ’80s?

This manual is a resource every church can and should utilize. Now is the time for your church to enroll in boot camp as you pray, witness, serve, love, give, partner, endure, teach, and plant for the Lord. We are His witnesses to the ends of the earth!

Contact WGMU’s Development Office at development@wgm.org or 765.671.7244 to learn more about this great resource or to secure your own copy of the World GO! Manual. Be prepared so your church can answer “Aye, aye, Sir!” the next time our CO asks, “Who will go?” Get started on the manual today!

Is your church creatively “doing missions”? Let us know so we can possibly feature your church in an upcoming Church Challenge. E-mail your comments to tellthecall@wgm.org.

Ready for an Empty Nest?

An excerpt from Ready for an Empty Nest?
By Shelly McCollum, Support Staff
July/August 2010

I look at those sad parents at high school graduations and weddings differently now. I know what they’re going through! Perhaps you have friends who are about to become empty nesters. Share your experiences with them and let them know you have a shoulder they can lean on during that time. It is said that time heals wounds, and as I look back over my experience, I can say that it’s true. I actually started to get used to this new phase in my life and was really beginning to enjoy it and then—she moved back! Next time she moves out, it will be different. I will be prepared!

Are you an empty nester looking for ways God can use you and your newfound spare time? Here are a few of my suggestions:

* Take a long walk through your neighborhood and pray for your neighbors. Have you taken time to get to know them? Are they Christians? Think about ways they can become your mission field close to home.

* Get some other empty nesters together and plan a short-term missions trip. Plan your trip at www.wgm.org/teams.

* Start a small group at your church for empty nesters. Study the World Go! Manual and discover how you can have an impact in your sphere of influence. Download the manual at www.wgm.org/worldgo.