Author Archives: rwb

Six Principles for Good Practice in Development by Bruce Piercey

Posted on by
Reply

After a lifetime in development ministry, I believe I’ve discovered the most
crucial principles of good practice for Christian ministries engaged in development,
regardless of scale. These principles are theoretical concepts and practical guidelines that can significantly impact your ministry’s effectiveness.

  1. Care Before Cure
    The first and most fundamental principle is prioritizing caring for the people
    we serve over fixing their problems. This principle sets the tone for the rest of our
    approach and is key to building trust and relationships.
    Suppose you have been raised in a Western culture and education system and
    live in a developed country, especially if you have technical know-how (and we all
    have the access and ability to search for answers on the internet). In that case,
    you will instinctively start by identifying the problems in any given community and
    planning an effective solution. You will look for a fix or cure. If the solution doesn’t
    fix the problem (achieve results), you will examine the problem cycle, make changes,
    and try again. I have seen three or four cycles before the solution is abandoned.
    Usually, along the way, you will identify “cultural” barriers or passive resistance
    from the community. Eventually, the solution will incorporate fixing the people to
    correct the problem. Then congratulations—your solution might technically work.
    But now you have a new problem—people don’t like to be fixed. They don’t
    like outsiders telling them about their culture, that they are the problem. They
    resist the “transformation” we think they need.
    Relationships and trust have not been established to overcome this. You have unconsciously put fixing the problem ahead of caring for the people. The English verb to care has its etymological root with to lament. We must be willing to share in the suffering of the people we wish to serve. This sharing takes time, patience, and real listening. They must discover their problems and start small, high-risk, experimental, creative ways to address them. If the project fails, you remain a faithful presence and try, try again. Persistence, relationship, and trust form around the bond of caring you have established.
    Eventually, the question arises, “You really care for us? Why?” A door opens to
    share the truth of the gospel in the manner described in 1 Peter 3.15ff.
  2. Balance Accountability and Trust
    “I trust this man with my life. I would never ask him for receipts.” Less than
    a year later (albeit under tremendous pressure from persecution and death
    threats), “this man” absconded with all the funds in the church account.
    In Christian communities, asking for an accounting of funds or results is often
    interpreted as a lack of trust. On the other hand, putting large amounts of cash
    in the hands of someone without adequate accountability, boundaries, and
    expectations is placing temptation in front of them.
    This is even truer in cultures structured with patron-client expectations—the
    person you trust is under incredible pressure to use their access to the funds to
    benefit his own clients. We, in turn, stand in the position of being a bad or stingy
    patron if we don’t look the other way. Getting this balance right is one of the most
    complex challenges. The value of accountability for all stakeholders needs to be
    taught/learned, never assumed.
  3. Ownership of the Problem
    The patron-client (or power/fear) dynamic surfaces in the issue of problem
    ownership. We arrive as a well-funded outsider seeking to fix a problem. Our
    motivation may be entirely altruistic, but altruism is an alien concept to the people
    we serve. They think we must want something in return. The dynamic is that if we
    are willing to buy their problem, we are getting something in return. They may
    not know what the something is, but they assume it exists. In communities with a
    high level of experience in development projects, they know several things:
  • We on the frontline are obviously receiving a good salary and maintaining
    a healthy lifestyle.
  • We are putting our expertise to work solving what has now become “our”
    problem.
  • We are helping them grow more food, drill a well, and make a product to
    sell—we must be selling this at a profit or kickback.
  • We will return to fix any future problems with “our” solution to “our”
    problem.
  • We are likely to want something from them in return in the future, i.e., we
    are buying their problem, and they are willing to pay the price of a client’s
    obligation.
    The result is obvious. We are good patrons if we have bought the problem and
    the solution belongs to us. A relationship built on this transactional basis means
    we will remain good patrons and keep everything we have fixed. This is what we
    end up calling dependency. Take, for example, a district in one country where
    food was distributed after a famine in 1989 and continued to be distributed due to
    chronic food shortages until at least 2012. However, as long as the aid companies
    continued to bring the food, a great deal of back-breaking labour to scratch food
    out of the soil was avoided (an utterly rational choice to make). Food distribution
    had become a job for government workers and a source of income from foreign
    governments. Thus, a generation passed, making it so that if the aid ever stopped,
    too few actually knew how to grow food to feed themselves.

4. What are Your Expectations for Helping?
Charity is a relatively unknown idea in most cultures. Alms for the poor generates
merit with their god or gods. They think the giver is expecting some measure of repayment, if not in kind, then in loyalty from the recipient. Acceptance of your help puts them in debt and makes them your client. One of the best questions is, “Why are you doing this?” This question is not often asked in the development sector, as our motive is assumed. With persistence, building relationships, and fulfilling our commitments, the question of ‘Why?’ results, opening the door to the subject of the love of the God who sent us and His mercy and grace. But beware: If you hurry the relationship or press for their hearing and acceptance of the gospel—to make a decision for Christ—your motivation will seem offensive. This is a significant pitfall for ministry in a development context.

5. Understanding Worldview: Honour/Shame, Power/Fear, Innocence/Guilt
A Christian and biblical worldview understands how the gospel can be contextualized and effectively communicated to all three worldviews, providing freedom from guilt, fear, or shame. Sin accounts for all three, and Christ’s work on the cross and His resurrection deal with all three.
For an international worker educated only in a reformation theology focused
on the problem of sin, guilt, and punishment (death), it is almost impossible to
understand why our atonement arguments fall on deaf ears. For someone raised
in an honour/shame culture, that version of the gospel utterly fails to address their
existential problem of unbearable shame. The gospel messenger in this worldview
must continually highlight how Christ came to take away our shame and give us a
place of honour before the heavenly Father. Only someone of impeccable honour
can restore their honour—Jesus on the cross for them.
When working with people in a power/fear worldview, the gospel must be
announced as coming to take away our fears, fears of evil spirits, fears of curses,
and fears of the witch doctor. The messenger proclaims the good news that Christ
came to give us the power to live without fear through His Holy Spirit.

6. Freewill and Determinism
The majority of humanity, from all religions and worldviews, sees life through
the lens of fate. Their outcomes are either predetermined by merit or lack of
merit in a previous life (Hinduism and Buddhism) or by the will of their god or
gods based on their karma. This is the most critical barrier to development I have
encountered. The poor believe that being poor is their fate/karma, regardless of
whether their sin or wrongdoing is unknown in a previous life or known in the
present life.
This is also another opportunity to open the door to spiritual change. A good
development project will demonstrate to the beneficiary how the positive change
in their life (handwashing, hygiene, improved health, school attendance) directly results from their own efforts. It will plant the seed of the concept that they can overcome fate by making different choices and efforts. That seed will become the basis for any number of transformational changes, including receptivity to the gospel.

So, in summary, here are six fundamental principles to think through before engaging in a development project:

  1. Relationship, relationship, relationship – putting CARE before CURE .
  2. Finding the right balance of trust and accountability…they can overcome fate by making different choices and efforts.
  3. You must own the problem to own the solution – avoiding handouts and dependency.
  4. What’s in it for you? (or what do they think your quid pro quo is?)
  5. Understanding worldview – honour/shame, power/fear or guilt/innocence.
  6. Freewill and determinism – self-help vs karma

Chapter 10 in this book – free download https://thealliancecanada.ca/resources/on-mission/

OM Book Cover Vol 8 Final Working2

A Ministry in-Deed by Buzz Maxey

Posted on by
Reply

A few weeks ago, we visited Lincoln and Star, a CAMA couple who are working together with an Axcess couple, Brad and Abby, among an unreached people group on our island. As we drove into their experimental farm, Brad was helping the local men on a community work project fixing potholes in the street. He was covered in dust and dripping with sweat but having a great time shovelling gravel and joking with the men. Star and Abby were getting ready for their regular Zumba classes while Lincoln was preparing to show some visitors the milk goats the team was raising. He yelled a greeting to several of his soccer players who were riding by and invited us to join the farm tour he was about to lead. We joined them and learned how they avoided the use of pesticides and observed they were quite successful in
growing organic vegetables. They are also introducing new crops like okra, hibiscus,
Surinam cherry, and forage crops to feed cattle and goats. Their goal as a team is to first learn all they can from the local farmers and to share some agricultural innovations they have learned themselves. This unique farm attracts local farmers from the area, but the biggest attraction is the new breed of goats they are raising.
Lincoln, Star, Brad, and Abby do an impressive job of authenticating the gospel
in word and deed. Today they are attending the funeral of the husband of Yuyun,
one of the women from the Zumba team. They will sit and cry with her and her
family and then go to the graveyard along with the procession. They will come
back to her house, drink tea together, and try to be a comfort as friends and family
come and go. No foreigners have ever done this before in this community, and
the neighbours are amazed. The community knows that these two couples and
their kids love them and are here to help them be productive in farming. Everyone
knows too that they are “Nasrani” or Christ followers. They are the Nasrani who
now occupy the house everyone said was haunted.
Their goal as a team is to first learn all they can from the local farmers…
When John the Baptist’s disciples asked Jesus, “Are you the one?” He answered,
“The blind receive sight, the lame walk, those who have leprosy are cleansed,
the deaf hear, the dead are raised, and the good news is proclaimed to the poor
(Matthew 11:5). Our ministries should follow Christ’s example. Too often, in our
Western worldview, we cut the Word of God to pieces and come up with a very
lopsided understanding of Christ’s ministry. If we remove our cultural lenses, we
see a very wholistic ministry in the Gospels.
In the past, many Christian leaders believed development was “a tool to attract
people to the gospel” or “a means to get into a closed country.” I would suggest
holding a carrot out to gain followers or using good deeds “as a means” of getting
a foot in the door, but this is not the correct approach. Most of those who follow
will quickly disperse and feel betrayed when they see the real motivation.
Some people still have a wrong idea of what development is. Some think of it
as building bridges, digging wells, raising goats, or growing crops. For myself, the
two couples from the farm, and the close to 100 CAMA workers worldwide, our
work is way more than that. Our development work is Christ-centered ministry.
Development done right means discipling people to become all God intended
them to be. Our people are not only involved in development projects. Although
we are often involved in these kinds of projects as we deal with peoples’ physical
needs, the most important and sustainable development occurs inside the
mind and heart. Development is about building unity, compassion, integrity, and love. As one development worker put it, “Our methodology is discipleship, with development being the outcome.”
We should always be discipling people to use their gifting to build their communities and
to build them on sound Christian principles. We don’t want a successful goat
project and have people care less for their neighbours. We don’t want a greater
harvest of crops only producing greedy people. It is far better to have all the goats
die, the crops fail and have more godly, generous, compassionate, honest, and
loving people. This is what discipleship development strives for and what we are
committed to, but it takes lots and lots of time.
People development rarely happens quickly. It means being willing to fail in
a project if failure is the way the people are to grow and learn. It means really
slowing down our activities to develop deep relationships, build trust, learn from
farmers, and implement new innovations in the community. Too often we have
seen projects fail simply because activities have not been slowed down enough.
“Our methodology is discipleship, with development being the outcome.”

Funders and leaders may not like this, but as we slow our activities down, some amazing things can happen, leading to sustainability. One development practitioner I know well has said, “Good development is time expensive and money cheap.” However, the present trend in some organizations is to make a budget, finish the project, and liquidate the funds in the allotted time. Too often, the projects I see are money, expensive, and time cheap, leaving only rusting equipment, broken water pumps and burned-out people.
The four ambassadors on the farm are in it for the long haul. They have
learned the language well and have been trained in development, agriculture,
and theology. They understand contextualization and are experts in the people’s
culture and belief system. Although they have been in their village for only a few
years, they are already making quite an impact.
But tonight, they are mourning, not just because Yuyun lost her husband, and
they see the tears in the eyes of her children, Galang and Gafin, but because they
knew their father, Eddy. He is gone. Yuyun is left without her husband. They feel
the loss and wish Eddy had followed the One whom they proclaim. But they are
not daunted. They will say their farewells tonight, go home, get up in the morning
to feed the goats, work in the garden, plan for Zumba, and take care of the many
things that need to be done.
As we leave the farm, three little neighbour girls swing on the tire swing Lincoln
put up. This used to be a haunted house, but now it’s safe in this yard and even
fun. The girls smile and wave. We head out of the driveway and notice Brad still
shovelling gravel in the street. Lincoln heads back to the garden, and Star and
Abby return to Zumba class, planning and doing what Jesus claimed was ministry
in-DEED.

From chapter 12 – free download https://thealliancecanada.ca/resources/on-mission/

OM Book Cover Vol 8 Final Working2

Two Decades in the Trenches by Mark Jones

Posted on by
Reply

After 31 years of participation in relief and development, I realized that my own
development and God’s work in me have been vital to my ability to participate
well in community development and to come alongside others in their personal
development. Please allow me to share with you some of the things I have
learned and continue to learn that affect my ability to be a successful community
development worker.
As a young married man, I moved with my wife to the other side of the world
to a communist country, finding itself at a pretty low point on the United Nations
Human Development Index (HDI). It had been through war and experienced
significant closure to the outside world. I had sensed a call to serve internationally
early in my life, and this move seemed the culmination of a long journey to get
there. At 26 years of age, I felt well-prepared to go out and change the world.
Those first two years were two of the most challenging years of my life. Those
years were the starting point for realizing my own needs and poverties and how I
did not have what it takes to fix and change the world.
Years later, I read White Man’s Burden by William Easterly, and it helped
bring some clarity to where I had started and where I was growing in relation to
seeing myself as someone with answers and solutions to circumstances. Easterly
(2006) wrote about Searchers and Planners. He wrote about how Westerners,
which is my background, have a strong leaning and tendency towards studying
an issue or a problem (quite possibly from afar), devising a plan to address the
issue, and then implementing it. In general, the Planners do this to the exclusion
of significant interaction with the ones living with “the problem.” He contrasts
those Planners with Searchers. He describes Searchers as people who come in,
not with preconceived ideas and plans of fixing things but with the intent of
listening well to what those living in the situation see as their need and how they
believe their needs should be addressed. This “searching” results in marrying the
self-diagnosed needs and prioritizing those needs with potential resources, often
local in origin.
I had come in as a Planner. The people I had come to serve had suffered greatly,
lived in poverty, had terrible health care, poor education, low life expectancy, high
child mortality rates, and the list goes on. I, with my Western education, middleclass upbringing, and a desire to see these people have the “rich and satisfying
life” Jesus said He came to give in John 10:10, felt I had the answers these people
needed or, at the least, had good access to the answers. Instead, what was
needed was for me to become a Searcher. So, how did I start this journey, and
what character traits did I need to develop in order to become a Searcher rather
than a Planner? Let me tell you my story.
Learning to Listen
In one area of the country we served, subsistence-level living was the norm.
We looked at their resources and observed most farmers had a cow or maybe
even a few. While this area was far from the capital and the good markets, we saw
the potential for these farmers to increase the amount and quality of their cattle,
and we could help find solutions on the market end of things.
So, we devised a plan. We brought in a cattle expert from Canada. He researched
everything related to making small, scrawny cattle big, fat, and marketable. He did
trial plots on grasses from different areas to find out what grew well and balanced
it out with grasses the cattle seemed to like better than others. He did silage trials
and looked at ways of bailing. He looked at what diseases they were dying of and
got access to the right kind of vaccinations. And with all this learning in hand, we
started training sessions for farmers to teach them all he had learned. Then, with
high expectations, we waited to see big, fat, healthy cattle.
We waited, and we waited, and it never happened. What could have gone
wrong? So, we started doing what we should have done in the first place: We
talked to the farmers about what was going on. It seems like it should have been
evident to us all along that we needed to take this step. Yet somehow, when we
think we see what the problem is, we tend to jump to conclusions about the
solutions and devise a plan on our own instead.
It turns out the farmers have their one cow or a few cows for really only one
purpose…manure production. As farmers, they wanted access to good fertilizer,
and as long as their cattle stayed alive and made cow pies, they had what they
wanted. They wanted their crops healthy to feed their families and maybe enough
to sell for cash. The vaccinations went well as they helped keep their cattle alive.
However, nothing we did to help find ways of turning them into beef cattle found
root as the farmers had no desire to sell their cattle; they needed the manure.

I came in as a Planner and eventually learned the hard way to be a Searcher. So, big lesson number one? Find ways to “search” in your work as a development worker over “finding plans.” Talk with people early and often. Listen well. Accept the idea that if you present a
mainly formed idea or plan to people living in poverty, they will likely tell you your idea is great and that they need it, even if they feel differently. The place to start is not with a planned presentation but with relationships and good listening.
Many years ago, I saw a diagram Myers (1999) presented that provides a simple
pattern for doing this work intentionally.

  • Discovery/Appreciation – Myers asks, “What gives life?” to help us consider
    what good things already exist in this context and what is valued.
  • Dreaming/Envisioning Impact – Asking questions such as ‘’What might
    be?” and “What is God calling for?” can help those we are working with
    dream and cast vision for the future.
  • Dialogue – After imagining what could be, Myers encourages us to discuss
    with our friends and partners “What should be?” or what the “ideal” is.
  • Delivery/Sustaining – During this step, it is helpful to consider what is already working, ask how we can work together to grow what is working, and possibly how to build off it. After this fourth step, the cycle begins again. Working through these together helps those of us coming in from the outside be better Searchers. In addition, when it does come time to incorporate some planning, we are now doing it alongside those in the context and supporting what they see as important versus starting with our own plans.
    Keep Growing
    An understanding of being a co-participant and a co-learner is important. The
    idea of us coming in as fully functional givers and suppliers does not lend itself
    well to communities and individuals accepting ownership of their own stories and
    walking towards greater health. When we come across as fully put-together and
    complete providers, how do we expect those we work with to relate to us? How
    can we expect others to walk towards greater health if we are unwilling to address
    and be vulnerable about our needs to move towards greater health?
    Bryant Myers brings up an essential point about poverty. He says, “Poverty is a
    result of relationships that do not work, that are not just, that are not for life, that
    are not harmonious or enjoyable” (2011, 86). In their book When Helping Hurts,
    Fikkert and Corbett (2009) flesh this out by showing how poverty is about broken
    relationships in the different spheres of our lives: a broken relationship with God, a broken relationship with ourselves, a broken relationship with community, and a broken relationship with systems (like government and economy). I write this not as a reminder of who you are working with but as a suggestion for you to locate yourself in this list of brokenness. Ask
    yourself in what area you are experiencing poverty.
    Before heading overseas, I would never have listed myself as having a poverty
    of community. After living among people with a rich and developed sense of
    family and community, I realized I had a lot of room for growth. What a pleasure it
    was to grow in this area. The rich sense of family and community I developed with
    many in our early working context continues to bless me today. When we identify, accept, and share openly about our own growth and movement in these areas of brokenness, we become more human and acceptable to those to whom we come to serve. As an old football coach of mine used to say, “When you are green, you grow, and when you ripen, you rot.” We need to stay on the growing edge ourselves, along with others, and not come across as finished products.…poverty is about broken relationships in the different spheres of our lives.
    Choose Humility
    To be co-learners and co-participants, we need to be humble. Humility may
    not be the first thing that comes to mind when considering how to be a good
    development worker. But if being a Searcher is better than being a Planner, and I
    firmly believe it is, one will find it difficult to do without humility. As I noted earlier,
    I left Canada for a far-off communist land with a strong dose of self-assurance and
    purpose resulting from good preparation and a strong sense of call on my life.
    What those things didn’t make a lot of room for was humility. I was young, full of
    ideas and passion, and ready to change the world. What happened in those early
    years helped to humble me and, eventually, helped me appreciate humility.
    When you come into a new context, language, culture, and relationships, many,
    if not all, of the things that once helped you have a healthy sense of who you are
    and how you can contribute take a pretty serious bashing. Suddenly, you can’t
    communicate. When you do communicate, you unknowingly use a gesture that is highly offensive and leave the situation with no idea why it’s offensive. To top it all off, the relationships you took years to develop into your support system are now on the other side of the world, and you are at square one again. If you can accept your limitations and be humble in the midst of everything, it will go a long way to help you be a co-learner and participant with the goal of being a Searcher.
    Build a Tolerance for Ambiguity
    “Ambiguity leads to advance, and clarity leads to closure.” So said Phil Skellie,
    our beloved leader of CAMA for many years. It’s a strange saying, and I think
    your average Westerner will react quite negatively to this statement. But in our
    bid to be a Searcher, I believe a high tolerance for ambiguity is needed. If we go
    for complete clarity too early in the search process, we can shut down discussion
    and create short-sighted solutions. We short-circuit the development process by
    bringing our sense of clarity to something not yet ready for it. Sometimes, as colearners, we must learn to hold ourselves back for a while. It is not helpful if the clarity we experience is only with one party and not the whole. If we can find a way to live in the uncomfortable area of questions, half answers, and ideas with no action plans attached, I believe we will help to free people up to fully engage If you can accept your limitations and be humble…it will go a long way to help you… in their own development and that of their communities. In many cases, there will eventually be clarity, but we need to give the process much more time than what we are used to as Westerners.
    Become More Self-Aware
    My last word of advice on how to develop as a development worker, is to
    increasingly work on your own self-awareness. Who are you? What do you bring
    to the table? What do you need to be brought to the table because you don’t
    have it? How do you react under stress? What does it look like when you are
    functioning at your best? Your worst? Are you a loner or a team player? Are you
    contemplative or action-oriented? Are you loud? Are you quiet? What is your
    relationship with God like? Are you harbouring secrets? (I don’t believe you can
    overdo it in the endeavour to understand yourself better.) There is a plethora of
    tools out there to help you understand yourself better. Don’t be satisfied with
    one. Try out a few, and see what they tell you about yourself. Here is a list of some
    worth trying: DISC, Birkman, Myers-Briggs, Strength Finders, and Enneagram.
    Don’t do them all at once, and don’t keep the results to yourself. Draw others
    into the discussion of who you are and what it might mean for the work you have
    been called to. Ask them what they agree with and what they don’t. Learn, grow,
    and develop. It is what you have been called to help others do. Don’t deprive
    yourself of similar growth.
    In conclusion, if you have been called to service, including development work,
    acknowledge early on that you also need continued development. Walk into your
    own need, and it will go much, much better than being only a provider and not a
    receiver.

    References:
    Myers, Bryant. 1999. “MARC Newsletter.” No 99-3.
    Myers, Bryant. 2011. Walking with the Poor: Principles and Practices of Transformational Development. Maryknoll, NY: Orbis Books.
    Easterly, William. 2006. White Man’s Burden. Oxford, New York: Oxford University Press.
    Corbett, Steve and Brian Fikkert. 2009. When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting the Poor…and Yourself. Chicago, IL: Moody Publishers.

Chapter 9 in this book – free download https://thealliancecanada.ca/resources/on-mission/

OM Book Cover Vol 8 Final Working2

Tip#16 Finish well

Posted on by
Reply


by Rebecca Brown

“Seven days,” the official at the visa office said. We had jumped through the two-day process of renewing our visas again. Aside from being time-consuming,
the process had seemed smooth up until this point.
“Okay, we should return in seven days to pick up our visas?” we clarified.
“No, seven days,” he repeated, handed us our passports, and ended the
conversation. As we ran through the conversation again in our minds, confirming
that we had understood his Arabic correctly, I thumbed through my passport. I
stopped.
There, marring a page in my passport, was an indelible stamp. “Um, this says
we need to leave the country in seven days,” I held it up to show my husband.
“What?” Neither of us could believe it!
We’d barely been in the country a year. We’d muddled our way through
language study. We had spent so much time sheltering in place thanks to the
onset of the COVID-19 global pandemic. It felt like we were just getting started,
and now it would all be over in one week. This outcome hadn’t even crossed
our minds when we entered the passport office that morning. We felt stunned,
overcome with disbelief. Had all of this been for nothing?

If you took a missions history course, you likely learned about the great
missionaries of old who packed their worldly possessions into their coffin
and shipped it overseas, prepared never to return. Missions was a lifelong
commitment. Even though the world has changed significantly since those days,
there is still a deeply instilled idea that if you sign up for missions, this is the rest
of your life. Being prepared to devote your life to sharing the gospel is great, but
let’s remember a few things:


First, the world is volatile. Mission strategy has turned its focus to the most
challenging places remaining – the least-reached areas of the world. Missionary
visas are less popular. Even if you’re prepared to put down roots and live in your
host country for decades, you may be deported. It may become unsafe for you to
stay, and your missions agency may ask you to come home or relocate. We must
hold our timeline with open hands.


Second, God has been at work in your host country long before you arrive,
and He’ll continue to be at work long after you leave. He is inviting you for a
period to join Him in His work. Whether you see abundant fruit in that time or
not, nothing is wasted in His economy. He will use you in ways you can identify
and in ways you may never learn about this side of Heaven.


Third, a call away from the overseas ministry is not a failure. You may be called
away from serving overseas at some point for one or more reasons – whether it
be a health issue, aging parents, children’s schooling, other kid-related reasons,
or simply you feel God calling you out of your posting. You will not have failed if
your service was shorter than you expected.


Lastly, the goal of missions is to work yourself out of a job. Should the country
or people group where you’re working develop a strong, locally-led, indigenous
church, your job there is done. At this point, it will be time to consider another
location or return home.
So, with these thoughts in mind, how do you even start your overseas ministry?

  • Do your best to balance holding your timeline with open hands and
    approaching language and cultural learning as though you will spend the
    rest of your life there. No matter your anticipated timeline, putting down
    roots and investing will never be a waste of time.
  • Cultivate a small group of people who pray and discern with you. Discerning
    the will of God should not be a solo activity. Your call might be an individual
    thing but, more than likely, your community of faith around you will affirm
    it. As you set out, you will want a faithful core of prayer warriors who will
    follow your life and your work closely. These people will also be vital in
    helping you discern if and when God is calling you out of this season and
    into something new. So, when you’re in a valley of frustration, maybe
    wishing God was calling you out, you’ll have this group to encourage you
    and hear the directive voice of God.
  • Remember your faithfulness to the One who sent you is more important
    than any statistics you feel you should be reporting to your supporters.
    In John 15:5, Jesus tells us, “I am the vine; you are the branches. If you
    remain in me and I in you, you will bear much fruit; apart from me you can
    do nothing.”
  • Finally, love one another. Jesus continues in John 15:16-17, “You did
    not choose me, but I chose you and appointed you so that you might go
    and bear fruit – fruit that will last – and so that whatever you ask in my
    name the Father will give you. This is my command: Love each other.”
    Your actions of love are what the world around you will see – a tangible
    expression of the Father’s love for them. Love your spouse, your children,
    your teammates, your neighbours, and your local church. Love them well.
    Even before your language skills reach a point of being able to eloquently
    pray and effectively share the Good News of Jesus Christ, your outpouring
    of love to those around you can be evident to all.
  • When it comes time to move on, whether it’s to another country or returning
    home for a new season in your life, you can be confident His words to you will be
    “Well done, my good and faithful servant,” if you have remained faithful to Him
    and have well-loved those He has placed you among.

    Book
    Looming Transitions: Starting and Finishing Well in Cross-cultural Service by Amy Young, published independently, 2017
  • Download all 16 tips in this e-book from https://www.cmacan.org/resources/on-mission/

Tip#15 Continue to learn

Posted on by
Reply

by Ron


Lifelong learning takes us beyond the formal classroom into self-motivated
education through books or videos, online or in-person classes through a local
college or training facility, one-on-one with a tutor, or training courses and
workshops provided by our sending agency. Through the internet, we also have
access to many great resources. Lifelong learning is about being open and taking
in new ideas and perspectives.


Incorporating this type of learning into your life offers you many long-term
benefits. For example, learning a new skill can renew your motivation, bringing
personal satisfaction. It can get you out of a rut of doing things the same way
all the time and inspire you to do things in a better way. It can reduce boredom,
making what you do more exciting and help you to reach your goals quicker and
easier. It can often reveal interests you never knew you had.


While we’re learning new skills, we’re also learning more about creativity,
problem-solving, critical thinking, and ways to adapt. We also become more
skilled at what we do; our self-confidence increases personally and professionally.
Lifelong learners often see change as something positive, and it helps them to
grow in problem-solving while learning new skills and encountering people with
different ideas. An open mind enables you to evaluate other ideas and change
your mind, if necessary, helping you grow in your understanding.
Sometimes our learning takes us outside of our comfort zone, which can benefit
personal growth, opening us up to learn things we may not have considered
before.


While there are many benefits to lifelong learning, you may find it can also
be time-consuming and exhausting, so it’s essential to celebrate achieving each
milestone so you don’t become discouraged. For example, going out for a special
meal or treating yourself to something you enjoy can help motivate you to
persevere when you feel like stopping. Likewise, not being content with what you
already know can be a powerful motivation for continuing your education.
Your example can encourage others to become lifelong learners, and seeing
others inspired by your example can motivate you to continue your education.
We recommend the following excellent resources as you continue your lifelong
pursuit of learning.

Books
Christian Mission – A Concise Global History by Edward Smither,
published by Lexham Press, 2019

Theology of Mission – A Concise Biblical Theology by J.D. Payne,
published by Lexham Press, 2022

Rethinking Global Mobilization – Calling the Church to Her
Core Identity by Ryan Shaw, published by Ignite Media, 2022

Advanced Missiology – How to Study Missions in Credible and
Useful Ways by Kenneth Nehrbass, published by Cascade Books,
2021

Regeneration – Stories of Resilient Faith in Communist Romania
by Miriam Charter, published by Word Alive Press, 2020


Courses

Tip#14 Finesse your communication skills

Posted on by
Reply

by Rebecca


Being an international worker requires you to become a jack of all trades.
You’ll find yourself doing things you never expected to do! Whether or not you
enjoy public speaking or writing updates, finessing your communication skills is
a critical component of the worker’s life.
I’ve met many people who dread the end of the month or week – whatever
their self-imposed deadline is for getting out that update email. Rather than
dreading it, I hope you can embrace it and use it as a regular reminder of God’s
faithfulness and a moment to pause and look for His fingerprints in the ordinary.
Your job in updating your support base isn’t to wow them with big numbers or
incredible stories, but rather it is to disciple them in their understanding of God’s
heart for the nations, to share how you see God moving in big but also small
ways, and to include them in your work as you live overseas as an extension of
your supporting church.


Stories are key when engaging an audience, and the best advice you might
receive regarding what and how to share. Rather than detailing what you have
been up to, share a story that impacted you. Short truly is sweet, so don’t feel
compelled to write a novel, but share a short story of how you saw the Spirit at
work or saw a prayer answered. This will draw in your readers and help them
better understand your overseas work.


Update your supporters regularly and frequently. With the ease and
affordability of email, some workers opt to send weekly emails rather than
monthly – both are good – the key is that they get sent. Don’t feel bound to send
updates on the same day every month; instead, send updates when you have
something to say. You may find yourself having something to share three weeks
after your last update, and other times, it may be closer to five weeks, but if you’re
averaging a monthly email – pat yourself on the back. For example, we aim for a
monthly update, but when we started having visa issues and faced deportation,
we communicated much more frequently to keep our prayer supporters updated
on the ever-changing situation!

Of course, you have heard the saying, “A picture is worth a thousand words.”
So lean heavily on photos – you might want to consider making your whole update
a series of pictures with a paragraph under each picture as a format for sending
updates. Images help your supporters better understand what your world looks
like. It also helps those who only take time to skim. Some want the highlights
rather than reading through a page of text.
Many of us shy away from asking for money. We cringe at the thought. If a
goal of your communication includes fundraising, be encouraged to share clear
and defined fundraising goals. A donor wants to know what they are giving
towards and how great the need is. Avoid nebulous, vague asks for support and,
instead, provide a specific goal with clear instructions on how to give. It may feel
uncomfortable for the asker, but the donor will appreciate it.


Lastly, personalize where and when you can. If you’re using an email platform
such as Mailchimp, you can subdivide your mailing list into individual churches.
For example, I have broken down our mailing list into six separate lists so I can
include a screenshot of an elder praying for us during the service or a comment
on a milestone the church is celebrating. These additions might be specific to
one church but not of interest to the rest of the people on our mailing list. This
also allows me to send a ‘thank you’ email to a specific church after we have
spoken there on a weekend. It takes a little extra work – and you don’t have to
personalize each update – but when there are opportunities, it goes a long way
toward communicating that your relationship with that church is a two-way
street and you care about what is going on there.


Get creative. Use social media where you can. There are many ways to
communicate – don’t let the options overwhelm you; choose what works for you
and do it well. If you’re communicating God’s heart for the nations, authenticity
in the ups and downs of your life, and expressing gratitude for those praying for
you and supporting you financially, you are succeeding at communicating well.

Book
Enjoying Newsletters: How to Write Christian Communications
People Want to Read by Amy Young, published independently,
2019

Download all 16 tips here https://www.cmacan.org/resources/on-mission/

Tip#13 Use a wellness plan

Posted on by
Reply

by Ron


The world is a needy place. When we arrive, there are so many demands
calling for our attention. Stress can build. Guilt can form for not meeting demands
we can solve. Trying to prioritize takes time and effort. We feel bad for saying no
to certain things. We don’t like not meeting the expectations of others, especially
the people pleasers! How do we say ‘yes’ to maintaining a growing relationship
but mean ‘no’ to the request?
For those reasons, global workers must pay attention to our mental health. We
need a plan to maintain our health in a foreign land for the long haul. Otherwise,
the risk for many is that they become overwhelmed and soon leave.
Here is a Wellness Plan developed by Beth Cook. We encourage you to fill it out
and review it regularly. It might be wise to send it to your accountability partner.


Wellness Plan for God’s Call on My Life
The Greatest Commandment:
The most important one, answered Jesus, is this: Hear, O Israel, the Lord our
God, the Lord is one. Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your
soul and with all your mind and with all your strength. The second is this: Love
your neighbor as yourself. There is no commandment greater than these. (Mark
12:29-31)
Love the Lord your God: I resolve that my love relationship with God will be the
core and foundation for all of life and ministry (encompasses both the receiving
and giving of God’s love). To that end, over the coming year, I resolve to:
With all your heart: I resolve to express my love for God through emotional
wholeness. To that end, over the coming year, I resolve to:

With all your soul: I resolve to express my love for God through spiritual
growth. To that end, over the coming year, I resolve to:


With all your mind: I resolve to express my love for God in my thought life,
and through cognitive and vocational growth. To that end, over the coming year,
I resolve to:


And with all your strength: I resolve to express my love for God through the
care of my physical resources. To that end, over the coming year, I resolve to
express my love for God through wise stewardship of financial resources. To that
end, over the coming year, I resolve to:


Love your neighbour as yourself: I resolve to express my love for God through
my relationships with others. To that end, over the coming year, I resolve to:
Date completed or revised:
(Signed) ________________________


Global worker Mike Sohm recently retired and wrote this in his biography (ON
MISSION: Stories of Those Who Went, Volume 6):
Regular Patterns for Nurturing Your Relationship with God
Over the years, I have developed daily, weekly, quarterly, and bi-annual
disciplines.

  • Daily, I meditate on a verse or short passage, take a posture of listening
    for 10-15 minutes, journal, and pray for those on my list for the day. I have
    often incorporated music, primarily hymns.
  • Weekly, I do two things. First, I read over my plan and look honestly at
    how the past week has gone and where I need to give some attention in
    the week ahead. Then, later in the day, I begin my weekly Sabbath, which
    has morphed over the years from a “day off” to something quieter and
    more contemplative. When I travel, I often have to carve out a half-day
    somewhere to be quiet, read, reflect, and often take a nap.
  • Quarterly, I would review my activity, how I used my time and my overall
    well-being. For example, I often saw a link between a lack of rest or
    inconsistency in spiritual disciplines and an increase in stress. Extensive
    travel with not enough downtime also had a negative impact on overall
    well-being and relationships at home.
  • At least twice each year, I would take a two-day retreat to be quiet, take
    long walks, pray, rest, read my Bible and do something in the area of
    spiritual formation.

    Books
    The Rest of God: Restoring Your Soul by Restoring Sabbath by
    Mark Buchanan, published by W Publishing Group, 2006

    Finishing Well: The Adventure of Life Beyond Halftime by Bob
    Buford, published by Zondervan, 2011

    Finishing Strong: Going the Distance for Your Family by Steve
    Farrar, published by Multnomah Books, 2000

    The Call to Joy and Pain: Embracing Suffering in Your Ministry
    by Ajith Fernando, published by Crossway, 2007

    Emotionally Healthy Spirituality: It’s Impossible to Be
    Spiritually Mature, While Remaining Emotionally Immature     by
    Peter Scazzero, published by Zondervan, 2017
  • Download all 16 tips here https://www.cmacan.org/resources/on-mission

Tip#12 Be confident God placed you there for a purpose

Posted on by
Reply

by Rebecca


Another day, still no patients. We’d been told of the great need for pediatricians
at our hospital in North Africa. We’d heard stories of how many families waited
daily to receive medical care for their children. We’d uprooted our family to move
halfway around the world, spent nine months learning Arabic, finally arrived at
the hospital, settled into our new home, and my husband had set up his clinic
room. And yet, day two came and went, and he’d seen zero patients. By the end
of his first week, his patient count was three. Other expats at the hospital commiserated with us and told us this hospital so often was ‘not as advertised.’ They offered to speak with our sending agency and help us find a new hospital to serve in, one that truly needed my husband’s medical expertise. In those first few weeks, it was so easy to wonder, Was there
really a need? Did we have a purpose in being here?

Committing to moving overseas to serve in missions is a big deal. Goodbyes
aren’t easy. Life is less comfortable. Language learning takes work. It is tempting
to think that if you have jumped through all the hoops to serve overseas, the
red carpet will be rolled out upon your landing, and your arrival will be met with
gratitude and excitement. But, in reality, it might feel like no one even noticed
you showed up.


As you work your way through the process of being sent, you will likely hear
people talk about “your call.” Maybe you have a distinct story of your own, or
perhaps you feel like it is this elusive thing you’re grasping at. Understanding the
call on your life is key – whether it’s a story you love to share or whether it is just a
firm belief that God has a heart for the nations and you’re willing to go to partner
with Him in His work among the unreached. Understanding your call and being
confident God has placed you somewhere for a purpose, is a truth you will have
to come back to time and time again. There will be many moments where you
wonder, Why am I here? Do they even want me?


Hopefully, you will receive a warm welcome from your teammates. However,
more than likely, they will be balancing all their ministry tasks with hosting you and
helping you land well. In all probability, you may find your hand isn’t being held as
much as you’d like. It is worthwhile having a conversation before your departure,
either with your team leader or someone in a regional leadership capacity, about
what to expect regarding orientation and mentorship when you land, so you can
express your hopes and go in with mutually shared expectations. Once you are on
the ground, don’t hesitate to advocate for yourself and to ask for what you need.
Each new worker will have a different threshold for support – there’s no right or
wrong amount of support required – but your new teammates won’t know what
you need if you don’t ask.


Additionally, there is no need to rely solely on your teammates. You may find
someone in the greater expatriate community who is a good mentor and happy to
show you the lay of the land. Having multiple sources of insight will be beneficial.
As you meet locals, keep an eye open for someone you connect with who
has the potential to be a good language helper as well as a cultural interpreter.
Having someone from the local language and culture will be key in helping you
adjust well and also help you feel connected to your new home and the rhythms
of their lives.


“Slow is fast, and fast is slow.” This mantra is usually taught in security training,
but its truth can be broadly applicable. It’s easy to imagine you’ll land in your
new home, jump into meaningful work, and quickly absorb the local language.
However, you will more than likely place expectations on yourself that aren’t
realistic. So give yourself permission to move slowly, absorb everything you’re
learning, and rest as you need to – transition is tiring! Those first few months
may feel like you aren’t doing enough, but soon it will snowball, and you’ll be
thankful you took the time to build a foundation. There is no wasted time in God’s
economy!


As you trudge through those first few months, where you might feel like you’re
contributing nothing and you feel underappreciated, unseen, or maybe even
unwanted, remember to “hold tight to the why, but be loose with the what”
(Scroggins, 2017, pg. 204). There will be days of discouragement, so cling tightly
to your why and remember the One who called you is faithful. He is with you, and
He will show you where He wants you to join Him in His work at just the right time.


Book
How to Lead When You’re Not in Charge: Leveraging Influence
When You Lack Authority by Clay Scroggins, published by
Zondervan, 2017

Download all 16 tips in this book https://www.cmacan.org/resources/on-mission/

Tip#11 Learn about money matters

Posted on by
Reply

by Ron


One of the hardest things to figure out is how to live in a setting where you are
likely the richest person around from one of the world’s wealthiest countries. As
a result, the expectations of you are suddenly much higher than when walking
around Moose Jaw, Saskatchewan.
There is always a hand out towards you. What should you do? How should
you respond? How can you live here without constantly feeling guilty about how
much you have?


I remember hearing about missionary Herb Niehlsen who was an Alliance
business agent in Abidjan, Cote d’Ivoire. He was always out in the town buying
supplies, visiting government offices, and getting things done. Of course, everywhere this foreigner travelled, there were beggars waiting for him. So, when he
left home each morning, he had money in two front pockets, mission money in
one and personal money in the other. By noon, after helping many beggars along
the way, he could truly say his pocket was empty. I’d like to help, but I have no
more money in that pocket. This worked – it was believable. He didn’t shame
anyone, and he knew in the country, there was no shame in asking.
During our African years, we provided work in exchange for money. So, though
we maybe didn’t need four people working for us, we knew we were providing
salaries that paid school fees, provided food for maybe ten mouths in a household,
and the workers could hold their heads high, could afford new clothes; they
worked and earned a living. One guy was the gardener and kept up the yard,
another was the night watchman guarding our place as we slept, one was a part-time cook, and another was a house cleaner coming in a couple of times a week
to wash the cement floors.


What about bribes? No, we don’t bribe. We give tips ahead of time to get a
job done. In a Canadian restaurant, I give a 15% tip after a job has been done
(if it is a new Canadian, my soft heart moves me, maybe towards 20%). But in
African countries where I lived, the practice is the opposite; it is to give a tip to get
something. There, the salaries were often so low it was expected that you survive
on your tips. If I want a government agent to sign a document for me, I’ll slide a
bill (tip) along with my paper.


In my African setting, there were police officers on most corners. They were
minimally paid, and the understanding was that they would collect money by
stopping motorists and charging them with infractions. We all understood the
system. So, the whistle blows, I stop, he asks to see my documents – now they are
in his hand, and he says I rolled through the stop sign. What to do? I can argue
and say don’t be silly. I can say, well, take me to the office and charge me. I can
give him some “coffee money,” and he hands back my documents. We smile and
greet warmly, and life moves on (relationship maintained). I feel good, and he can
feed his family.
Now again, read the room, and figure out what works in your new setting.

Books
When Helping Hurts: How to Alleviate Poverty Without Hurting
the Poor . . . and Yourself by Steve Corbett and Brian Fikkert,
published by Moody Publishers, 2014

African Friends and Money Matters: Observations from Africa
by David Maranz, published by SIL International, 2001

Download all 16 tips in this e-book https://www.cmacan.org/resources/on-mission/

Tip#10 Preventative health is important

Posted on by
Reply

by Rebecca


If you’re wondering about your health, you’re most likely thinking about what
kind of access you have to emergency medical facilities and what you’d do if your
child got desperately sick. While these things are incredibly important, preventative
health is an essential aspect of life overseas that shouldn’t be overlooked. Do you
need to become an athlete as well as an international worker? No, but thinking
about how your habits relating to your physical health support and contribute to
your overall well-being overseas is a worthwhile investment. Your baseline stress level overseas will be higher than your life in your passport country. This is because you’re operating outside of your cultural norms and functioning in a second or third language – just getting through a regular day takes more effort and energy. Therefore, establishing dietary and physical fitness routines that address stress will benefit you greatly.
Food
Of course, food is a common concern when moving overseas – we hear
about the strange-to-us things that people are served while overseas and the
accompanying digestive issues. These are things you’ll face. But most of the time,
you’ll be eating in your own home and can control what you consume and how
it’s prepared. Ask your teammates what they do foodwise – where do they buy
food? Do they wash their vegetables in a bleach or vinegar solution? What water
filtration system do they use? What restaurants do they feel confident eating at?
What is their approach to street food? While you can be adventurous, you may
want to start slow as your body adjusts to the new microbes it is encountering in
your new home.
Meal planning will also be your best friend when you first move overseas –
whether it’s something you have done before or want to try for the first time,
planning out your meals for a week at a time will help ensure that you have the
ingredients you need to make your healthy meals without a last-minute trip to the
market – especially when you’re still in the stage where even a planned trip to the
market feels overwhelming.
It also reduces the decisions you must make in a day. In those first months, you
might already feel fatigued by decisions, so if you can spend half an hour each
week planning out your meals, you’ll save yourself the need to make yet another
decision on a day that might already feel full of small decisions that feel harder
than they should! It may sound simple, but it’s a great way to help keep that lowgrade stress at bay and ensure you’re nourishing your body!
Rest
You’ll be tired – living cross-culturally requires a lot of energy, especially when
everything is new. You may feel burdened by the to-do list or feel like you should
be doing more but permit yourself to rest as much as you need to. As your body is
adjusting to new routines and foods and germs, it will need more rest to maintain
health. Rest is an excellent antidote to stress!
Exercise
If you’re already an exercise enthusiast, that’s great! If you haven’t already,
you’ll want to reach out to your teammates and find out what exercise looks like
in your new home – especially exercising in public. Can a woman go for a run in the
street? Are there decent local gyms? Are there accessible pools if lane swimming
is your thing? What kind of clothing would be appropriate for these activities?
If fitness outside the home is limited, many great home workouts are available
on YouTube that will help you stay fit in your living room. Perhaps you’ll need to
bring some home gym equipment from Canada, such as resistance bands or an
inflatable Pilates ball.
If fitness isn’t your thing, don’t feel pressured to become a competitive athlete,
but you should be thinking about how you – and your family – can find ways to
include movement in your day that supports your health but also brings you joy.
Moving our bodies is another great way to combat that ever-present stress in the
international worker’s life.
In my youth in West Africa, my family often walked through our neighbourhood
after dinner together. It was a great time to connect with each other, stretch our
legs and explore our corner of the world. In my current context, we created a
makeshift pickleball court. As a community, we play a weekly game of pickleball
– we’re building our sense of community and cardiovascular endurance together!
Think Preventative
Your primary care physician and sending agency will thank you if you focus on
the easy preventative things you can do to invest in your health – wear sunscreen,
avoid direct sun exposure, wear sunglasses, drink enough water, and be active!
We don’t need to become marathon runners, but we do need to be healthy to live
well and engage in our ministries overseas!
Our health is a gift, and we should steward it well!