We’re on our way for a three-day relief trip to Tabasco with no time to type. What could be a faster way to relay the story? How about a video blog? Take a look at this latest offering and please remember to pray for those affected by the flood in Tabasco.
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The definition of missions is changing. I recently returned from the Mission Exchange fall retreat where it was obvious that the upcoming generation of leaders thinks differently about the way cross-cultural ministry should be done. One speaker put it plainly. “To me a missionary was a guy in a four pocket shirt (guayabera) who traveled with snake skins and a slide projector.” He couldn’t relate. In a context of rapid globalization, where the world seems to be shrinking by the day, more and more students and professionals are saying, “Missions? Hey, I can do that!” They’re an eager workforce looking for the right project or missions-sending agency with which to partner, and when they can’t find one, they’re making their own. One pastor, Matt Chandler from the Village Church, looking to implement a business as mission model grew impatient with his denominational organization and started his own organization which is funding 14 missionaries and a handful of missions projects in several countries.
“To God be the glory, more workers in the harvest!” might be the reaction to the current situation, but such trends give this missionary pause for thought. The church today has, to a certain extent, adopted the current business mentality. For a project to be successful, it needs to produce quick and substantial results. ROI, or Return on Investment, a term ripped out of the business manager’s handbook, was thrown around a bit at the retreat. Donors are looking to see their dollars make a tangible impact on a community, so the funding of hospitals, feeding programs, orphanages, and even the establishment of Christian Businesses are becoming increasingly popular. Still, the question remains, “Is this the best way?”
My time here in the Yucatán has shown me that the work of a missionary is never quick nor easy. What may be able to be started through a project or an event must be continued through sustained process–biblical concepts applied to the cultural situation. This requires someone on the ground, an interpreter. This role was the one that the missionary traditionally occupied–studying the language and culture in order to reveal Christ and the Christian message through concepts that could be understood and adopted. I don’t put myself at this level yet. We have much to learn to fully understand the culture in which we are ministering, but I feel that we are making progress.
For example, these past two weeks I’ve carried on redemptive conversations in three separate settings, one a meeting to minister to a hurting woman, another a conversation about discipleship over lunch, and finally an impromptu chat with a carpenter at the local library. In each setting, through an understanding of the linguistic, cultural, social context, I was able to determine the relationship that the individual had with Christ, move them further along in the discipleship process, and, because I live here, follow up with them to clear up uncertainties or integrate them into the local Christian community. This doesn’t bring about the headline worthy results of a evangelistic crusade or a medical missions team, and often a cup of coffee or a chat on the beach doesn’t “look” like ministry, but statistics show that, over the long run, this is the most effective strategy (McIntosh, Finding Them Keeping Them, 1992:45). In reality, this is where cultural exchange happens, where we can study, share, and begin to understand one another. This is not to say that we are no longer preaching, teaching, or planning events, but we find that it is in the follow-up, the relationships that we find that we make the most progress toward discipling Mexico.
The “new” trend in doing ministry has its place, but we must understand the risks involved:
- Disaster relief, though a biblical mandate can lead to the creation of “Rice Christians” those that proclaim Christianity as long as the hand-outs keep coming.
- The construction of hospitals and schools require funding and resources that the host nation usually cannot provide and government instability can lead to such properties becoming pawns in a civil war.
- Business as mission, or the creation of Christian businesses overseas as a means of witnessing through Biblical business practices runs the risk of tying Christianity to capitalism and the possibility of major problems in the event that the realities of business causes the mission to pull up its roots and abandon the country in search of a more profitable location.
The reality is that incarnational ministry, “walking among the people” is the only real method to effect change in a culture. Programs pass away, and events come and go, but it is my hope that the presence of the missionary and the example of the ambassador of Christ in the cross-cultural context will remain.
Our missions organization, Assemblies of God World Missions (AGWM), promote a missions policy that seeks to create and nurture an indigenous national church. Therefore, we as missionaries are charged with the task of forming or motivating national churches that are to be self-propagating, self-governing, and self-supporting. What does this mean you ask? Simply, our job is to partner with the church in Mexico–working, modeling, and training, so that they can, with their own people and resources, evangelize the lost and disciple new believers, administrate the work, and fund the church.
If you noticed, the order is intentional. Often, a new work moves forward quickly in the area of propagation. New believers are eager to share with others about the new-found freedom that they have in Christ. Leaders are harder to come by. Time and training are required to cultivate those who would guide the fledgling work. Still more challenging though is reaching the point of self-support. In developing countries like Mexico wages are low (the minimum wage here in Mérida is $5 a day), and the requirements of ministry can be quite high, especially if the church wishes to take an active part in evangelization and outreach to the community in which it is located. Therefore, missionaries often find themselves called upon to lend a hand when it comes to stimulating the work.
This is the reason that I am writing today. Our home church is in need of a helping hand to meet its needs as it expands to reach out to the community. Pastored by Orlando Vazquez, El Centro Cristiano Gólgota, is located in a strategic area of the city, but it’s current size is affecting its ability to minister effectively. Therefore, the church has been expanding its facilities to keep pace with its vision.
The $55,000 expansion began in mid-April with about $10,000, not even a fifth of the required need, but, through the sacrifice of the congregation and the response of friends and the community, Gólgota has finished walling in, roofing and is currently using the lower portion of the expansion where the sanctuary sits. It indeed has been a blessing to see the response of the people as they have challenged themselves to move forward. Still, about half of the work remains, including classrooms to minister to the bulging children’s Sunday School classes.
That’s where we are asking you to consider pitching in. Kelly and I have seen the kind of contagious motivation and sacrifice that the congregation has displayed, and we would like to offer you a chance to participate. So we have created, as a project with AGWM, a fund in order to receive offerings from those who would like to help Pastor Orlando fulfill his dream of seeing the church built.
If you would like to donate directly to this work, you can give through this secure web-server by entering your offering and the project name and number “EXPANSION OF CHURCH BULIDING GOLGOTA #14290.”
The close of June brought about the end of ISUM, the month-long ministerial advancement seminary held here in Mérida. As we near mid July, I’ve had some time to reflect on the experience and think about my re-entry into the normal missionary life.
ISUM is known by it’s grueling schedule and intense homework. The deadlines seemed to stack on top of each other as we prepared for 5 class periods each evening. Exhaustion was our common enemy as we fought back sleep in order to complete all of our tasks. Still, the struggle had a comfortableness about it. Being a to-do list writer, I found great satisfaction in marking off each assignment as I completed it, and although I routinely hit the pillow around 1:00 or 2:00 AM I did so with a feeling of accomplishment.
The return to normalcy, although less demanding on the schedule, didn’t come with the neat guidelines. A team to receive in late July, finding a house to move into by the middle of July, a youth retreat in August and the accumulation of work needing my attention while I was in ISUM each bring conflicting priorities and a collective clamoring for attention. There are no convenient class plans to follow and no instant feedback in the form of quizzes and tests along the way. These realities pose a problem for my order hungry mentality.
I would say that this may be the life that we all lead. We shout for independence as a youth, but we long for the simplicity of our childhood as adults. We have arrived at the place where we are free to determine our lives but we tire of the responsibilities, the leadership, and the need to hold everything together, and we long for someone to just tell us what to do.
And yet, this is our situation in our walk with the Lord. We face difficult decisions daily. We pray with fervency for direction, but rarely does the answer come in the form of a carefully worded class syllabus or a turn-by-turn Google Map. It’s then that we need to apply the knowledge that we’ve learned in the School of the Spirit of God’s Word, when we need to move from the parable to the person on the street, and that is where we most often fail.
The disciples coming off of a successful tour of ministry, casting out demons and healing the sick, failed the test of the Lord when facing the need of the multitude. “You give them something to eat,” he said. They reached for their calculators instead of their faith. Lk. 9:13
So is our daily struggle, rarely hectic to the point of the exhaustion of ISUM, but rarely as neat and tidy as the daily plan of activities that we received for each class. Still I’m glad we serve a patient Lord. Jesus did come through for the disciples. And, as we continue in our daily training, being formed into more into the image of our Master, I’m glad to know that our rate of success increases.
Our last post is nearly a month old, prompting many of you to start wondering, “Just what is going on with the Godzwa family?” Well after a week of vacation at the end of May, June hit with a fury named ISUM.
I’ve enrolled at ISUM or Instituto de Superación Ministerial (Ministerial Advancement Institute) which is a month long module of classes that allow Latin Ministers to work toward their college degree in theology. The work is intense. We start at 7:00 AM and finish at 1:30, but we also have group projects and homework, homework, homework. Most days I’ve been finishing at 11:30 or 12:00 at night.
Of course, the question that can come to mind during this routine is, “Why?” “Why would I spend a month sitting in a classroom and working toward a degree that I already have?” Part of it has to do with attitude. I have a Master’s of Divinity degree from AGTS with a concentration in Biblical Languages. It’s a pretty substantial degree, as was the time that it took in order to earn it. Still, if I’m content to sit back and tell myself that I’ve arrived and that there is nothing left to learn, then my degree isn’t worth the paper it is printed on.
I believe that one signal that a person has truly received an education is insatiable desire to learn more. When I entered Bible College, I wondered what it was that I really needed to learn, going on to seminary I thought that I had some adjustments to make if I were to really get a grasp on things. Now, after 8 years of study of the Bible, ministry, and theology, and a year of Spanish, I find that my knowledge is only scratching the surface of what I need to know in order to meet the demands of inter-cultural ministry. ISUM is another way to add to the resources that I have accumulated at the same time providing opportunity for me to experience a truly Latin American education, right down to the language (no English is spoken here!)
Beyond this is the “superación” that comes from being with those ministers that lead the fellowship of believers here in Mexico. The time spent hearing their stories, of working with them, and praying with them brings us a bond that visiting their church on a Sunday afternoon simply cannot. It leads us to an recognize and appreciate the calling that these ministers have on their lives, and it leads them to see the gifts and abilities that God has placed within each of us as missionaries. This interchange can only lead to enhanced cooperation and a greater effectiveness in ministry as we are called upon to compliment and extend the work that these men and women are undertaking.
So, you may see a bit less of me online in the next few weeks, but know that what is going on in the meantime will yield true value for our life and ministry here in Mexico.
This is the conclusion of our time-delayed coverage of the Spring Break Chi Alpha Missions Team that we hosted from March 10-17 in Muna, Yucatán. For the full story you might want to start at the beginning.
Thursday, March 15th
Thursday marked our final day of work in Muna, and certainly a bittersweet time for all of us. We finished painting the pastor’s house just in time to see the carpenters tearing down the walls of the pastor’s old home. They were removing the old home in order to make way for the columns that will support the new second floor of the church, where new classrooms will be built. With the new home completed, the pastor and his family were able to begin to move their possessions looking forward to a new house, and a new church building as well.
Thursday was also a day for finishing our ministry. Helmer preached to the youth of the church a message about being called upon by God to do what others may feel is the impossible. Speaking from the story of David and Goliath, he called upon the youth to prepare themselves now, in their daily routines, for the task that God has in store for them.
In a way, he was telling our story. In the course of a week’s time, God had taken a group of youth and their leaders out of their comfort zone, their daily routines, and thrust them into service for him.
He took a group of very dissimilar people, and brought them together to see something happen in Muna. And something did happen. We saw work done and a church being built, but more than that, we saw God touch the lives of children, youth and adults alike.
As the final service came to a close, the members of the church filed past us, each one blessing us for what we had allowed God to do through us. Few dry eyes were to be found in the building.
All of this wouldn’t have happened had we chosen to stay at home. It wouldn’t have happened if each member of the team hadn’t determined to sacrifice their Spring Break to fly to a corner of Mexico, where the people still speak Maya and the main mode of transportation is the bicycle, as an answer to God’s call.
We would have missed out as well. God did a special work inside each member of the group during the week’s time. Mike has put together a special video report of the trip. In it, you’ll be able to hear from each team member their impression of the trip.
So as we conclude this extended report of the Spring Break Missions Team, I’d like to thank each member: Mike, Ashley, Bethany, Helmer, Julia, Kaia, Kelsey, Kelly, Rebekah, Joseph, and Jonathan for their involvement, and I’d like to challenge you to say yes to the call of God on your life. True his plan can succeed without you, but what a privilege to be able to partner with Him to see something beautiful happen–Not only in those being served, but in those serving as well.
We’re continuing our time-delayed coverage of the Spring Break Chi Alpha Missions Team from March 10-17. If you need to catch up you can start at this post and continue to this point.
Wednesday, March 14
Before Mike and the team landed here in Merida, he had several planning sessions with them. In one of those planning sessions, he gave each member of the team a packing list of items that they’d need for the trip. Among those items were flexibility and a servant’s heart. It became the chant of the trip. Each time we loaded up to go somewhere, someone asked if we were bringing along our flexibility and our servant’s heart. Wednesday was just one example of how important those items would be.
After the Tuesday kid’s service in the football stadium, the pastor asked us to plan to host the children one more time, this time in the church for their regular children’s service. Originally, we were planning for 4 services: two on Sunday, one on Tuesday and another on Thursday for youth. Getting short on material, I didn’t know what the team had in their bag to pull out on short notice. Also, after some hectic days of work and ministry, I thought that a few of the students might be looking forward to their break. Still, approaching the members with the news, having packed their flexibility, they all were willing to go forward with the service.
After some last-minute planning, the team was ready. We had a skit, a testimony, some songs, and a project, probably about an hour of material. However, after the hour was nearly over, several kids were still arriving. Pastor asked us to continue the service so that the latecomers would be able to be involved as well. I went to the team again with the news, partly expecting some exasperation, but, servant’s heart intact, they were all happy extend things. A song and another skit later it was time for “pato, pato, ganzo” (duck, duck, goose) on the patio.
We can list a host of other situations that required those essentials, the need to repaint the Pastor’s home because the wrong color was delivered, the fact that our hotel came equipped with only one shower, and the need to drive 30 minutes to another town to get team cash because Muna didn’t have an ATM. Nevertheless, because the team came equipped with the necessities, even the lack of necessary rooms didn’t check their stride.
Planning to minister in the near future? Don’t forget to pack your flexibility and servant’s heart!
Tonight, the Chi Alpha missions team is back reporting about their experiences in their Thursday Night Worship Service. Here as well, on disciplemexico.org, our time-delayed report continues:
Tuesday, March 13th
What do you do when you don’t know the language and you want to convey the love of Jesus? You spend time with people. And that is exactly what our team did during our special children’s service on Tuesday.
After a few hours of painting, we headed out to hand out fliers announcing our children’s service. Using the back of a pickup as our transportation, we went from house to house, meeting kids and their parents, dressed in our work clothes, inviting them to come and see what these crazy Americans were doing. And came they did, at first only a few, but in time, the stands began to fill with curious kids and their relatives.
Several songs, skits, a project, and a couple of football (soccer) games later, they had passed from a group of curious onlookers to a bunch of new friends, and it wasn’t because of our mastery of the language. It was because a group of university students decided to take a week’s vacation and give themselves completely to showing the kids of Muna the love of Jesus, no matter how silly that they looked trying!
Speaking of silliness, take a look at the attached video. Here, Mike, Helmer, and I are leading the crowd in the song “Trading my Sorrows.” We’re thankful that the phrase “la, la, la” works in Spanish and in English!
We are continuing an ongoing series following the experiences of our first missions team here in the Yucatan
Monday, March 12th
Monday arose with a day of work planned. We were to paint the pastor’s home as they were preparing to tear down the old house standing in the way of the construction of the church. The paint was bought and the team, using rollers, brushes, paint, elbow grease, and Christian camp songs began the work. Little by little the rough walls began to take on their new look. Here you can see Kelsey putting on the first coat. (Unfortunately for us, the paint we used on the first day was totally incorrect, leaving us to repaint what we had done over again, but that is for another post.)
The highlight of the day actually came from a darkened room. An off night of ministry for us, we gathered with the congregation for prayer in their traditional prayer service. When we arrived, however, we were a bit confused. The lights in the church were off. We had thought perhaps that service was canceled. Looking for direction from those in the pastor’s home, we were told that it was the custom of the congregation to pray in this manner. So we entered in to join the many who were already seeking God.
What resulted was impacting. Mike, my brother, mentioned his impression later in this way: When I felt that I had prayed enough, I looked up, expecting perhaps that the congregation would have finished as well, when I realized that they hadn’t, I continued in my prayers the darkness helping me to maintain my focus and the time allowing me to connect with God in a way that our busy distracted lives don’t often allow.
What an irony, that in our week of finding (remember from our last post that our theme was Luke 15) we could actually encounter God in a new way by turning off the lights! We learned in that evening to set aside our i-pods, our power point presentations, and movie clip sermon illustrations for awhile in order to allow God to speak to us in a totally unscripted, unorchestrated way. We also learned that missions trips are not only about giving, but receiving as well. So are you interested in finding God? Try turning off the distractions for a moment and letting Him speak.
Sunday, March 11th
As I had stated previously, you’re reading these updates via time delay. Our Chi Alpha Missions Team is now settling back into their routines on campus, but there remains much to be told:
We arose the morning of March 11th a bit less worse for the wear from a night of sleeping without our pillows but looking forward to the work of the day. We ate breakfast at Mun Ha, which serves some great huevos rancheros (eggs ranch-style). Our bellies full, we left for the church.
The theme for the week was Luke 15: the stories of the lost sheep, lost coin, and the lost son. The classes were divided with the team going to minister with the children. I spent the morning with the adults working verse by verse through the chapter and showing how our growth in discipleship is shown by the measure in which we reflect the activity of Jesus. Jesus searched for the lost and rejoiced when they were found. We too as Christians, or Christ-like people reflect Christ’s love when we act this manner.
It just so happened that the night before we were looking for lost things, namely Helmer’s Resident Visa Card. So, although I lost out on prep time, the ready illustration about the relief and joy that we felt in finding the card, drove home the point I was trying to teach. What Mike had related the night before was coming to pass.
The real highlight of the day, however, happened during the evening service. Recapping the story of the Prodigal Son in Luke 15, Mike preached, with Helmer translating, on the love of the father–a love so extravagant that would cause a grown man to act foolish as he ran to embrace his filthy disgraced son who was “lost but now found.” The response from those in the church was immediate and heartfelt. In a country that has had to deal with an absence of loving fathers, Mike’s message had struck a chord.
Yes, God was empowering us on the way, and we truly felt his presence helping us relate and minister across language barriers, as team members and church members joined in prayer around the altars. That night, back at Mun Ha, we shared our joy as we had experienced the amazing work of God through us.
