While thinking about the Na’vi and how real they seemed, a thought crossed my mind that made me see how unrealistic their portrayal actually was. And this little omission highlights a part of our worldview that has an interesting impact on the subject of missions.

So what was missing to make the Na’vi people unrealistic? In one word, “sin”. Avatar, along with just about every Hollywood movie about native peoples paints a picture of perfection and romanticizes their primitive way of existence. “Dances With Wolves” and “The Gods Must Be Crazy” are some similar movies that come to mind. A primitive tribe living in perfect unity with nature and each other, battling the outside corrupting forces of the civilized world trying to destroy their little paradise. But where is the sin nature that is deep in the heart of every people? Where is the greed, jealousy, hate, and other ills that plague every society?

I think these movies are simply a manifestation of our western culture. We believe that all the evils of this world and associated guilt are a product of our modern society, and if we would just leave the natives alone they could remain in their utopian society undisturbed. A perfect example of this is the movie “The Gods Must Be Crazy” where the bushmen tribe lives in perfect harmony until a coke bottle drops from the sky and everyone starts fighting over it. Could that really be true? I say no. Every society struggles with the affects of sin. While it is true that the symptoms may be different from culture to culture they still exist. While a civilized society may have to deal with the affects of murder, theft, adultery, and drugs, a primitive culture is often plagued by violence, murder, fear of evil spirits, starvation, and even a host of preventable or curable diseases due to lack of access to modern health care. I submit that while exposure to the modern world may have an affect on culture (Cultural Materialism), it does not have a corrupting affect on the morality of that society. Sin is sin, and different tools to commit it do not change that fact.

Click here to view the embedded video.

Putting the complicated anthropological aspects of this aside, how does it apply to missions? The term “Missionary” has gotten a bad rap due to them being perceived through history as being destroyers of cultures. Unfortunately that reputation has been earned due to faulty understanding of mission’s purpose and the desire to “civilize” the savages. But forgoing those historical issues, missionaries by and large have brought huge benefits to primitive societies across the world. Water wells, modern medical care, and improved farming technology are just a few examples of the humanitarian benefits missions has had. But of course the most important thing missionaries have done is bringing the Gospel of Jesus Christ to lost and dying peoples who had no access to the truth before.

I think about the unreached Bonda people of Orissa, India. If you were to assume that their incredibly primitive and isolated way of life was a paradise that should remain untouched you would be sadly mistaken. In reality their society is plagued by shame due to the belief they’ve been cursed, drunkenness, and incredible violence. In fact their population has been shrinking due to the incredibly high murder rate resulting from their culturally accepted drunkenness, violence, and depression. Are they better off left alone? I don’t think so! They are in desperate need of the redemptive power of the gospel in their lives and society as a whole. And I have no doubt you will find similar situations in all the remaining primitive tribal cultures of the world.

In recent years a number of organizations have sprung up as a result of this romanticizing of primitive native peoples. Groups like Survival International are gaining more political power as western governments and the United Nations side with their worldview. While these groups play an important role in protecting the rights of tribal peoples, they often are in fierce opposition to missionaries. They are helping governments around the world to write laws closing off unreached peoples to the gospel. And all this is a direct result of this faulty worldview about tribal people.

In summary of all these thoughts, I think it is very important to recognize this emerging view as exposed by Hollywood. The romanticizing of native cultures is both dangerous and damaging to those peoples. It can block us from seeing their extreme and urgent need for the truth of the gospel. It is also a driving force behind the changing attitudes toward missionaries among the governments of the world. It is important to keep this in mind lest you fall prey to the belief that they would be better off left alone. Every people needs Jesus, and no matter what the world says it is our responsibility to give them the opportunity to meet him.

• What are your thoughts on the corrupting influences of the outside world on tribal peoples?
• Have you ever found yourself romanticizing tribal cultures?

Adoniram Judson

Adoniram Judson was a famous missionary to Burma(Myanmar) during the mid 1800’s. He is known to be the first American missionary to be sent to foreign lands, and was instrumental in the formation of the first American denominational missions organizations. He also translated the first Burmese Bible and his story has been an inspiration to millions.

In reading about Judson I came across a letter that he wrote to a missionary association in America with ten bits of advice for those considering missions. I thought some of these were very interesting and useful to those involved in missions today. Here they are, and I have highlighted the most interesting and convicting points:

First, then, let it be a missionary life; that is, come out for life, and not for a limited term. Do not fancy that you have a true missionary spirit, while you are intending all along to leave the heathen soon after acquiring their language. Leave them! for what? To spend the rest of your days in enjoying the ease and plenty of your native land?

Secondly. In choosing a companion for life, have particular regard to a good constitution, and not wantonly, or without good cause, bring a burden on yourselves and the mission.

Read Judson’s incredible marriage proposal letters»

Map of Burma

Fourthly. Take care that the attention you receive at home, the unfavorable circumstances in which you will be placed on board ship, and the unmissionary examples you may possibly meet with at some missionary stations, do not transform you from living missionaries to mere skeletons before you reach the place of your destination. It may be profitable to bear in mind, that a large proportion of those who come out on a mission to the East die within five years after leaving their native land. Walk softly, therefore; death is narrowly watching your steps.

Fifthly. Beware of the reaction which will take place soon after reaching your field of labor. There you will perhaps find native Christians, of whose merits or demerits you can not judge correctly without some familiar acquaintance with their language. Some appearances will combine to disappoint and disgust you. You will meet with disappointments and discouragements, of which it is impossible to form a correct idea from written accounts, and which will lead you, at first, almost to regret that you have embarked in the cause. You will see men and women whom you have been accustomed to view through a telescope some thousands of miles long. Such an instrument is apt to magnify. Beware, therefore, of the reaction you will experience from a combination of all these causes, lest you become disheartened at commencing your work, or take up a prejudice against some persons and places, which will embitter all your future lives.

Sixthly. Beware of the greater reaction which will take place after you have acquired the language, and become fatigued and worn out with preaching the gospel to a disobedient and gainsaying people. You will sometimes long for a quiet retreat, where you can find a respite from the tug of toiling at native work — the incessant, intolerable friction of the missionary grindstone. And Satan will sympathize with you in this matter; and he will present some chapel of ease, in which to officiate in your native tongue, some government situation, some professorship or editorship, some literary or scientific pursuit, some supernumerary translation, or, at least, some system of schools; anything, in a word, that will help you, without much surrender of character, to slip out of real missionary work. Such a temptation will form the crisis of your disease. If your spiritual constitution can sustain it, you recover; if not, you die.

Seventhly. Beware of pride; not the pride of proud men, but the pride of humble men — that secret pride which is apt to grow out of the consciousness that we are esteemed by the great and good. This pride sometimes eats out the vitals of religion before its existence is suspected. In order to check its operations, it may be well to remember how we appear in the sight of God, and how we should appear in the sight of our fellow-men, if all were known. Endeavor to let all be known. Confess your faults freely, and as publicly as circumstances will require or admit. When you have done something of which you are ashamed, and by which, perhaps, some person has been injured (and what man is exempt?), be glad not only to make reparation, but improve the opportunity for subduing your pride.

Eighthly. Never lay up money for yourselves or your families. Trust in God from day to day, and verily you shall be fed.

Ninthly. Beware of that indolence which leads to a neglect of bodily exercise. The poor health and premature death of most Europeans in the East must be eminently ascribed to the most wanton neglect of bodily exercise.

Tenthly. Beware of genteel living. Maintain as little intercourse as possible with fashionable European society. The mode of living adopted by many missionaries in the East is quite inconsistent with that familiar intercourse with the natives which is essential to a missionary.

In regard to your inquiries concerning studies, qualifications, etc., nothing occurs that I think would be particularly useful, except the simple remark, that I fear too much stress begins to be laid on what is termed a thorough classical education.

Praying that you may be guided in all your deliberations, and that I may yet have the pleasure of welcoming some of you to these heathen shores, I remain

Your affectionate brother,
A. JUDSON
Maulmain, June 25, 1832

You can read his complete letter here.

I encourage you to read about the life of Adoniram Judson and his ministry to the Burmese people. I can hardly keep from crying as read of the sacrifices he made to bring the Gospel to Burma in his biographies.

You can read an excellent biography here.

Debt. It has become a culturally acceptable part of the western world. Who buys a car with cash? Many of us could never imagine owning a car without a car payment. And it has become surprisingly uncommon to spend less than you make these days! Starting in 2005 Americans actually had a negative savings rate, meaning that on average they spent more than they made.

“…The borrower is servant to the lender.”
Proverbs 22:7

We have all read this verse but do we really understand it’s implications? Debt is slavery! We all have felt sorry for those who are enslaved to addictions like drugs and alcohol, but being in debt is comparable because it forces people to do things they don’t want to do. Do you know someone who is forced to work at a job that they hate just so they can cover the bills? Or maybe they wish they could work less overtime and be free to spend time with their family. They are slaves to their job because they chose the cheap thrills of instant gratification instead of living within their means. So what if God calls you to missions while you are in a similar situation? If you are in debt you are trapped! You have already given up your freedom to debt and are not ready to leave when He desires to send you. You either have to wait a few years while you pay off your debt, or somehow unfairly place your debt burden on your supporters.

I am convinced that debt has been a common tool of the enemy to keep numerous workers off of the mission field. Many people are excited about the call of God on their lives, but get overwhelmed when they consider all their unpaid bills and the financial hole they have to dig themselves out of. This leads to discouragement and often people walk away from the vision God has called them to. How much closer to fulfilling the Great Commission would we be if all who were called to the mission field were financially ready to go?

The purpose of this article is not to condemn or discourage those in debt, but to serve as a warning and a call to action. I write this from personal experience. My wife and I have been working hard for a year and a half now at paying off our own credit card debt. In our case the debt came not from frivolous purchases, but a lack of financial wisdom and preparation. What shouldn’t have been an emergency became one and went on the credit card.

The Warning

Making The Last Car Payment

If you are one of the few who have no debt, consider yourself blessed! You can start right now to build a strong financial foundation for your life and ministry with careful budgeting and self-discipline. You have the freedom that few do to be able to bless the nations with both your money and time. And if God calls you to go to the nations, you will be free to pick up and go! I caution you to be careful to avoid getting caught up in the status quo and allow debt to creep into your life. I guarantee that the temptation will come someday to take out that car note or lease. When your car breaks down or the new baby is coming you don’t have to give in to the pressure that you need a new car. Learn how to drive free and retire rich »

Beware of credit cards! This may seem at odds with my post of how I manage to fly for free, but we are very cautious with that (we shred our cards after the required purchase, they never go in our wallet). In general, credit cards are not worth the risk for the benefits they provide (miles, points, cash back, etc). Even if you use them for your everyday purchases for a reward and always pay it off each month, the statistics show that the credit card company will get their money from you someday. A large percentage of people end up carrying a balance after Christmas, paying interest until spring. Do you have a sufficient emergency fund? If you get laid off or the AC breaks you won’t believe how fast the balance on that card will grow! Having a credit card just for “emergencies” is a quick ticket to debt because 100% of us will have an “emergency” in the next year or two. That’s what a savings account is for. You don’t “need” a credit card either. A debit card with the Visa or MC logo on it will work just fine for pretty much anything.

I want to instill a healthy fear in you to avoid debt like the plague. Our western society and popular culture is telling us that debt is a normal part of life. The pressure to “keep up with the Joneses” is strong but remember that the “Joneses” are broke. They’re living paycheck to paycheck trying to keep up with all the payments on everything they own! Be different. Learn to recognize and value the freedoms you have without debt in your life. Not just financial freedom, but things like not being a slave to your job and the freedom to give time and money to God’s mission. Avoiding debt is also the beginning of building personal wealth so you can be a greater blessing to the nations!

Call to Action

For the majority of us who are shouldering debt, it’s time to get in action! No more paying minimum payments, living paycheck to paycheck, following the current. Lets get rid of this debt so we can be free for God to use us how and where He wants.

So where do you start to get financially free? There are many books and programs that try to draw you in with advertisements that they can get you out of debt or have your debt canceled. Most are scams. Some might work on paper when you do the math, but when practically applied rarely work because they only treat the symptoms. The answer is really simple when it comes down to it. Self-control and self-discipline. That is why I recommend Dave Ramsey and his program, as he is the only voice I’ve heard that deals with the source of our debt problem and does it from a Christian perspective.

Dave has a simple plan to get free from debt and build wealth so you can give like never before. My wife and I have been following it for a year and a half and now and we should be debt free by the end of the year if we stick to the plan! You can visit Dave’s site for more information here. I also highly recommend getting his “The Total Money Makeover: A Proven Plan for Financial Fitness” book, as it’s the best tool for getting out of debt you could have. Get some discipline, work hard and faithfully, and before you know it you will be free!

Conclusion

I hope by now you have learned to see the seriousness of debt and how it is keeping missionaries and so many Christians from achieving the full potential that God has called them to. Make a commitment now to see debt for what it is and choose to live a life of freedom, not allowing anything to get in the way of the ministry Christ has called us to!

Therefore, since we are surrounded by such a great cloud of witnesses, let us throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles, and let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us.
Hebrews 12:1 – NIV

Another article on debt and missions.
Images:
Credit Cards by Andres Rueda

cutting loose by SqueakyMarmot

Announcing Supporter!

Missionaries can now become an official MissionsPlace.com Supporter! Becoming a Supporter not only helps us pay our server costs and overhead, but gives a missionary access to a host of enhanced features. Supporters receive 100 times the storage space for pictures and other media, no advertisements, access to many premium plugins and widgets, and a lot more that we’ll be adding in the next few weeks. For the full information on becoming a Supporter and it’s amazing features, visit http://missionsplace.com/free-websites/supporter/ or login to your missionary website and click the Supporter menu item.

Website Sponsorship:

We understand that many missionaries would love to be a MissionsPlace.com Supporter, but may not have funds to cover even the incredibly discounted cost to become one. So we have devised a way to have the missionary’s supporters and website visitors foot the bill. Starting today, all free missionary websites will have a widget enabled that adds an unobtrusive “Sponsor This Website” button to their sidebar. While  sponsor button cannot be removed from free websites, it’s position, appearance, and title can be customized by visiting the “Appearance->Widgets” menu. Now missionary supporters can simply click the link to sponsor a website, and the missionary receives all the great Supporter features! We would rather a missionary’s supporters pay the bills anyway! Please visit http://missionsplace.com/free-websites/sponsor/ to read more about how sponsorship works.

A New Help/Support System:

We have installed a new help system into the backend of missionary websites. They can simply click the “Get Help” menu item and have instant access to Frequently Asked Questions, amazing video tutorials on how to manage and improve their website, and even a support ticket system where they can submit requests directly to us! We highly recommend watching some of the video tutorials, we guarantee you will learn some great tips and ideas on how to improve your website!

Well that’s it for now, we hope you are as excited as we are about all the great changes happening at MissionsPlace.com! Feel free to reply with any comments or suggestions on how this ministry can be more of a blessing to missionaries and the nations, as we love to hear from you.

General William Booth

On one of my recent journeys, as I gazed from the coach window I was led into a train of thought concerning the conditions of the multitudes around me. They were living carelessly in the most open and shameless rebellion against God, without a thought for their eternal welfare. As I looked out the window, I seemed to see them all… millions of people all around me given up to their drink and their pleasure, their dancing and their music, their business and their anxieties, their politics and their troubles. Ignorant-willfully ignorant in many cases – and in other instances knowing all about the truth and not caring at all. But all of them, the whole mass of them, sweeping on and up in their blasphemies and devilries to the throne of God. While my mind was thus engaged, I had a vision.

I saw a dark and stormy ocean. Over it the black clouds hung heavily; through them every now and then vivid lightning flashed and loud thunder rolled, while the winds moaned, and the waves rose and foamed, towered and broke, only to rise and foam, tower and break again.

In that ocean I thought I saw myriads of poor human beings plunging and floating; shouting and shrieking, cursing and struggling and drowning; and as they cursed and screamed, they rose and shrieked again, and then some sank to rise no more.

And I saw out of this dark, angry ocean, a mighty rock that rose up with its summit towering high above the black clouds that overhung the stormy sea. And all around the base of this rock I saw a vast platform. Onto this platform, I saw with delight a number of the poor struggling, drowning wretches continually climbing out of the angry ocean. And I saw that a few of those who were already safe on the platform were helping the poor creatures still in the angry waters to reach the place of safety.

On looking more closely, I found a number of those who had been rescued, industriously working and scheming by ladders, ropes, boats, and other means more effective, to deliver the poor strugglers out of this sea. Here and there were some who actually jumped into the water, regardless of all the consequences, in their passion to “rescue the perishing.” And I hardly know which gladdened me most-the sight of the poor drowning people climbing onto the rocks, reaching the place of safety, or the devotion and self-sacrifice of those whose whole beings were wrapped up in the effort for their deliverance.

As I looked on, I saw that the occupants of that platform were quite a mixed company. That is, they were divided into different “sets” or classes, and they occupied themselves with different pleasures and employment. But only a very few of them seemed to make it their business to get the people out of the sea.

But what puzzled me most was the fact that though all of them had been rescued at one time or another from the ocean, nearly everyone seemed to have forgotten all about it. Anyway, it seemed the memory of its darkness and danger no longer troubled them at all. And what seemed equally strange and perplexing to me was that these people did not even seem to have any care – that is any agonizing care – about the poor perishing ones who were struggling and drowning right before their very eyes, many of whom were their own husbands and wives, brothers, and sisters, and even their own children.

Now this astonishing unconcern could not have been the result of ignorance or lack of knowledge, because they lived right there in full sight of it all and even talked about it sometimes. Many even went regularly to hear lectures and sermons in which the awful state of these people drowning creatures was described.

I have already said that the occupants of this platform were engaged in different pursuits and pastimes. Some of them were absorbed night and day in trading and business In order to make gain, storing up their savings in boxes, safes, and the like.

"Who Cares?", an illustration of General William Booth's vision depicting the Church's apparent lack of concern over the fate of lost souls. (William Booth was the founder of the Salvation Army). This oil painting was commissioned in 1993 by Last Days Ministries (founded by Keith Green). Read William Booth's "Who Cares?" article. Order a 25" X 17" poster of this painting through LDM's website.

Many spent their time in amusing themselves with growing flowers on the side of the rock, others in painting pieces of cloth or in playing music or in dressing themselves up in different styles and walking about to be admired. Some occupy themselves chiefly in eating and drinking, others were taken up with arguing about the poor drowning creatures that had already been rescued.

But the thing to me that seemed the most amazing was that those on the platform to whom He called, who heard His voice and felt they ought to obey it at least they said they did those who confessed to love Him much and were in full sympathy with Him in the task He had undertaken – who worshipped Him or who professed to do so – were so taken up with their trades and professions, their money saving and pleasures, their families and circles, their religions and arguments about it, and their preparation for going to the mainland, that they did not listen to the cry that came to them from this Wonderful Being who had Himself gone down into the sea. Anyway, if they heard it they did not heed it. They did not care. And so the multitude went on right before them struggling and shrieking and drowning in the darkness.

And then I saw something that seemed to me even more strange than anything that had gone on before in this strange vision. I saw that some Of these people on the platform whom this Wonderful Being had called to, wanting them to come and help Him in His difficult task of saving these perishing creatures, were always praying and crying out to Him to come to them.

Some wanted Him to come and stay with them and spend His time and strength in making them happier. Others wanted Him to come and take away various doubts and misgivings they had concerning the truth of some letters which He had written them. Some wanted Him to come and make them feel more secure on the rock-so secure that they would be quite sure that they should never slip off again into the ocean. Numbers of others wanted Him to make them feel quite certain that they would really get off the rock and onto the mainland someday; because as a matter of fact, it was well known that some had walked so carelessly as to lose their footing, and had fallen back again, into the stormy waters.

So these people used to meet and get up as high on the rock as they could, and looking toward the mainland (where they thought the Great Being was) they would cry out, “Come to us! Come, help us!” And all the while He was down (by His Spirit) among the poor struggling, drowning creatures in the angry deep, with His arms around them trying to drag them out, and looking up oh! so longingly, but all in vain to those on the rock, crying to them with His voice all hoarse from calling, “Come to Me! Come, and help Me!”

And then I understood it all. It was plain enough. That sea was the ocean of life-the sea of real, actual human existence. That lightning was the gleaming of piercing truth coming from Jehovah’s throne. That thunder was the distant echoing of the wrath of God. Those multitudes of people shrieking, struggling, and agonizing in the stormy sea, were the thousands and thousands of poor harlots and harlot-makers, of drunkards and drunkard-makers, of thieves, liars, blasphemers, and ungodly people of every kindred, tongue, and nation.

Oh, what a black sea it was! And oh, what multitudes of rich and poor, ignorant and educated were there. They were all so unalike in their outward circumstances and conditions, yet all alike in one thing all sinners before God all held by, and holding onto, some iniquity, fascinated by some idol, the slaves of some devilish lust, and ruled by the foul fiend from the bottomless pit! “All alike in one thing?” No, all alike in two things not only the same in their wickedness but, unless rescued, the same in their sinking, sinking… down, down, down… to the same terrible doom. That great sheltering rock represented Calvary, the place where Jesus had died for them. And the people on it were those who had been rescued. The way they used their energies, gifts, and time represented the occupations and amusements of those who professed to be saved from sin and hell followers of the Lord Jesus Christ. The handful of fierce, determined ones, who were risking their own lives in saving the perishing, were true soldiers of the cross of Jesus. That Mighty Being who was calling to them from the midst of the angry waters was the Son of God, “the same yesterday, today, and forever,” who is still struggling and interceding to save the dying multitudes about us from this terrible doom of damnation, and whose voice can be heard above the music, machinery, and noise of life calling on the rescued to come and help Him save the world.

My friends in Christ, you are rescued from the waters, you are on the rock. He is in the dark sea calling on you to come to Him and help Him. Will you go? Look for yourselves. The surging sea of life crowded with perishing multitudes rolls up to the very spot on which you stand. Leaving the vision, I now come to speak of the fact a fact that is as real as the Bible, as real as the Christ who hung upon the cross, as real as the judgment day will be, and as real as the heaven and hell that will follow it.

Look! Don’t be deceived by appearances men and things are not what they seem. All who are not on the rock are in the sea! Look at them from the standpoint of the great white throne, and what a sight you have! Jesus Christ, the Son of God is, through His Spirit, in the midst of this dying multitude, struggling to save them. And He is calling on you to jump into the sea to go right away to His side and help Him in the holy strife. Will you jump? That is, will you go to His feet and place yourself absolutely at His disposal?

A young Christian once came to me and told me that for some time she had been giving the Lord her profession and prayers and money, but now she wanted to give Him her life. She wanted to go right into the fight. In other words, she wanted to go to His assistance in the sea. As when a man from the shore seeing another struggling in the water, takes off those outer garments that would hinder his efforts, and leaps to the rescue so will you who still linger on the bank, thinking and singing and praying about the poor perishing souls, lay aside your shame, your pride, your cares about other people’s opinions, your love of ease and all the selfish loves that have kept you back for so long, and rush to the rescue of this multitude of dying men and women?

Does the surging sea look dark and dangerous? Unquestionably it is so. There is no doubt that the leap for you, as for every one who takes it, means difficulty and scorn and suffering. For you it may mean more than this. It may mean death. He who beckons you from the sea however, knows what it will mean and knowing, He still calls to you and bids you come.

You must do it! You cannot hold back. You have enjoyed yourself in Christianity long enough. You have had pleasant feelings, pleasant songs, pleasant meetings, and pleasant prospects. There has been much of human happiness, much clapping of hands and shouting of praises, very much of heaven on earth.

Now then, go to God and tell Him you are prepared as much as necessary to turn your back upon it all, and that you are willing to spend the rest of your days struggling in the midst of these perishing multitudes, whatever it may cost you.

You must do it. With the light that is now broken in upon your mind, and the call that is now sounding in your ears, and the beckoning hands that are now before your eyes, you have no alternative. To go down among the perishing crowds is your duty. Your happiness from now on will consist in sharing their misery, your ease in sharing their pain, your crown in helping them to bear their cross, and your heaven in going into the very jaws of hell to rescue them.

Now, what will you do?

by General William Booth

• Prayer/Intercession
• Worship
• Fellowship
• Evangelism/Missions
• Bible Study
• Becoming more Christ-like

Now which of these things could be better done when we are in heaven?

• Prayer/Intercession – Imagine being in the presence of Christ, able to talk face to face.
• Worship – We’ll be doing that for all eternity with billions of others.
• Fellowship – There will be no conflict in heaven! The bride of Christ will be in complete unity and intimacy.
• Bible Study – We won’t need to study God’s word as we’ll know it and Him completely.
• Becoming more Christ-like – No need for self improvement in heaven!

What is left? There is only one thing that can only be done while we are still here on earth: the Great Commission! If this does not reveal our true, core purpose while we are still on this earth, I don’t know what will. While worship, prayer and all the other things we should be doing are good and important, those should be secondary to the church’s primary purpose right now, to reach the lost for Christ, building His kingdom! Lets look at our lives and ministry and ask God to help us reorder our priorities to match His.

Is it really a coincidence that the task of the Great Commission/evangelism is the most neglected task of all by Christians? It is the one thing with lasting importance, and the Devil is doing everything he can to distract the church from it to delay the return of Christ. More than 50,000 people are dying every day who have never even heard the name of Jesus. It is high time we return to our true purpose.

“A tiny group of believers who have the gospel keep mumbling it over and over to themselves. Meanwhile, millions who have never heard it once fall into the flames of eternal hell without ever hearing the salvation story.”
- K.P. Yohannan

And this gospel of the kingdom will be preached in all the world as a witness to all the nations, and then the end will come.
Matthew 24:14 (New King James Version)

1. Show your parents that you are willing to listen to them and that you care about how they feel and your relationship with them.

2. Include your parents in your decision making. Try not to surprise them with the news. Give them time to adjust.

3. Provide your parents lots of information–about the country you are going to, your preparation activities, your sending church or organization. Also help them with answers to the things parents worry about, like how you will you get medical care, how you will get off the field in a medical or political emergency, and how you will be financially supported.

4. See that your parents are involved in your training and preparation. If you have a shepherding group, invite your parents to a meeting or dinner to talk about their concerns.

5. Give your parents’ concerns and reactions serious consideration. God sometimes works through your parents to shape or delay your plans. Get good counsel from other mature Christians as you evaluate how to proceed.

6. Your parents’ lives are not going to be what they have expected. They won’t see you often and their grandchildren will grow up away from them. Your parents have some grieving to do, no matter how supportive they are of what you are doing. You need to understand this.

7. Do not try to argue your parents into supporting your plans. Instead, let them know that you are sorry that they have fears and sadness because of your plans. Learn to talk to your parents adult to adult (see the books Boundaries and How to Have That Difficult Conversation You’ve Been Avoiding by Cloud and Townsend).

8. You may feel disappointed by your parents’ lack of support or you may feel that their reactions or objections are unspiritual. You may need to grieve this disappointment and accept it in order to have a positive relationship with your parents and still be able to go on with your life and plans.

9. Some parents are very supportive of their child’s missions plans but do not know how to deal with their own grief. Encourage your parents to have good connections with others, especially other POMs.

10. Help your parents learn to use technology to be able to stay in touch with you when you are overseas.

Why not create a free missionary website here to better communicate with your family back at home?

11. Say good-bye well. Spend time with your parents while you are preparing to go overseas. Build memories and connections.

© Cheryl Savageau and Diane Stortz, www.POMnet.org

Some related topics from POMnet.org:
* Ten Best Benefits of Being a POM
* Good POM Relationships with Adult Children
* How to Pray for Parents of Missionaries
* POMs Can Grandparent Great Across the Miles!
* Top Ten Tips for Parents of Missionaries
* Ten Tips for Getting Through the Holidays as a POM

First Some Misconceptions
As a general rule, ticket prices do not vary from site to site. Prices for a certain flight on a certain date are set by the airline. No matter what website you use to find the tickets, the price will be the same. Prices may look different, but that is only because the websites report things differently. For example, they may or may not add taxes into the search results, or they add hidden booking fees to the ticket costs. The base ticket cost and taxes will always be the same though, because they all pull from the same shared databases, or GDS’s.

Search, Search, and Search Again
Because it doesn’t matter what website we use to search, the basic strategy to find the best prices is to identify the travel “trifecta“:

• Airline
• Travel dates
• Ticket purchase date/time

The cheapest tickets are always found by identifying the right combination of these three factors. Being flexible with your travel dates and knowing when to buy are the most important factors. While there are an unlimited number of travel websites, only a few are truly useful for considering all three factors and I’ll share them here.

Kayak.com is at the top of my list. It is an aggregator, so they do not sell the tickets directly like many other sites. Instead they offer a one-stop location to search all the major airline sites for the best ticket prices. They provide an amazing amount of filters that you can add to limit your searches. All the major airlines are included by default, and they will even combine tickets from multiple airlines to get you the lowest cost. The most useful feature is the ability to search flexible dates, which is how you will find the best deals. They also have a “chart view” where you can see if now is the best time to buy by looking at the fare history. Sidestep.com offers almost identical features also, in fact they are now the same company.

Another great site for your searches is Farecompare.com. It works in a very similar way to Kayak.com, flexible searches are not as simple, but the site provides a wealth of information on how to find the cheapest tickets. It also has some unique tools like searching by map from your city and the History Airfare Graph Tool.

Also be sure to check out the big three travel sites also, Travelocity, Expedia, and Orbitz (Travelocity is my favorite).

Setup Email Alerts
Once you’ve paid your dues by searching all the sites, it is time to setup email alerts. Occasional drastic drops in ticket prices are normal occurrences 1-2 times per month. You can’t be expected to search each of those travel sites daily to check for fare sales, but you can let them do the work for you. Kayak, FareCompare, and Travelocity offer excellent email alert capabilities. Set them up for your desired searches and they will notify you when those drastic price-drops occur. You must be ready to jump on those fares right away though, as you often only have a few hours before all the seats at that price are snatched up. I have also noticed, especially for domestic fares, that when the fare drops for just one airline, the rest will follow about 24 hours later, which often opens up wider date options. Email alerts are the key to almost all of the dirt cheap fares I have bought in the last few years.

Buy Direct!
One of the best tricks I can teach you is to buy direct. Just because you find the low fare of your dreams on one of these great travel websites, doesn’t mean you have to buy it from them. If you buy directly from them you will end up paying a booking fee, and it may be a hidden one. Once you’ve identified your exact itinerary, write down the airline, dates, times, and flight numbers. Then visit the airline’s website directly to find and purchase that ticket. You will avoid the fee, sometimes get a better price, and can often get bonus miles for booking through the airline’s website. And on that same note, never call the airline to purchase your ticket. They will charge you an obscene reservation fee for something that you easily could do yourself on their website.

Go Local
All these search tips work great for domestic fares and when you are trying to get to the field from the USA or back again. But for travel in-country or across a region (like Europe or South-East Asia) none of these websites will help you out. The best bet is almost always to search local by visiting the websites of your area’s discount airlines. Regional discount airlines do not participate in the GDS databases, so you can only find and purchase their tickets by going directly to the airline’s website. Regional discount airlines can be very cheap, but don’t expect a classy ride! Some of the most famous are Ryan Air in Europe and Air Asia in South-East Asia. Check out Wikitravel for a great overview on discount airlines and regional links to their websites.

Collect Mileage
Just about every airline offers a frequent-flyer program. You collect points for however many miles you fly on them. These miles can be cashed in at certain levels for free plane tickets, upgrades, and even vacation packages. Signup for and use these programs when you fly! I have seen so many people fly thousands of miles on a short-term missions trip and not fill out the simple form to collect mileage for it. Often times the mileage from one or two international trips will get you a free domestic ticket. And even if you never collect enough miles for a ticket, you can always cash them in for free magazine subscriptions! It is just a waste not to use a frequent-flyer program when it is available to you.

Satisfy Your Wanderlust
If you are looking to do a round-the-world missions trip a la Travel The Road, or just want to maximize your vacation Amazing Race style, there is a website for you! Airtreks.com has an amazing tool that lets you put together your list of all the cities you want to visit and they give you a price! They give you an option of the cheapest itinerary or most stops for the money. Check out some sample specials here.

TOP SECRET TIP: Fly For Free!
I am VERY hesitant to share this secret with you for fear that the loophole will be closed if too many people find out about it. My extended family and I have used this secret to fly free many, many times. We even flew to Korea and Thailand using this technique. Here is how it works:

You visit the American Airlines AAdvantage program website and apply for a Citi AAdvantage Card. For the last three years they have consistently had a deal where you pay no annual fee for 12 months, and get 25,000 bonus miles after you spend $750 within the first 4 months. 25,000 bonus miles is enough for a free domestic ticket, and international fares start at 35,000 miles. The big loophole here is not the bonus miles, but the fact that you can repeat the cycle an unlimited number of times! My parents have done this 6-8 times in a row and flown all over the place for free! My extended family has flown to Hawaii and Thailand, and I surprised my wife with an anniversary trip to New York, London, and Paris using this technique!

So here are the steps:

• Signup for a free AAdvantage account at AA.com if you don’t already have one.
• Apply for the Citi AAdvantage card using the link on AA.com. Make sure the terms match those above. Sometimes they temporarily put up a link for the card without the same great terms, but the deal is still available. Just use Google or search the forums at FlyerTalk.com to find it.
• When you get your card, put $750 on it right away. No, don’t use this as an excuse to go out and by an HDTV! Just pay your normal rent and utilities on it for that month to get the balance up quickly.
• The very minute you get the balance up over $750 then shred the card and pay it off so you don’t get stuck with the interest, and you don’t go into debt over a stupid plane ticket. This is key! Do not leave a balance on the card! And don’t close the account yet or you won’t get your mileage bonus!
• Wait 8-10 weeks for the 25,000 bonus miles to post to your account. Login to AA.com to view your mileage balance regularly. The minute you see those 25,000 miles appear call Citi Cards and close your account. Your balance should already be $0 so after some haggling, make them close it. Don’t fall for the measly 5,000 bonus miles they will offer you to keep the account open!
• Now here is the loophole: Signup for a new card the moment after you’ve closed the first one, rinse, and repeat. I’ve opened a new account just minutes after closing the previous one with no troubles at all. If you follow this process exactly as described, you can get 75,000+ bonus miles per year. That is a free international ticket to most places in the world on American Airlines and their OneWorld airline partners!

There are a few tips to maximize your benefits from this loophole. First, remember that both you and your spouse can do this at the same time, so be sure to take advantage of that. There are also reports that you can get the bonus from both the Citi AAdvantage Mastercard and the Citi AAdvantage American Express card at the same time. I haven’t tried that yet, but I know someone who has successfully. That would essentially double your mileage building rate. And again I warn you to be very cautious to never leave a balance on your card. Don’t try this if you have struggled with debt before, or lack self control in your spending. A good tip is to make this process accountable to a friend. We want to benefit from the credit card companies, not become a slave to them! Also, keep in mind that applying for a new card every 4 months may have a temporary lowering effect on your credit score, so you might not want to do this if you are planning to apply for a mortgage in the next year.
Visit eHow.com for a more detailed step-by-step guide.

UPDATE: This process has a name, it is known as “churning”. Apparently you can do much more than the 75,000 miles per year. Citi allows you to have multiples of the same card open at once, as long as you only apply once every 65+ days for personal cards and 95+ days for the business AAdvantage. There are many people overlapping many cards at once, gaining 300,000-400,000 miles per year! That is 2 round-trip first class tickets anywhere in the world! Check out the FlyerTalk forums for more info and stories.

Also here is a great tip for putting the initial $750 on all those cards you’ll be churning. Buy money! The US Mint sells boxes of those new $1 presidential coins at cost with free shipping, in order to improve their circulation. Buy 3 boxes of coins with your card, and deposit them directly in the bank to pay your bill. Here is the link.

Well there you have it, you can start working now to make your next short-term missions trip a free one!

Conclusion
I hope that you have learned much from this post that you can apply to your everyday missions travel needs. What airfare tips and tricks do you use to maximize your travel funds?

I was personally in awe at that moment. For those who don’t know, Elisabeth is the best selling author of “Through Gates of Splendor“, which is one of the most widely known missions stories in history. From her website:

A year after I went to Ecuador, Jim Elliot, whom I had met at Wheaton, also entered tribal areas with the Quichua Indians. In nineteen fifty three we were married in the city of Quito and continued our work together. Jim had always hoped to have the opportunity to enter the territory of an unreached tribe. The Aucas were in that category — a fierce group whom no one had succeeded in meeting without being killed. After the discovery of their whereabouts, Jim and four other missionaries entered Auca territory. After a friendly contact with three of the tribe, they were speared to death.

Our daughter Valerie was 10 months old when Jim was killed. I continued working with the Quichua Indians when, through a remarkable providence, I met two Auca women who lived with me for one year. They were the key to my going in to live with the tribe that had killed the five missionaries. I remained there for two years.

Jim and Elisabeth Elliot had such a heart for the unreached! He gave his life to reach the Auca’s with the Gospel of Christ, and she forgave all to go and live among them, gaining the privilege of seeing them reached with the love of Christ. I pray that we all would have such a heart and passion to see the remaining 6000± unreached people groups join in God’s kingdom. I challenge you and myself to give our lives for this cause that Christ has given us.

If you have not read “Through Gates of Splendor“, please add it to your must-read list, and watch the recent movie “The End of The Spear” which is based off of this story.

Click here to view the embedded video.

If Elisabeth’s story has touched your life in any way, please let us know in the comments!

In this teaching I reveal how the story of the Tower of Babel relates to you, your ministry, and your church right now. Learn how our churches are often becoming little towers themselves, inviting the judgment of God. Most importantly, learn how the story of the Tower of Babel is a powerful revelation of God’s strategy to reach every people of the world with the Gospel of Christ!

Some Questions to Ponder (listen for the answers!):
1. What is Religion and how did it start?
2. Why did God confuse the languages of mankind?
3. For what reasons did God create the Cultures/Nations of the world?
4. What percentage of all Christian giving do you think goes into foreign missions?
5. What happens to a church when it ignores the Great Commission?

View The Sermon Outline: The Tower of Babel and it’s Relation to World Missions

View the slides and audio together

or listen now:

If you enjoyed or learned something from this teaching, please let me know in the comments. And please subscribe to the podcast to get this and future teachings delivered to your iPod or other MP3 player.

This all could have been avoided by the missionary using Bcc, or Blind Carbon Copy. Bcc is an option available in every email program to obscure the list of email addresses from each recipient. When you put your email list into the BCC field before sending, each recipient will only be able to see that the email was sent to their own address. It will look like you sent the message to only them.

Problems with sending mass email with addresses in the To or Cc fields:

• The email list is visible to every recipient
• Supporters do not like their email address shared with strangers!
• Anyone on the list can reply to everyone on the list
• When the message is forwarded by a supporter, so is the entire list of supporters!
• An impersonal form of communication

Benefits of using Bcc for mass emails:

• The email list is invisible to the recipients
• The email looks like it was personally sent to each supporter
• Your valuable supporter email list remains in your control: it cannot be spread or harvested by others
• It dramatically increases the perceived professionalism of your ministry

Now that you know why, here is the how:

It is easy to use the Bcc field when sending emails. It is available in pretty much any email program or service if you know where to look. If the Bcc field is not visible by default when writing your email, look for a link that says something like “Add Bcc.” Sometimes that link is visible, and sometimes you will have to go through the menu’s to find it. Once the Bcc field is showing, that is where you will put your list of email addresses. Then in the To field you can put your own address. Doing this will send yourself a copy and hide the Bcc list from everyone who receives the email.

Here are some specific instructions for popular email programs/providers:

Gmail: When composing an email, click the “Add Bcc” link. This will show the Bcc field where you can paste or use your address book to enter your email list.

Outlook 2003: When composing an email, go to the “View” menu, and make sure the “Bcc Field” is checked. This will show the Bcc field where you can paste or use your address book to enter your email list.

Outlook 2007: When composing an email, go to the “Options” tab, then click “Show Bcc” in the Fields group. This will show the Bcc field where you can paste or use your address book to enter your email list.

In conclusion, the next time you send out an email to a list of supporters, please Bcc! It is very simple to do, and adds a level of professionalism and a personal touch to your correspondence, while protecting your precious email list from abuse.

Some more resources:

• US-CERT Cyber Security Tip ST04-008, “Benefits of Bcc”
• A good reply to mass mails not using Bcc

Share your own stories and experiences in the comments!

Some of the features of the PDF format:

• Read-only: Your newsletter will seem much more professional when the recipient can’t edit it!
• Security options: Copying and printing can be prevented by adjusting the settings during creation.
• Compact: PDF files can be highly compressed for quick upload/download over the web.
• Compatibility: Almost any computer running any OS can open and view PDF files natively or by using freely available readers like Adobe Acrobat or Foxit Reader (Best!)
• Free! (If you know how)

Creating PDF files is a relatively simple process. If you have a Mac there is a built in “Save as PDF” feature in most of it’s software programs. If you have Microsoft Office 2007, PDF features are built right in, but must be freely downloaded separately for legal reasons. If you run Windows, there are quite a number of options like doPDF, PDFCreator, or CutePDF. For Linux users, CUPS-PDF is the standard. All of these applications show up as a printer that you can print to from any application. Simply open your newsletter, click print, and select your PDF printer from the list. Once you have your PDF file, you can attach it to an email to send to supporters, or post it on your website for all to download.

Note: As a missionary trying to stay in contact with your supporters, instant communication and electronic distribution of your newsletter via PDF can be a powerful tool if used correctly. It also saves the time and cost of printing and mailing your newsletters. You must keep in mind one thing though. How technically savy are your supporters? There are always those who don’t have or never check their email. Also, don’t under-estimate the power of a physical piece of paper or return envelope.

The best practice is to ask your supporters what format they prefer, or send a PDF monthly and paper newsletter quarterly.

Please share your suggestions and experiences in the comments!

This message is one of these kind of teachings. It is what I hope to be the start to a series of teachings entitled “Hidden Spiritual Laws”. When I started to hear and understand some of these concepts, they really changed the way I saw everything I read in the Bible. I can honestly say that I didn’t understand what prayer or faith was before I encountered these concepts. They bring new life and understanding to everything I read in the Bible, and I pray they do the same for you!

Some questions that we’ll answer in this teaching:

• Why are we commanded to pray? Doesn’t God already want to do the things He tells us to pray for? Is it only for our benefit?
• Why does God allow the innocent to suffer? And not just the pat answer “because of the fall”. That answer does not seem fair or just to non-Christians and Christians alike. It surely can’t be God’s will for innocent babies to suffer from mistreatment and terrible diseases, so why does He not stop it?
• Why did God need a human messiah? Why did Jesus have to be born on earth?

You can listen below, and please let me know what you think and what you learned in the comments. Also, if you have an iPod or other MP3 player subscribe to the podcast to listen on the go.

Hidden Spiritual Laws: Authority – Slides

Hidden Spiritual Laws: Authority – Outline

This is a message I gave at my church back in March, 2008. It reveals God’s strategy and how it is being fulfilled through history. Most importantly, it will make clear how you fit into God’s plan, your purpose!

This teaching is the core of what MissionsPlace.com is about. Our mission statement and ministry is simply an extension of this teaching. I strongly encourage you to listen, as this teaching changed my life, and I believe it can change yours also.

View the slides and audio together.

If you liked this teaching, please let me know in the comments. And consider subscribing to the podcast to get this and future teachings delivered to your iPod.

Some of my favorite features are:

• Minimalistic Design – Like all things Google, the Gmail page is mainly text and free of the flashy pictures and ads that clutter up the screen of the other free email providers. This also makes Gmail very fast loading, especially when accessed from a slower Internet connection somewhere in the Third World!
• Storage Space – They give you so much storage space that you never have to delete an email again, and large attachments are no headache at all.
• Free POP3 and IMAP Access – You can use Outlook, Thunderbird, or any email program to access your Gmail and keep it in sync. So you can use Outlook at home and webmail from anywhere in the world!
• Conversation view, attachment previews, labels, filter previews, free forwarding, and great SPAM blocking are some more of my favorite features.

Gmail has just introduced a new feature that should really make it the best choice for missionaries. You can now force your Gmail connection to use 128 bit SSL encryption throughout your session.

For those who are unfamiliar with what this means, SSL encryption scrambles whatever you view or send over the internet. When you log into any other free email service like Yahoo, anyone with access to the network can view the emails you read or send. They can also “Sidejack” your session cookie and login to your email account as you.

Many countries that one might work in on the missions field have restrictions on their Internet usage. Places like China, Burma, Thailand, and most Muslim countries regularly filter or eavesdrop on Internet usage. If you check your email in one of these countries or in Internet cafes or public WiFi hotspots then you must assume that someone is seeing what you are on your computer screen.

By using the newly available option in Gmail to enforce encryption, all email traffic between the user’s web browser and Google’s servers in the USA cannot be read by any person or government in the middle. If you have plans to travel on the missions field, please consider switching to Gmail and enabling https security.

Gmail’s Help Topic
More about Gmail…
Migrating to Gmail from another provider…

Source: Original Gmail blog post

In Christ,
Aaron Edwards