Baptists Committed to World Evangelism » Resources

The Impact of a Short Term Missions Trip

markcoffey — Tue, 10 Jan 2012 04:30:02 +0000

During this year’s OG Summit I taught a class on Short Term Mission Trips. I wanted Missionary Matt Allen to take a few minutes and speak about his field in person, but unfortunately he wasn’t able to because he was teaching another class at the same time. Instead, he wrote out a testimony that I have placed below that really touched my heart. He also wanted me to let others know that currently, from people visiting him on the field, there are 6 families on deputation who are raising support for Papua New Guinea, and two more that are starting this year.

From Matt Allen: Missionary to Papua New Guinea

Last year, we had 80 visitors come stay with us in the remote mountain jungles of Papua New Guinea. As I look back on it, I wonder “What else did I do!?” But we were able to accomplish a lot of work, with those groups coming and being a part of the ministry–right there around and behind us. Many times 2the question comes up, “What good will I do on a missions trip?” My answer may come as a shock: “You probably won’t do any good.” But don’t give up on me that easy!

A short-term visitor does not usually know the language. They are most likely not experienced preachers. They probably haven’t done any counseling. And I doubt they have any idea what their target audience thinks about their message–much less their necktie. So, with that in mind, quit thinking “God is going to use me to turn the world upside-down” on this two-week missions trip.

Instead, come into the trip asking God, “What do you want me to learn on this trip?” Because you will be turned upside-

down. Your world-view, which has become so ideological in your own eyes, will be thrown in the trash. I’ve had college seniors tell me–just five minutes after landing in our village–”I had no idea people really lived like this.” Welcome to the world, dude! You will have to put behind your cell phone, your desire to stay out of the mud, your beloved itinerary, and what you thought about how God deals with people. You will be changed, inwardly, and that’s what makes the difference in a short-term missions trip. You will no longer think of the kingdom of God as “going-to-church” but instead as spreading His glory to all the world.

On a missions trip to our area, you will be involved in carpentry, children’s ministries, nursing, guest-lecturing in the Bible Institute, and being a manual laborer. Maybe, if one of the national pastors lets you, you’ll get to preach. You will work hard, sweat a lot in the tropical sun, inevitably get rained on, and pick up some weird intestinal bug. You will weep with those that weep. You will laugh with those that laugh. And a month later, you’ll have a moment where you are back in a pew in America, and you’ll think, “What are all these people thinking? They have no idea. I have to get back to the mission field!” And then you’ll just cry. That’s normal. It has happened to me many times.

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The Impact of a Short Term Missions Trip

3 Year Update

Jeremy Hall — Sat, 07 Jan 2012 01:42:32 +0000

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Passing the Baton of Faith to the Next Generation

Travis Snode — Fri, 06 Jan 2012 09:15:12 +0000

Deuteronomy 6:6-7 “And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.”

Deuteronomy 6:20-23 “And when thy son asketh thee in time to come, saying, What mean the testimonies, and the statutes, and the judgments, which the LORD our God hath commanded you? Then thou shalt say unto thy son, We were Pharaoh’s bondmen in Egypt; and the LORD brought us out of Egypt with a mighty hand: And the LORD shewed signs and wonders, great and sore, upon Egypt, upon Pharaoh, and upon all his household, before our eyes: And he brought us out from thence, that he might bring us in, to give us the land which he sware unto our fathers.”

One of the biggest responsibilities that we have in life is to pass the truth about God to the next generation. Notice several things we learn from these verses about passing the baton of faith to the next generation:

The Word of God must be in our heart. Before they can teach their children, they had to have God’s Word in their heart. The key to changing our children is changing us. The key to reaching the next generation is being reached ourself. The solution to seeing our the next generation being passionate about God is being passionate about God ourself. Before we can teach and train others, we must be who we ought to be. We must get so in love with God that we talk about God all the time – when we sit in our house, when we walk by the way, when we lie down, and when we rise up. If we are consumed with God and His love, our children and those who come after us will be much more likely to catch it!
We must be committed to the transfer process. They were to be diligent in their efforts to teach their children. Teaching and passing on the baton of faith is an intentional process. Jesus chose those that would be with Him and those that He will invest His live in. The onus is upon the teacher, the mentor, the parent, and the leader to create and environment that they can pass on their life and love for the Lord to others. Many things would crowd out this process, but we must be diligent in our efforts to teach them.
The way we live should prompt questions and interest in our children in the things and ways of God. In Deuteronomy 6:20-23, the son would ask his father why he was doing such things. Then the father would answer about the goodness, greatness, and salvation of God. Can our children and those who follow us see that we are fiercely love in with the Lord? Is there blatant evidence of the work of God in our lives? Are they curious about why we love the Lord so much? Can they see us living out our faith?

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Passing the Baton of Faith to the Next Generation

Quote: All Christians Equally Engaged in the Work

Travis Snode — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 15:58:18 +0000

“How often I have felt humiliated by the fulsome laudation expressed of foreign missionaries by friends in the home land, and I have longed for the time when all Christian workers at home and abroad shall stand on a level as disciples of a common Master and equally engaged in His service. A soldier sent to the Philippines deserves no more credit than one on guard in the fort on Governor’s Island.”

From Dr. Jessup, missionary to Syria died in 1910. (Check out arabicbible.com to read thewhole book)

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Quote: All Christians Equally Engaged in the Work

Equally engaged

austin gardner — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 12:33:58 +0000

How often I have felt humiliated by the fulsome laudation expressed of foreign missionaries by friends in the home land, and I have longed for the time when all Christian workers at home and abroad shall stand on a level as disciples of a common Master and equally engaged in His service. A soldier sent to the Philippines deserves no more credit than one on guard in the fort on Governor’s Island.

From Dr. Jessup, missionary to Syria died in 1910.

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Equally engaged

Devotional: Don’t Delay to Obey

Travis Snode — Mon, 02 Jan 2012 07:45:48 +0000

Deuteronomy 1:21-28 “Behold, the LORD thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the LORD God of thy fathers hath said unto thee; fear not, neither be discouraged. 22 And ye came near unto me every one of you, and said, We will send men before us, and they shall search us out the land, and bring us word again by what way we must go up, and into what cities we shall come. 23 And the saying pleased me well: and I took twelve men of you, one of a tribe: 24 And they turned and went up into the mountain, and came unto the valley of Eshcol, and searched it out. 25 And they took of the fruit of the land in their hands, and brought it down unto us, and brought us word again, and said, It is a good land which the LORD our God doth give us. 26 Notwithstanding ye would not go up, but rebelled against the commandment of the LORD your God: 27 And ye murmured in your tents, and said, Because the LORD hated us, he hath brought us forth out of the land of Egypt, to deliver us into the hand of the Amorites, to destroy us. 28 Whither shall we go up? our brethren have discouraged our heart, saying, The people is greater and taller than we; the cities are great and walled up to heaven; and moreover we have seen the sons of the Anakims there.”

In Deuteronomy, God through Moses is rehearsing the history of the nation of Israel and reviewing the law of Moses again to remind them of what it says. In chapter one, we find something that is not mentioned in the previous account in Numbers 13. It was the idea of the people to send men in to spy out the land.

On the surface, it does not seem like a bad idea or an unusual request. Moses is pleased with the idea, and the Lord even tells him how to fulfil their request by appointing one man from ever tribe to go search the land. But, if you look closely, spying out the land was not part of the original command. God’s original command was, “Behold, the Lord thy God hath set the land before thee: go up and possess it, as the Lord God of thy fathers hath said unto thee: fear not, neither be discouraged.”

Obedience to this command would have been to go up and the Lord’s word and to not search the land. Though spying out the land might make sense to the human mind; God’s wisdom is far greater than ours. When we don’t understand the commands of God, our responsibility is to obey His commands not understand them.

Have you been trying to understand when you are commanded to obey? Does everything have to make sense before you will go and do what God wants you to do? Delaying to obey could lead to fear, disobedience, and rebellion against God. Don’t hesitate; do God’s will today!

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Devotional: Don’t Delay to Obey

Devotional: Get Rid of Anything That Could Lead to Sin

Travis Snode — Sun, 01 Jan 2012 09:51:52 +0000

Numbers 34:50-53 “And the LORD spake unto Moses in the plains of Moab by Jordan near Jericho, saying, Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye are passed over Jordan into the land of Canaan; Then ye shall drive out all the inhabitants of the land from before you, and destroy all their pictures, and destroy all their molten images, and quite pluck down all their high places: And ye shall dispossess the inhabitants of the land, and dwell therein: for I have given you the land to possess it.”

When the Israelites came into the land of Canaan, they were instructed by God to do several things:

Drive out all the inhabitants of the land before them
Destroy all the pictures of the inhabitants of the land
Destroy all the molten images of the inhabitants of the land
Pluck down all their high places
Dispossess the inhabitants of the land

They were to take complete control of the land, to completely drive out all the inhabitants, and to destroy everything that had to do with idol worship. This was for their own good.

Later on in this passage, God said that if they did not drive them out, those that remained would be pricks in their eyes and thorns in their sides to vex them.

The land of Canaan is a picture of the victorious Christian life. There will be enemies and obstacles to our getting complete victory, but if we are willing to drive out every enemy and let no sin or sinful desire rest in our live, we will have victory. If we tolerate sinful thoughts or desires and if we do not give ourselves completely to Christ, we will find that old sins and old idols will slowly creep back into our live and trouble us.

May God expose those things in our live that need surrendered to Christ and drive out of our lives. May we be willing to deal with them thoroughly and put them to death, so that they do not lead us away from Christ.

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Devotional: Get Rid of Anything That Could Lead to Sin

Devotionals: No One Is Exempt from Participation in the Great Commission

Travis Snode — Sat, 31 Dec 2011 11:25:35 +0000

Numbers 32:6 “And Moses said unto the children of Gad and to the children of Reuben, Shall your brethren go to war, and shall ye sit here?”

The nation of Israel had been commanded to go up into the land of Canaan and take the land that God had given them. Several of the tribes wanted to stay where they were instead of going over the Jordan River. By wanting to stay behind they were discouraging the hearts of their brethren who had to face the enemies and challenges over on the others side of the river. They were not going to be allowed to sit there in comfort while their brothers went to war.

This applies to Christians today. We have been commanded to go into all the world with the gospel, yet often we feel that it is the job of just a few to get the gospel to the lost. No one is exempt from involvement in the great commission. This means that many, many more people should be going to the foreign field. This means that even those who do not go as missionaries should be holding the ropes for those who do go by giving, praying, sending, and training others to go.

We need to have a wartime mentality. Some are on the front lines, others are in support roles, others are recruiters and trainers, and others steward their resources to help with the effort. When a nation is at war, everyone is affected, everyone should do their part to make the effort a success. What are you doing? Why do you think you are the exception to the rule? We all need to do our part to get the gospel out.

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Devotionals: No One Is Exempt from Participation in the Great Commission

More about deacons from Spurgeon

austin gardner — Fri, 30 Dec 2011 15:34:41 +0000

My present staff of deacons consists of peculiarly lovable, active, energetic, warm-hearted, generous men, every one of whom seems specially adapted for his own particular department of service. I am very thankful that I have never been the pastor of a dead church, controlled by dead deacons. I have seen such a thing as that with my own eyes, and the sight was truly awful. I recollect very well preaching in a chapel where the church had become exceedingly low, and, somehow, the very building looked like a sepulchre, though crowded that one night by those who came to hear the preacher. The singers drawled out a dirge, while the members sat like mutes. I found it hard preaching; there was no “go” in the sermon, I seemed to be driving dead horses.
After the service, I saw two men, who I supposed were the deacons,—the pillars of the church,—leaning against the posts of the vestry door in a listless attitude, and I said, “Are you the deacons of this church?” They informed me that they were the only deacons, and I remarked that I thought so. To myself I added that I understood, as I looked at them, several things which else would have been a riddle. Here was a dead church, comparable to the ship of the ancient mariner which was manned by the dead. Deacons, teachers, minister, people, all dead, and yet wearing the semblance of life.

Spurgeon, C. H. (2009). C. H. Spurgeon’s Autobiography, Compiled from his diary, letters, and records, by his wife and his private secretary: Volume 3, 1856-1878 (18–20). Bellingham, WA: Logos Research Systems, Inc.

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Free Audio Teaching about Church Planting

Travis Snode — Thu, 29 Dec 2011 17:06:59 +0000

I have been listening to some great audio from a Church Planting Conference that was hosted at our home church with Bro. Earl Jessup. You can listen to all the teaching free on Sermon Audio at this link here.

There is great material from Bro. Jessup and other international church planters. If you are a church planter or a missionary, I challenge you to go and listen to all of the messages.

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Free Audio Teaching about Church Planting