Greetings!
Greetings!
This issue touches on an often overlooked topic: Caring for our Missionaries. This edition of Tools for the Task is meant to give you and your church some tools to help your returning missionaries get re-acclimated to life in America after being on the field. Your missionaries are too valuable to you and your church's mission to let potential problems remain overlooked. Also, take time to download our podcast entitled "God Centered Missionary Care." The link is found below.
We pray that these resources will enrich your ministry and deepen your passion for the Great Commission, as you care for your missionaries. | |
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Returning Missionaries: Too Valuable to Lose |
By Jerrid Stelter
Contributing Researcher/Writer
 A few years back, my wife and I were shopping at a department store in the Midwest. When we were checking out, the young cashier handed us a strange coin as part of our change. As we stared at it, she commented "Oh, haven't you seen the South Carolina one yet?" Only then did we turn the coin over and realized it was a U.S. quarter. Completely unknown to us, while we were serving as missionaries in Spain our government had begun to mint coins with state themes on them. Talk about feeling out of touch, we didn't even recognize the money of our home country!
Such is the life of a returning missionary. Overseas you get used to not understanding things - eating, driving, shopping, even flushing the toilet can be an adventure. But when you return "home" you expect to know how to deal with things, only to discover that you aren't at home here anymore. What's worse is the feeling that nobody understands what you feel. Most missions agencies have waken up to the idea of caring for their workers. Many now have staff pastors, counselors, and even psychiatrists to help missionaries and their children cope with the stress of life in a foreign land. But what happens when they return "home" and experience reverse culture shock? Their clothes are outdated, their favorite restaurant is gone, there are strange new products on the shelves - the list is endless. This is where sending churches can play a huge role in caring for missionaries. It's also where many simply are not ready. Yes, the practical things that churches do for returning workers - providing housing, transportation, meals, etc are great and need to be done. But the emotional needs are much greater, and it is almost impossible to understand the effects of reverse culture shock if you've never experienced it. What can be done? Obviously, if you have any former oversees missionaries in your church tap into them. If you can't, ask around in other fellowships in your area. If that turns up nothing, send your missionaries to a retreat center designed for such a purpose. Do something. Think long-term too. Find someone willing to take on the task of state-side Member Care. Make sure they have the time to take it seriously and learn how to help. For more information, contact us. For more resources on Missionary Care, visit Emmaus Road International's website. |
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Agency Partner Highlight: ERI |
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By Jerrid Stelter
Contributing Researcher/Writer
 We are very excited to be forming a new partnership with Emmaus Road International (ERI). ERI describes itself as a "come along side" ministry designed to assist churches and others mobilize, train, and network for missions. However, what makes ERI somewhat unique is its emphasis on mobilizing and training not just missionaries but also those sending the missionaries. That is to say that ERI can help local churches (both leaders and lay-persons) become better at relating to the missionaries that they support. This is such a vital (and very often overlooked) aspect of missions. For decades many "sending" churches were content to send money to their missionaries, hang their picture up on a board somewhere, and perhaps pray for them once a month. But as more and more local fellowships take an active role in missions they feel the weight and responsibility of providing emotional and spiritual care for those they're sending. This is where ERI can be an invaluable help.  Neal Pirolo, founder and director of ERI, is best known for his book Serving as Senders, but is also an international speaker and teacher who has equipped dozens of churches to better serve their missionaries. One of the ways that he does this is by holding weekend seminars at churches. These seminars are tailor-made to the needs and desires of the hosting church and can cover a wide variety of topics related to home-front support teams, spiritual warfare, and personal involvement in cross-cultural ministry. ERI also offers short-term missions trips designed to help participants gain a deeper understanding of missions, as well as extended training courses (lasting as long as 10 weeks) for those preparing for long-term service. In addition to Serving as Senders - which is now available in 17 languages - Neal has also written The Reentry Team, I Think God Wants Me to Be a Missionary, and four series' of booklets called Critical Issue Bulletins. All of these resources and more information on Emmaus Road International can be found on their website at www.eri.org. We welcome ERI to our family of partners and look forward working with them to release churches into the Great Commission. Go to ERI for more information. Click here view all of our Agency Partners, |
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Our Featured Podcast: |
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God-Centered Missionary Care
by Matthew Ellison.
We must either go out for the sake of the Name or we must send and support those who do. Therefore, if you are a sender you ought to do it in a manner worthy of God.
Sending missionaries to the field in a manner worthy of God's Name is no trivial matter. Do it poorly and God's name is not glorified, do it well and God's glory will be brought to bear.
Listen to the podcast now or Subscribe to All Our Podcasts in iTunes.
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Also, you can encourage other churches! If Sixteen:Fifteen has helped your church with its Missions Vision, drop us a note and we'll share your story!
'Til all have heard,
The Sixteen:Fifteen Team | |
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Recommended
Resource:
Serving as Senders, by Neal Pirolo
Neal Pirolo, founder and President of Emmaus Road International in the preface to his book Serving as Senders describes the effect of hearing a speaker at an Urbana conference say that for each soldier on the battle field, nine others were backing him up in one way or another. The parallel to spiritual battle was immediately made, and Pirolo was inspired to help missionaries develop the kind of home front support team they need to survive while serving abroad. Part of the fruit of that inspiration is what may be the most readable and practical (yet quite comprehensive) book available on the role local fellowships can -and must - play in standing with those called to serve the Lord in other cultures. In the first chapter Pirolo distills much research and theory into a concise explanation of the emotional stress involved in the course of a missionary's career. While this introduction is very brief, it is a great starting point and ought to be considered must-reading for anyone involved in sending missionaries. Then, by using a series of case studies, Pirolo demonstrates the types of support cross-cultural workers need to stay healthy while on assignment. Helpfully broken up into chapters dealing with moral, logistical, financial, prayer, communication, and re-entry support this book provides practical suggestions how various members of a local church can use their giftings to play an integral part of the missionary support team. As stated earlier, this book is practical and readable. At less than $10 a copy this is without doubt one of the best investments missions-minded Americans can make in helping their local body be more effective as senders. In the follow-up book The Reentry Team, Pirolo expands upon the theme of supporting missionaries who make the often difficult transition back to their "home" cultures. This book's narrower focus allows the author to go more in depth into this crucial part of missionary adjustment and to also include chapters on children, furloughs, and they always touchy topic of responding to workers who return home earlier than was expected. I would encourage every missions pastor and leader to study this book. Not only will you greatly benefit but (more importantly) so will the missionaries that you support. This review is also on blog.1615.org. Stop by and let us know what you think. Reviewed by Jerrid Stelter, Contributing Researcher/Writer |
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