A challenge to churches

Me and the Han at the Prague Zoo. Do you think the church will let us install a dungeon in the mission house? Because I think we may need one.

Han and Marc. This shows you a lot about Han's personality. I'll just leave it at that.

"Look among the nations! Observe! Be astonished! Wonder! Because I am doing something in your days--you would not believe if you were told." Habakkuk 1:5

These are dark, dark days at the Hooks house. No, I'm not talking about our darling Sarah Beth's absence. No, I'm not talking about the financial stresses of living on the mission field. No, I'm not talking about the loneliness of being away from friends and family. What is it, you ask? What has caused this dismal gloom? I am out of ranch dressing mix, onion soup mix, and Italian dressing mix, and I am nearly out of fat-free flavored coffee creamer and Crystal Light raspberry lemonade mix. Sob. Pardon me. I need to pull myself together.

Of course, I'm joking. Though we are out of those things, one of the nice things about living in Czech Republic is that while it's nice to have those things, there are plenty of good things here that we can easily get. Not necessarily substitutes, but things with which we can easily live. Our life here is a good one, an enjoyable one. And so, though we love ranch dressing, we'll likely survive its absence from our shelves. We've also been incredibly blessed to have so many people--friends, family, Sunday School classes--who have sent us so much over the last three years, giving us a little taste of home. That means a great deal in the middle of a dark, cold winter.

I've been thinking a great deal about churches lately. Not just churches in general, but specifically how Southern Baptist churches support their missionaries. If you are at all clued in to Southern Baptist life, you know that there are many changes in the works regarding how we cooperate to do ministry. The IMB, our company, is the largest mission-sending organization in the world, and that's a pretty hefty expense. In these times of economic downturn, everyone is looking for new and innovative ways to fund missions, both inside and outside the U.S. I'm not qualified to make any comments on the Cooperative Program (beyond that I am for it) or "Great Commission Giving" (beyond that I am for it). I am not an expert in how things should be done, and that's not really what I want to write about, anyway. What I want to talk about is how individual churches "do" missions.

This week, we have a volunteer team from FBC Forney, Texas. Great, sweet folks. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time with them. (They are having a Tex-Mex night tomorrow at English club...we are especially excited about that!) I went with them yesterday to a gymnasium (a kind of school here) to spend a couple of hours with some Czech middle schoolers. Unlike the U.S., where a mission team certainly could not come into a public school and talk about God, Czechs have seemingly no problem with that. (Interesting, since CZ is one of the most atheistic nations on earth.) It was a great, great time--so much fun for me, for whom a room full of kids is paradise on earth. But what struck me afterward was not just that it was fun, but that it was a paradigm shift (I'm taking that from Marc, by the way) in how Southern Baptists do missions.

FBC Forney is not a newcomer to Plzen. They have sent teams again and again and again. They work in the schools here, and they have created lasting relationships with people that have allowed them access to places the ordinary person would not have. Those relationships have also created ways for Larry and Melissa to have relationships with people they might not otherwise know. I hope you are noticing a word that I keep repeating--relationships. In our part of the world (I would argue this is true everywhere), relationships are everything in terms of church planting and discipleship. Long years of communism have created a lack of trust in everything for the people of the former Soviet Union. Relationships make it possible for us to earn the right to tell people about Jesus and have them listen. And relationships are not always easy to build and maintain. So what FBC Forney is doing by coming back again and again is invaluable to the work in this city. Their commitment is furthering the work of church planting in this city.

So how is that a paradigm shift? Because FBC Forney is not paying us to be the missions professionals. They aren't putting money in the plate every week and thinking that absolves them of any further work. They aren't taking a missions "vacation," either. Their teams don't go somewhere different every year, seeing the world and spreading Jesus at the same time. They are committed to this city. That's not to say it's the only place in the world they are committed to, but they are committed to this city. They are here to help the people on the ground, certainly, and they are great about bringing things we can use for ministry. But I'm pretty sure that if something happens and there is no one in this city from our company...they will still be here. Because they have committed to this place. And that commitment is working.

Other churches have these kinds of relationships, certainly. Our church, FBC Middleburg, Florida, has a long-standing relationship with an area in Brazil. We send teams every year, making relationships that further the gospel. FBC Allen, Texas, (which we consider our second home church) has a relationship in Cheboksary, Russia--a place where we have no personnel. They are working with a Baptist church there and a wonderful pastor--Sasha Franchuk--to whom they have committed. But for many Baptist churches, putting their money in the offering plate every week is as far as their missions involvement goes. And not only is that not a Biblical view of missions (the Great Commission doesn't say "pay missionaries to go into the world"--it says "YOU go"), those churches are missing out on a front row seat for the great, amazing, unbelievable things God is doing all over the world.

So here is my challenge to you and to your church: pick a place. There is no shortage of places in the world where they need to hear the gospel. Pick one. And then commit to it. Commit to believers already there, to missions personnel on the ground, to yourselves that you will do whatever it takes to see God's word spread in that place. If you can't personally go, help fund someone from your church. Send ministry materials to the people already on the ground. (You can't imagine how much that means.) Assign times to pray weekly for that place and those people. And go. Go, go, go, go. Not once. Not twice. Go a lot. Have a team there several times a year. And watch what happens. Because when God says to look at the nations and wonder at what He is doing...you will not be watching from a far off place. You'll be there. You might be cold or wet or hot or hungry...but you'll be where God is at work. And I promise you this--you'll never be the same. Never.

I'd better run. Today is a busy day for us--we have so much to get done before we leave for the States July 26th. Packing, paperwork, trips...so much to check off our to-do list. But we'll get it done. We might be a little crazy getting it done, but we'll finish everything. Wherever you are in the world, I pray that you are listening to the voice of God calling you to love someplace that is not your home, and that you are NOT out of ranch dressing mix, too. Blessings to you and yours!

His,
Kellye