March 2016 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

A Look at Missions in Germany [Photo Journal]

Life in quaint Kandern, Germany, can be picturesque. Follow along as TEAM missionary Danielle Germaine gives us a guided photo tour of life, culture and missions in Germany.

Mar 31 2016

Situated in the charming village of Kandern, Germany, Black Forest Academy is a boarding school for children of missionaries and international businesspeople. At BFA, students study a North American curriculum with a Christian worldview. A melting pot of culture, Black Forest Academy is home to over 300 students who have parents working or serving in over 50 countries. Danielle Germaine, TEAM missionary, serves as a resident assistant at Black Forest Academy, where she cultivates community among the students. Scroll through her photo journal below for a glimpse of culture and missions in Germany. Meet Danielle Local German Flavors …

Home assignment for missionaries is a time that should be restful, but for many it is chaotic and stressful. Here are eight ways you can meaningfully serve a missionary on home assignment. Photo by TEAM

Mar 23 2016

Missionary home assignment is a time when missionaries return to their sending country to rest, refocus and connect with their support base. While a big goal of missionary home assignment is time to recharge before heading back to the mission field, many missionaries will tell you home assignment is not always relaxing. Traveling around their home country to see family, friends, supporters and sending churches can be wonderful, but it can also be tiring. Here are a few ways to serve missionaries on home assignment. 1. Arrange for Their Transportation Since many missionaries won’t have a car in North America,…

In a world that offers us new reasons to be afraid or dismayed every day, what if we change the definition of a normal Christian? Photo by TEAM

Mar 21 2016

Recently, I sat only a few feet away from an awe-inspiring person — a woman who has spent 60 years serving people in a place others choose to avoid. As a young woman, she left her home for a place so opposed to Christians, I cannot write her name. For nearly her whole life, she has provided medical care for chronically-ill Muslims in hopes that each would find true healing in Christ. As she spoke of her Muslim friends, the fire of love burned through her eyes and her words. It was impossible to leave her presence without thinking, “How does a person…

Mar 16 2016

In the days leading up to the 50th Super Bowl, football experts across the U.S. made their predictions known to the media. But Zach Harrod was probably the only one making public predictions in Prague — and hoping it would help him plant a church. Step into the ministry of church planting, and God is bound to surprise you with the directions He takes you. Around the world, missionaries have found themselves befriending acrobatic rock dancers, painting Bible stories in the park, working as baristas, using fish to grow tomatoes and, yes, making TV appearances as one of the few…

The collaborative workspace at Missions Place invites kingdom workers to work side-by-side locally for the sake of the gospel globally.

Mar 10 2016

Missions Place by TEAM was started in 2013 as a “storefront” concept for international missions. Since then, thousands of people have walked through the doors of Missions Place to to attend an event, talk to staff about missions or simply enjoy a coffee. This year, Missions Place takes its next step with the addition of a collaborative workspace. This relaxed, shared working environment brings together a local, kingdom-minded community in cities for the sake of the gospel around the world. Scroll through the photo journal to catch a snapshot of this collaborative community. The Faces of Missions Place Meet…

The eagerness to go overseas is good. We should not shun the promptings of the Spirit to pursue international service if the Lord continues to confirm it. But neither should we neglect the opportunities to serve where we are, especially those who live within earshot and driving distance.

Mar 07 2016

It’s an apartment complex. It’s the gymnasium. It’s the Mother’s-Day-Out program down the street. It’s the restaurants, workplaces and community gatherings. It’s in the city. These are where the people of the world live, work and play, and that is where the believer lives, works and plays. For most of us, when we think of cross-cultural ministry, our initial thoughts float toward airplanes, geographical borders and major unknowns. While this can be part of what it means to serve cross-culturally, it only paints the obvious picture. The more nuanced, yet immediate, definition could be walking across the street. Before Serving…

Mar 03 2016

I recently spoke with a woman who, after returning from a yearlong mission trip, was ready to turn around and head right back to the mission field. She was transitioning between college and career, her job in the States wasn’t what she wanted to do forever and, most of all, she genuinely felt called to be a missionary. So, what’s the holdup? Time to pack the bags and go! Well, not quite yet. Pausing Can Be Part of the Plan First, we had to ask some pretty key questions: Is her desired ministry area in a place to accept new missionaries? Is…

Finances are just one of many ways that you can be supporting missionaries around the world.

Mar 01 2016

This post is the third in a three-part series exploring the role of the sending church in missions. Catch Part I and Part II here. The following is an excerpt from The Sending Church Defined, written by Upstream Collective. It can be purchased in print. A Sending Church is a local community of Christ-followers who have made a covenant together to be prayerful, deliberate, and proactive in developing, commissioning, and sending their own members both locally and globally, often in partnership with other churches or agencies, and continuing to encourage, support, and advocate for them while making disciples cross-culturally. Beloved, it is a faithful thing you do in all your efforts for…

Archive - March 2016

A Look at Missions in Germany [Photo Journal]

8 Ways to Serve Missionaries on Home Assignment

It’s Time to Redefine a “Normal” Christian

5 Things No One Tells You About Church Planting

What’s New at Missions Place? [Photo Journal]

Serving Here Before Going There

When God Tells You to Wait on Missions

Supporting Missionaries is More Than Writing a Check