November 2016 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

Good Member Care is Crucial to Missionary Success

Member care is the buoy that keeps missionaries afloat, and it requires a joint effort among the sending church, agency and missionary. Photo by TEAM

Nov 30 2016

Member care is the emotional, mental and spiritual support a missionary receives from their church and sending organization throughout the entire missionary journey. When done well, member care contributes to overall missionary success. But a lack of good member care can have detrimental effects on missionaries and their ministries. When pursuing mission work — whether through sending or serving — it is important to prioritize member care before, during and after time spent on the field. TEAM missions coach Stephanie Maher gained a passion for good member care while growing up in a military family and spending three years as…

Having a clear church missions strategy leads to more meaningful and effective ministry. So why don’t 40 percent of churches have one? Photo by TEAM

Nov 23 2016

A recent survey suggested that 40 percent of evangelical churches in America don’t have a written strategy guiding their missions work. The survey also suggested that the 60 percent of churches that do have a written strategy are markedly more engaged in international work than those without a written strategy. This shouldn’t surprise us. A vision doesn’t always spark action, but it’s still true that action nearly always follows vision. If you need help developing a mission strategy, these pointers might be helpful, or you could subscribe to our monthly missions resource for churches. But before you get there, it’s worth…

In a country where Christians are persecuted, a Christian couple is using a prosthetic clinic to tangibly point the community to the wholeness we have in Christ. Photo by TEAM

Nov 17 2016

For as long as Cho can remember, her Asian country has been a nation of landmines. Farmers trigger them while reclaiming fields, women while going to town, children while coming home from school. After decades of ongoing war, rural areas, especially, are teeming with the passive weapons. And the resulting explosions have made missing limbs almost common. When Cho was born missing an arm and both legs, she should have been able to get prosthetics. But like many people in the country, her parents were — and are — still suffering the economic toll of war. They couldn’t afford prosthetics….

A church plant in Guatemala is quickly becoming a refuge for people ready to give up on church. But amidst rapid growth, challenges persist. Photo courtesy of Iglesia Reforma

Nov 15 2016

Tragedy and chaos are familiar to the average Guatemalan. If you fail a class in school, well, that’s not good, but it’s common; hopefully you’ll do better upon repeating it. If you are badly hurt in an accident, well, you can’t count on great care at the public hospital and can’t afford a private one, so hopefully you’ll get better. If your husband drinks too much or hangs around other women, well, you’ll likely separate, and hopefully you’ll make enough to feed your family, even if that means you only see your kids for an hour each night. Chaos. Disorganization….

Cross cultural relationships aren’t neat and tidy. They require flexibility, humility and compromise. I felt this personally in my friendship with Burundian refugees this year. Here’s what I wish I would have known from the beginning. Photo by TEAM

Nov 01 2016

As a missions coach at TEAM, I love getting to walk alongside others who feel called to international ministry. But I was challenged early on by an applicant who asked, “What are you doing in cross-cultural ministry?” A little jarred, I honestly responded, “Great question. I can tell you that right now, I’m not involved.” That moment launched the past year of befriending and loving refugees in Knoxville, Tennessee. After that conversation, I did some research and found a local nonprofit agency committed to providing protection and assistance in refugees’ journeys. They set me up as an English tutor for…

Archive - November 2016

Good Member Care is Crucial to Missionary Success

4 Myths That Keep Your Church From Having a Missions Strategy

Prosthetics Lead to First Steps of Faith

A Church For People Who Don’t Trust Church

7 Critical Things I Learned as a Refugee Volunteer