October 2020 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

130 Years is a Long Time … Or Maybe Not!

Oct 28 2020

There seems to be an inverse relationship between advancing years and a birthday celebrant’s desire to see his or her birthday cake adorned with candles. At some point, the number of candles required to mark the corresponding years of life places the dessert’s quality in jeopardy.A handful of candles at a child’s birthday party is joyous. However, 130 candles on a cake celebrating TEAM’s founding in 1890 is another matter. It can make us feel old, beyond our prime, slipping into irrelevance and a host of other not so desirable emotions. However, in the history of the Kingdom of God,…

Moving abroad can reveal a side of yourself you didn’t know. The Enneagram can help you process what’s happening and submit it more fully to Christ.

Oct 26 2020

I don’t even recognize myself anymore, Christine thought to herself. Have I changed this much? Christine knew that she was going through an intensely stressful season of life — starting a new business with her new husband, while navigating a new culture and new language in a new country. She’d been preparing for the external upheaval. But what she didn’t expect was the upheaval she saw in herself. Some of her actions and thoughts surprised and disturbed her: Anger at her circumstances, and her excessive attempts to control them. Difficulty in expressing her feelings and needs. Frustration at her limited…

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

Every church planter has cultural blind spots. One of the best ways to find them is working with fellow believers from a variety of cultures.

Oct 19 2020

I’m not sure if you know this, but you have a culture — and not all of it reflects God’s Kingdom values. Shocking, I know. This may not be an entirely new idea to you, but let me push it a bit further. Not all of the cultural convictions that you think reflect God’s Kingdom values actually reflect God’s Kingdom values. In other words, you and I have values we think are rooted in Gospel principles — but are actually, mostly, born from our cultures. There is some irony here for missionaries because many are great at spotting this in their…

With a well built to last at least 30 years, the Kanyemba village in Zimbabwe will be able to make long-term investments to grow their community.

Oct 13 2020

Under a bright blue sky, in the dry shrubland of northern Zimbabwe, a small group gathered around a concrete platform and an odd-shaped contraption with two handles. It was a brand new well. The members of Kanyemba village took turns, two at a time, to crank the well, pulling the water up from its underground reservoir. The new handles were stiff at first, but the more they were used, the easier the job became. Children, women and men all stepped up and took their turn. Anyone who wanted to help was welcome. As everyone waited and watched for the first…

Missions is no ordinary job — and that’s true even when it comes to the paycheck. So, how do missionaries get paid during their service?

Oct 09 2020

When we picture missionaries, we often think of simple lives, free of material pursuits, focused entirely on God. But even the most frugal, godly missionary has to pay for airfare, language classes and every other normal expense of daily living. So, where does a missionary’s money come from? There are two main ways missionaries get paid: a salary or self-funding. Missions agencies generally choose one for all of their missionaries to use. And while there are pros and cons to both models, the goal is the same: to bring God’s salvation message to the ends of the earth. Missionaries Who…

Archive - October 2020

130 Years is a Long Time … Or Maybe Not!

The Enneagram for Missionaries: Tips for Overseas Life

Why I Need Other Cultures on My Church Planting Team

Clean Water for Today – and Tomorrow

Ask TEAM: How Do Missionaries Get Paid?