September 2021 - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

COVID is Still Changing Our Ministries — and God is Still Working

Covid-19 has cost many missionaries access to their host countries. New strategies and perseverance are vital for the work to continue.

Sep 23 2021

As I write this from Asia, we are weary from yet another round of strict restrictions on travel and gatherings. The world entered the third wave in June; Asia is facing some of our hardest days yet. Today, six countries in Asia are in the top 10 countries facing the highest new cases per day. Eighteen months ago, one colleague was out of her host country for the New Year’s break when COVID-19 hit. The borders were closed, and she returned to the States. She’s now been stateside for more than a year. Another colleague was in the United States…

Papuan pastor Nimbrot preaches at a baptismal service

Nimbrot (left) knows the Gospel because of Western missionaries. Now he's calling his people to continue Christ's mission.

Sep 14 2021

Nimbrot was a kid when white, Western missionaries came to his part of Papua, Indonesia. “Now,” Nimbrot says, “it’s our turn.” It’s a rare attitude in Nimbrot’s tribe, the Auyu. Since the first missionaries came to and left South Papua, the Church there has struggled with discipleship and growth. Nimbrot decided to become a pastor in his 20s and was quickly sucked into a leadership vacuum. Without any Bible training, he became a regional leader for his denomination. But Nimbrot was already thinking beyond his region. He knew there were many tribes, deep inside Papua’s jungles, who hadn’t heard the…

Woman with suitcase looking out airport window

At the end of a home assignment, denying my grief feels easiest. But God equips me to acknowledge the pain and move forward with faith.

Sep 10 2021

I hate the goodbyes that come with ending a home assignment. I want good things to keep going as they are, indefinitely. And yet, I know that’s not how life works. Denial of something’s end doesn’t delay or prevent its end. It only keeps us from grieving what was and archiving pieces of it in memory, from getting up and walking into what’s next. If I stay stuck in this spot, unwilling to accept the reality that time is moving on, time isn’t what stops moving. There will come a day when I’m ripped from my spot, stuck in “the…

A group of men in Honduras consult their Bibles.

Every church needs to train leaders for the future. Join us this month in praying for missionaries who train local church leaders and missionaries.

Sep 01 2021

For Jose, it was just another normal run around the park. He didn’t know that he would end up having a conversation that would change his life and his family. But that day at the park, Jose met members of TEAM missionaries Ralph and Ellen’s church plant in Mexico. They invited Jose and his wife, Amilia, to be a part of one of their house churches. Soon, Jose put his faith in Christ and was baptized. Since then, he has been actively sharing his faith with everyone he meets! The change in Jose was so apparent that his wife and…

Archive - September 2021

COVID is Still Changing Our Ministries — and God is Still Working

‘Now It’s Our Turn’: A Papuan’s Call to Reach Papuans

After Home Assignment: Grieving the Good That Was

Praying for the World’s Future Church Leaders