giving Archives - TEAM Christian Missions Blog

From Mission Field to Missionary Force

Today’s cross-cultural missions are marked by a movement “from everywhere, to everywhere.”

Dec 19 2022

The auditorium of Iglesia Impacto in Tegucigalpa, Honduras, was filled to the brim as volunteers buzzed around the room handing out booklets and TEAM pens. The event was promoted as a kind of “Missions 101” for Latin American believers eager to learn more about global, cross-cultural missions. Planned and coordinated by TEAM Mobilization Director, David Puerto, the global missions training was conducted entirely in Spanish and spoke to the very heart of the Latin American church and its desire to embrace God’s global mission. Initially, around 60 people were expected to attend the event. When 120 registered and 150 showed…

Opening your home can scary and exhausting, but one missionary shares how it became her favorite part of the week!

Nov 29 2018

Once, during a church barbecue at our house, my husband found me in an upstairs bedroom, hiding from our guests. Moments before, in an effort to find a topic that I might have in common with my fellow church goers, I had blurted out something really strange that just didn’t come out right. I attempted to graciously excuse myself and hightailed it out of there. I think of this story fairly often because, honestly, one of my biggest weaknesses is not enjoying small talk and, more specifically, despising moments like this. It happened probably five years ago, and yet I…

Stewarding what God gives us is not a chore for our checklist, it’s an opportunity to join God in redeeming the world. Photo by TEAM

Jul 12 2016

A few years back, I heard a story by Greg Matte, pastor of First Baptist Church in Houston, that shook me to the core. He explained that his friend was throwing a surprise party for his wife’s 40th birthday. (For the sake of this story, we will say their names are Eric and Mary.) When Mary arrived at the house, she was shocked at all the friends who came out. Toward the end of the night, everyone went around the circle and said one word that described what Mary meant to them. Eric was the last one to say something,…

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…

Emmanuel Evangelical Church of Los Cabos in Mexico was destroyed by Hurricane Odile in 2014. Today the congregation gathers in their new building. Photo by Armando Lomelí Perales.

Nov 02 2015

Scrubbed off the earth: That is how Hurricane Odile left the church building of the Emmanuel Evangelical Church of Los Cabos in San José del Cabo, Mexico. Distressed at losing a building they had sacrificed to build, the congregation despaired that they would ever have a place to gather again. But they prayed. That is when God stepped in. After the storm, TEAM put out the word through social media of our Baja hurricane relief effort, and gifts started to come in — not just for Emmanuel Evangelical Church, but for other hurricane relief needs as well. While on a quick,…

Not all international ministries are equipped to respond to all disasters. TEAM responded to earthquakes and tsunami in Japan in 2011 (above), but chose not to make a formal fundraising appeal for typhoon relief in the Philippines. Photo by Robert Johnson / TEAM

Nov 25 2013

Today, TEAM Chief Advancement Officer Arnie Adkison contributes to the blog. He addresses how you can make the most difference when tragedy strikes, and shares some of how TEAM decides when to get involved. Last week a retired TEAM missionary couple in southern Illinois had no idea that as they headed out to church, the home they would later return to was about to become rubble. While they prayed and worshiped with their church community, a tornado ripped through their town and destroyed their house and everything in it, leaving them with little more than the clothes they were wearing….

In Defense of the Charity Gift Catalog

Oct 21 2013

Today, TEAM Stewardship Manager Mark Watson contributes to the blog, addressing the growing trend of Christmas charity gift catalogs. If you’re like me, starting right about now, your mailbox is cluttered with Christmas charity gift catalogs. Especially if you’ve been involved in missions or child sponsorship for a long time, these catalogs will find their way in-between other catalogs for shoes, sweaters, electronics, hunting gear and just about everything else. You may drop your holiday postal pile on your kitchen table and ask yourself, “Should I look through all these gift catalogs this year? Should I look through any of them?”…

Tag - giving

From Mission Field to Missionary Force

Why Hospitality is Worth the Loss

We Give Because They Can’t Go Without Us

Supporting Missionaries is More Than Writing a Check

Church Destroyed by Hurricane Odile is Rebuilt

What You Should Know When Supporting Disaster Relief

In Defense of the Charity Gift Catalog