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About a month ago I had a long conversation with a woman who wanted to know how Churches can have better relationships with their missionaries.  For about twenty minutes I extolled the virtues of Skype, iPhones, magic jack, and drop box ending with the emphatic statement “there is NO REASON for a missionary not to communicate with their churches!”

This morning I was forced to eat those words 😦

While contacting supporting Churches by phone this morning it occurred to me that some had not gotten a ministry update for months.  This wasn’t because emails hadn’t been sent out (I was sending them) but because common issues like emails being changed, new church leadership, my communication not being received properly, or the email address being bad.  No matter what the reason for this happening the bottome line is its my fault since the missionaries are repesponsible to communicate with their Churches.

After the initial shock and conviction followed by lots apology emails I stopped and asked myself “how could this happen?”  It didn’t take me long to realize the answer.

My relationships with those Churches were one-click relationships 

1.  An email update that sends itself to hundreds of Churches with one click
2. A Facebook or Twitter post that takes thirty seconds to write
3. A blog post that can be seen by anyone after clicking the world publish

Now I’m all for social media because it allows missionaries to easily communicate with their Churches or supporters on a day to day basis.  But they also allow people (and their email addresses) to fall through the cracks.  And more importantly it’s a very impersonal form of communication.

Things like Facebook posts or a email are good enough for 80-90% of our relationships, but then there are is that 10% to 20% that deserves better.

1. They deserve a phone call 
2. Over a personal text message
3. face to face conversation (Facetime doesn’t count)
4. Or even (Heaven forbid) a hand written note!
5. At the least these individuals deserve to receive communication that’s specifically for them

The thing is if I had communicated with those Churches individually instead of sending a mass-produced email I would have noticed their address had changed, or my updates weren’t being received.  But instead I kept clicking the button assuming everything was okay.

I’m not saying that we should all take up the habit of handwriting letters (though it is a good idea) but instead we must find those 10% to 20% of people who deserve a personal contact, and think of creative ways of sending communication that’s meant only for them.

I’ll never forget the day I received in Australa a hand-written card from individuals in a supporting Church, it was an incredibly precious thing because that was something created with  me in mind.  May God help me to step away from the one-click relationship and communicate with others in a way that they will think is precious.

As a missionary one of my deepest burdens is for Christians that don’t share the Gospel .  This doesn’t stop with me as countless pastors and church leaders are speaking against this lack of witness, and after asking why people don’t speak of Christ they get the usual responses

1. They don’t know enough Scripture
2. They are afraid of losing their friends or loved ones
3. They aren’t confident enough
4. Or they share more than other people

I’ve heard excuses like this many times before (and even used them sometimes) but in my opinion there’s one issue that keeps Christians from witnessing more than any other.

We no longer know what a successful witness looks like

Ask someone today what would be found in a successful witness and you would end up with something like this

• The unsaved person is convicted of their sins by the Holy Spirit
• They confess their need of Christ and ask Him to be their Savior
• Their lives are completely changed and become actively involved in the local church

Now I’m not saying these Salvation experiences don’t come from a successful witness.  However normally our witnes goes something like this

• We share the Gospel truth with an unsaved person who has the Bible answers, but hasn’t accepted Christ
• They choose to rely on their good works or church attendance to take them to Heaven
• When we explain to them that Jesus is the only way to Heaven their response is “well that’s just your interpretation”
• When asked if they would like to accept Christ they either explain how good works saves them, or starts an argument about something other than the Gospel

Now let me ask you something….was that a successful witness?

In most cases I would slink away with my tail between my legs. But according to Scripture that WAS a successful witness! Because GOD is the one who does the saving, my job is to simply share His truth.

The problem with our earlier idea of a successful witness is it places intense pressure on a person to get the individual saved.  I’m all for fervent sharing of the Gospel, but the emphasis is the persons own strength or wisdom to the point where they could say “I got this person saved!” 

A bigger issue is if I clearly share the Gospel and they refuse to accept Christ it’s viewed as a loss.  The reality is however the Holy Spirit uses the truths of Scripture to impact lives in a way we cannot.  So if that person understands the truths of Scripture it’s a success!

A few weeks ago I shared the Gospel with a young man who attended Church but obviously wasn’t saved.  As we started reading Romans 3:23 I asked where he wouldn’t go when he died and the young man honestly told me “hell.”  At the end of a tract I was using there were two mountains with a large gap between them.  One one side was man living in sin and on the other side was God.  At the end I asked “which side are you on right now?” He sheepishly pointed to the sin side.  “What’s keeping you from crossing to God (through Christ)?” I asked, he thought for a moment and said “I just like sin too much.”

Now it’s very hard to call this a successful witness since the man refused to accept Jesus because sin felt too good.  But as we finished I looked him in the eyes and asked “where would you go if you died right now?”  He looked at the floor and mumbled “hell.”  I asked the question again just to impress it on his mind and then prayed for him.

Would I have been happier if he had accepted Jesus Christ as his Savior?  Of course!!  But in the eyes of God a witness that clearly explains His truth and drives home the fact death brings eternity in Hell is definitely not a failure.

  
One of the greatest things about living in Barrouallie is the breathtaking views you can enjoy every day, particularly at sunset.  In a way these pictures illustrate what people think about when I tell them I’m called by God to serve as a Missionary in the Carribean.  Automatically they envision me sitting on a white sandy beach drinking a glass of pineapple juice and”suffering for Jesus.”
While those gorgeous pictures describe the island, there’s another part to it that’s quite ugly 

1. Children have no fathers and teenage mothers so they’re pretty much allowed to run wild.  It’s been said that some drop their bags somewhere after school, then spend the night with friends (not family) and pick their bags up on the way back to school in the morning
2. Extreme poverty so that for some people thieving (stealing) is a normal way of life
3. Young women not having a father often look to men in town for security and end up in an abusive relationship 
4. The lack of men who are willing to take responsibility also means few strong role models
5. And there are times of year such as “carnival” are completely given over to immorality and selfish desires

The truth is this contrast of beauty and ugliness is pretty constant.  A friend of mine from a nearby island jokingly says that after taking one of those gorgeous sunset photos he’s tempted to take a picture of what’s behind him as well (never looks as good).  Likewise while that sunset is uploaded to Instagram I can easily see poverty, abusive relationships, and an immoral culture.

This contrast creates a real delemna for me because I want to share both sides of the island, but find myself only sharing it’s beauty.  This is partly because sharing too many of the struggles will make it seem as if I’m complaining or develop an attitude of bitterness in my heart.   In a deeper sense though this comes from a belief that people don’t need to see the ugly side…and the Lord has shown me that’s a sin against Him.

The greatest danger in only sharing the beautiful side of Barrouallie is it gives people the wrong idea about missions.   We believe it’s all going to be good times with gorgeous sunsets, and then are shocked when things don’t go well.

1. Like the Sunday less than ten people come to hear the message you spent hours preparing
2. Or kids break into your house and and stole a tablet (got it back the next day)
3. And you put lots of work into an outreach ministry but nobody comes
4. Or the school principal who three-months ago promised to let you volunteer there continues to delay things 

In moments like this it’s easy to wonder if we are indeed called by God because missions isn’t supposed to be this way.  I mean where’s the white sandy beach and pineapple juice?  And that’s why as a Missionary it’s part of my responsibility to “pull back the curtain” and let you see the islands ugly side.  

You will cry

You will get angry

You will wonder if God really wanted you there

But that’s okay…because in those moments God gives grace 

In a way sharing the islands ugly side gives God greater glory because He gives the strength to face that ugliness with courage and humility.  So yes it’s okay to take a picture of that amazing sunset, just make sure you notice the extreme poverty surrounding it too.