Serving the Sent - Sharing the Burden

"For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith." [Galatians 6:8–10 ESV]
         
Let us talk again about how we can do some good, especially to those in the household of faith. When a missionary visits, churches often do a great job of listening to their stories, allowing them to preach and address the church and/or small groups in the church. Allowing the missionary to be heard and to share their life with the church body is a beautiful thing, but how does the church share their lives with the missionary who is mostly overseas?
           
The first step is to prepare your people to do it.
 
Without preparation, very few succeed, and like everything else with a missionary, it takes a little training. First, it is good to talk to small group leaders about how awkward it can be for a missionary in everyday conversations with people who have no context of where they serve. Quick, where is Georgia? Don’t know? South of Russia, East of Turkey, on the East coast of the Black Sea. I think I say that in my sleep to this day.
           
Prepare your people to read excerpts from a newsletter now and then, put up a map before the missionary visits to answer some of the fundamental questions for everyone in the church. Reach out to the people closest to the missionary and find out what the missionary likes to do or how they relax. If their stay with you is extended enough, make sure they are given chances to present their ministry and offer them opportunities to participate in church activities. Perhaps take an extra step and make sure some people that have visited the missionary before or are close to him or her are at that same activity to give the missionary a sense of familiarity. A chance to interact and “be” with the church with no expectations can be wonderfully refreshing for a missionary.  
           
Have you had teams visit the missionary recently on a short-term trip? Perhaps plan a mission trip reunion dinner one night where people share stories with the missionary about how their adventures have affected them at home and in church. The easy back forth of such conservations and the bond of shared experience will allow the missionary to feel as if they are with peers and friends instead of potential supporters or people in need of the missionary’s gifts. Sharing church life with a missionary, making them not simply honored but part of a family, creating times of simply fellowship can be challenging, but it can also lead to a wonderful harvest.