Anyone here interested in missions?

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We absolutely need a return to the Christian nuclear family with a minimum of 3-4 children per family.
It's at a crisis point....well....been there for several decades and slipped past the radar screen for 40 years now. Always thought it was a next gen problem. It no longer is a "next generation " problem.
Currently in the USA we went from the typical 2.5 kids with a house to a 1.3 kids in an apartment. That has consequences. We are looking at a complete collapse in 40 years with a partial in 20.
Meaning....you will likely not survive the upheaval coming.
I agree with you on that, but I think there are groups that wanted exactly that and made it happen directly or indirectly. All that NGO and Climate nonsens for example, is really just there to destroy people's wealth, so that they can no longer afford to have a bigger family.

But I suppose we're straying a bit from the topic with that...
 
working with MKs in the States
I had to look this up :D This is what I found after the initial misdirect to something unrelated but named the same:

MK Ministries exists to minister to missionary kids by helping to reinforce them while on the
field spiritually, socially and emotionally, reintegrate them smoothly into their "home" culture,
reestablish their foundation of faith, and reconnect those who have lost touch with others in the
missionary community, while promoting spiritual enrichment in the life of all MKs, for the Glory of God.

Sounds awesome! Wishing you all the best wherever God leads you
(y) :)
 
I agree with you on that, but I think there are groups that wanted exactly that and made it happen directly or indirectly. All that NGO and Climate nonsens for example, is really just there to destroy people's wealth, so that they can no longer afford to have a bigger family.

But I suppose we're straying a bit from the topic with that...
Currently the number of families has dropped as well as the number of children. 10% of all live births were anchor babies born to illegal aliens. That's how bad things have gotten.

We need an economic environment that allows for people to use relatively low skilled work to provide a $200k+ to $300k income. (All prices being stable to today's prices) Skilled and highly skilled work to be an easy $500k to a full Mill a year.
That's what we need....no more equivocation.
And if the robber Barron's don't get jailed, silenced, and run out of town. We won't survive.
 
I had to look this up :D This is what I found after the initial misdirect to something unrelated but named the same:

MK Ministries exists to minister to missionary kids by helping to reinforce them while on the
field spiritually, socially and emotionally, reintegrate them smoothly into their "home" culture,
reestablish their foundation of faith, and reconnect those who have lost touch with others in the
missionary community, while promoting spiritual enrichment in the life of all MKs, for the Glory of God.

Sounds awesome! Wishing you all the best wherever God leads you
(y) :)
Yep! This is exactly what I hope to do :) I was so appreciative of this kind of help in high school and in college so I hope to provide the same support for others like me!
 
Bible translation is very important, and audio bibles can be a way in for people to hear about Jesus. So I'm interested in that aspect of it, how the Word doesn't come back empty. But it has to be in a language people actually understand, not a gibberish tongue that you jabber in church when someone hits you on the forehead.
Agreed! The mission org I'm hoping to go with is very intentional about language and culture acquisition before you even move into an area to learn their local culture and get to know the people there. Only after you are more or less fluent do you actually begin teaching Scripture or the translation process. And the org also requires at least 2 years of Bible college before starting the training, which is also 2 years. So I think it equips you well.
 
Currently the number of families has dropped as well as the number of children. 10% of all live births were anchor babies born to illegal aliens. That's how bad things have gotten.

We need an economic environment that allows for people to use relatively low skilled work to provide a $200k+ to $300k income. (All prices being stable to today's prices) Skilled and highly skilled work to be an easy $500k to a full Mill a year.
That's what we need....no more equivocation.
And if the robber Barron's don't get jailed, silenced, and run out of town. We won't survive.
Out of curiosity, what ideas do you have for solving these issues? I am amazed at how much research and knowledge you have about this.
Also, you seem to be thinking very apocalypticly about this (which isn't necessarily a wrong way of thinking haha). What are you placing your hope in? I know I often get bombarded with conspiracy theories and warnings and things like that on social media (which I now try to limit my usage of) so how do we avoid getting sucked into the whirlpool of hopelessness and actually make changes? I would just encourage you in what you are striving for...I think its awesome that you are fired up about this. And I also want to encourage you to keep looking to Christ as the only One who can make changes. And some of these things absolutely will come to pass before He returns. We can't really stop Him from coming or destroying the earth, but we can try to be a witness and continue loving mercy, acting justly, and walking humbly with our God.
 
Out of curiosity, what ideas do you have for solving these issues? I am amazed at how much research and knowledge you have about this.
Also, you seem to be thinking very apocalypticly about this (which isn't necessarily a wrong way of thinking haha). What are you placing your hope in? I know I often get bombarded with conspiracy theories and warnings and things like that on social media (which I now try to limit my usage of) so how do we avoid getting sucked into the whirlpool of hopelessness and actually make changes? I would just encourage you in what you are striving for...I think its awesome that you are fired up about this. And I also want to encourage you to keep looking to Christ as the only One who can make changes. And some of these things absolutely will come to pass before He returns. We can't really stop Him from coming or destroying the earth, but we can try to be a witness and continue loving mercy, acting justly, and walking humbly with our God.

Well,
Increased proper hermeneutics of average believers is the start.
I think we can start there. I'll explain.
I got much more and I'll be back in a couple hours....
 
Out of curiosity, what ideas do you have for solving these issues? I am amazed at how much research and knowledge you have about this.
Also, you seem to be thinking very apocalypticly about this (which isn't necessarily a wrong way of thinking haha). What are you placing your hope in? I know I often get bombarded with conspiracy theories and warnings and things like that on social media (which I now try to limit my usage of) so how do we avoid getting sucked into the whirlpool of hopelessness and actually make changes? I would just encourage you in what you are striving for...I think its awesome that you are fired up about this. And I also want to encourage you to keep looking to Christ as the only One who can make changes. And some of these things absolutely will come to pass before He returns. We can't really stop Him from coming or destroying the earth, but we can try to be a witness and continue loving mercy, acting justly, and walking humbly with our God.
I've been on several domestic mission trips where people started spouting off their particular denominational theologies to people interested in the Gospel....
As if they need to be able to speak in tongues and give prophesies concerning the future or be able to lay hands and heal all sicknesses immediately upon believing or else they really aren't a believer.....things like that tend to get me a bit riled....

But for whatever reason they want to forget the first two greatest Commandments that have never been withdrawn, bypassed, forgotten or left unwritten in the New Covenant.
And loving your neighbor as yourself has never been more important than it is today.

In order to actually love your neighbor as yourself you have to actually get to know your neighbor beyond an extremely superficial relationship. You have to like him....find him special and unique and with value from just knowing him.
This is not "one hit wonder" style evangelism.... nor is it browbeat them into submission by guilt evangelism either....
It's making friends in YOUR community and over time sharing how much God has done for you.

And being involved in other people's lives is somewhat contagious. As you take interest in them and others....they realize they have been a bit "closed" off and make friends too.
This is where hermeneutics comes into play....because people are messy. Not even cookie cutter with problems, aspirations, hopes, dreams, and nightmares.
You don't need to quote scripture....you just need to tell them what it means. And you can't do that if first you don't know it and the context it was written in. Because young people especially are gonna ask questions as they start to do "life".

Adulting your way in life is hard....(being an adult)
That's why being a friend of God's is important. Not that it is easy-going but you will have an ability to survive. The alternative is not as positive.

The party girl?
The majority of women who have multiple partners....it's with 10% of the male population who are completely uninterested in being fathers or husband's. Cut the "Chad's and Tyrone's off. Not even worth having as a workout partner. But a steady diet of being involved with these guys will destroy every thought of being able to have the dream of a home with multiple generations in it with you as the matriarch.
One life will be extremely rich and rewarding leaving a living legacy....the other? You will do good if you are remembered after age 60....your ashes when you die being dumped in a mass grave for indigent people with the year marker being the only headstone.
This reality needs to be explained to young people.

Sow wild oats when young and pray for crop failure?
More bad advice by young people.
Bad choices and public statements have a way of being recorded and remembered for decades long after you have matured....even if you did not get arrested or charged with a crime.

Sure, everyone looks down on the guy who stays out of trouble. But then they look down on the bad guys too....basically everyone looks down on everyone else. So to win don't play the game of looking down on people. Be friends who do normal things like play video games, watch football, basketball or hockey (even if the games are rigged).

If you don't have anyone automatic in your invite list....time to go make friends EVERYWHERE from the grocery store to the gas station. And be bold for Christ when the opportunity comes....

Dating and kids?

Notice how it's not listed?
Because if we get out of the media....start hanging out with people. The NATURAL result of relationships can finally happen. There's more to your life than an unfulfilling job, unpaid bills, an unsatisfied boss, and models of a life you can never live up to or should try to have.

Just saying.....

And where you can influence your immediate community....it requires a domestic missionary to inspire others to do this in their communities. I'm not very talented. I can do my neighborhood....
 
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Fully-paid missionaries could be out there, but I haven't run into one yet.

The Christian and Missionary Alliance up until recent years fully funded every missionary that they sent. Today they still fund the majority of each worker's need.

Needless to say the organization works very hard to vet full time missionaries prior to sending, but they believe missionaries will have greater long term success if they aren't perpetually having to leave the field in order to raise support.
 
For the friends I've known who have been in lifetime ministry, yes -- they have had to raise and live on their own self-generated support for over 30 years.

From the people I've talked to, it can vary depending on what organization you're with or if anyone is helping to sponsor the mission, example. Like if the church you're going through has a missions fund that might partially pay for you, but you are expected to raise the rest of the money.

I have never met anyone who is in fully-funded missions work -- it's pretty much a given that fund-raising is a huge part of the work.

Fully-paid missionaries could be out there, but I haven't run into one yet.

Right, so if you are thinking about this... you have to be OK with hitting up people for money to support your ministry.
 
I was for a while, but the course I did - Perspectives - discouraged me, you had to raise a lot of money, and if your parents/church didn't support you, then it was a no go.

Also, organisations like Gospel for Asia want to encourage native missionaries, not international ones, as they are better equipped to reach out. It's very expensive to host and house missionaries. It's wonderful for the missionaries and exciting I guess, but its not always a good idea, esp if you don't even bother to learn the language.

From the positions they advertised in church it seemed like they just wanted helpers to support the missionaries children, like teachers and babysitters, and to run the missions compound, rather than actually reach out to the people who have never encountered Jesus.

Also some mission organisations were so USA centric, that you were kind of like, this is not gonna bring people to Jesus. Its just imposing a whitewashed consumer culture on to someone else's.

where did you go and how were teh acommodations?
 
Missions work is a huge commitment but very rewarding. I've helped out with local outreach before and it really changes your perspective on things. You should definitely look into short-term trips first to see where you fit best.
Yes I hope to do this in the next few years! I've already interned for a year in MK Care and loved it, but I'm always open to other possibilities. :)
 
Right, so if you are thinking about this... you have to be OK with hitting up people for money to support your ministry.
When I went, asking for money was easy. We had definite amounts we needed...definite purposes for money raised. We were extremely transparent. (Moreso than my church) That helps a ton with asking for money. Plus people knew exactly what I was going to do when I got there. Same thing with my wife.....
(I'm an electrician and she a schoolteacher.....I wire things up and she teaches school....which is what they needed) people funded us easily because they knew us and knew we could and would do the tasks assigned. These weren't "pie in the sky" goals. We had definite tasks that required our expertise. Actually, my wife teaches teachers how to teach....but that's another subject.
So we printed a few fliers....and it was easier than little league fund raising.
No strangers were approached, no door-to-door knocking was ever done.

I took a few pictures while there of our work, what we did. Reported back to those who helped. Shown exactly where their money went....when we went again and again it wasn't even difficult to raise money. We started turning down money when they got it in too late. We always went places with whatever supplies needed, money was never a primary worry....the people were the goal....always. sure, fundraising is annoying....just part of it.
 
Never asked for money neither. God equipped us with whatever we needed on hand.
 
I went to the local Bible college, which probably has its own version of missions theology and applied theology, to check it out, but they were not interested in going into local primary schools.

I was a bit disappointed in the Bible College cos they required a lot of money to study there. And if you did study/train to be a teacher you'd probably only go teach at Christian schools, where the children are already from christian families, rather than the state/public schools where they might not have heard of Jesus.
 
Right, so if you are thinking about this... you have to be OK with hitting up people for money to support your ministry.
More like you have to understand that this is God's ministry not yours and God has called people to give to this ministry. And if you're a person of integrity you'll wrestle some with balancing being a good steward of what's been entrusted to you and having those little luxuries that make sticking it out just a bit easier. Some organizations have stricter requirements than others in the area of having the finances vs trusting God's provision.
 
World Vision, Tearfund, and Childfund rely on people's personal donations.
They are not shy about asking for money, but will say what it's for and give a clear breakdown of where the money goes.

The only thing I don't really like about them is when they ask for more than you can give, and they also require you to have a steady income, so they can have a steady income. But life isn't always like that, some people do not have steady jobs.
Money can go a long way in some countries where the exchange rate is favourable.
 
The missions organisations I was interested in were the Mercy Ships (one had a book fair on it) Samaritans Purse (they delivered Christmas gifts) KYB (Know Your Bible women's groups) among others. There was one middle eastern one can't remember the name now. There are so many

Missions I think can encompass not just overseas/abroad evangelistic endeavours but spreading the Word and Jesus light to those who who haven't heard and it can be right on your doorstep. So Bibles in Schools, Chaplaincy, community meals and other outreach ministries all count.They may not take you far from home, but they can make a big impact.

I don't think I'm cut out for overseas missions, you need to be a certain type of Christian to go on those. I mean we are all different. Back in the day, it was required for you to be a good horse rider for example. Then you did the circuit. My country was partly founded by missionaries. It was the only way to make peace with the natives, because other people came here with other motives, namely, exploitation and colonisation.
 
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