Raising funds for your salary is often a necessity in ministry work. However, we must not forget that support raising, although necessary, is as much a spiritual work as serving at your church, praying fervently, or reading your Bible. These all take a little bit of discipline and a lot of the Holy Spirit. Each of these gives us the greatest joy when done with the right heart, but can quickly spiral into legalism and shame if we are not careful.
Everyone has a place and role in the Great Commission. God wants to use you for beautiful things! Here are some things you can do right now to start reaching the nations whoever you are, wherever you are.
What works against you in grasping Christ's love for you? When I think about this question, my answers create a long list, sadly. My sin, fear of rejection, not being good enough, not being faithful enough, being a burden, seeing and experiencing broken relationships, feelings of shame.
During my time with Cafe 1040 in Europe, our group navigated the city through a "buddy system," ensuring no one ventured out alone. When a teammate sought a companion for a rendezvous with a girl she had met at a local Korean Festival, I volunteered without hesitation, completely unaware of what God would do from this encounter.
An Interview with Cafe 1040’s Executive Director
"Recently, I was invited to attend a seminar at a church for people considering becoming missionaries. The church does this event annually to help its members navigate the process “from the church pew to the overseas location.” Friends, this is a treacherous journey. I have heard many missionaries say “getting there was harder than being here!”
In the last few years, there has been a new wave of opportunities for people to leverage their jobs for gospel advancement. Often called “Marketplace Missions,” this idea refers to taking your career and moving it to a strategic location for the mission of God.
Are you passionate about photography? Do you get excited thinking about a degree in Nursing? Are you pursuing a degree in law?
Do you ever wonder what a day could look like overseas? Each day is full of stories and new experiences. Each part of our overseas mentorship is designed to expose students to different ways to engage culture. This past week, we had a group of students in a home stay, which is where students live with a local family for about a week. This is a tool we use to immerse students in culture and language and to give them an intimate view of different beliefs. For many, this is the first time they have experienced other religions in this way. It’s also a time where God opens the students’ eyes to what He is up to and how they can be a part of it.
Missions is not just a topic that is referenced in specific places in the Bible, but instead is a theme can be found from Genesis all the way to Revelation. “Since creation, God has been interested in redeeming all peoples to himself.” From God’s first command of Adam and Eve to “Be fruitful and multiply” (Genesis 1:28), God has intended for the earth to be filled with worshippers.
It's hard to imagine the reality of living and dying without the chance to know the name of Jesus. It's even harder to imagine the 2.9 billion people in the world who live in this reality. It's not something we commonly think about and incredibly difficult to wrap our minds around.
Check out this video that helps explain what it means to be unreached.
As Magdi found himself at the end of his rope, he wept in his bed. He was an innocent man being falsely accused of murdering his troubled cousin. The city buzzed with life outside his window like it does every Thursday night but he felt terribly alone. All of the Hindu gods he had prayed to had left him hopeless and in the dark.
Twenty years ago, a sixteen-year-old girl living in a rural mountain village was kidnapped in the middle of the night. Terrified, she spent three days with a family who intended for her to marry their son. After negotiating with her family, she was a married woman. The first ten years of her marriage were marked by extreme poverty, fear, and pain. Her husband soon became an alcoholic who spent his days gambling away their small income. Struggling to make ends meet, this young girl who was now a mother spent many days wondering if life was even worth living. Would killing herself take away the pain?
We live in an anxious world. In our fast-paced culture, it’s easy to let our minds take control and live by feelings rather than the Word of God. I would argue that anxiety is one of our greatest debilitating factors we face as Christians. It keeps us from ever truly finding rest. It keeps us from moving our lives where God may call us. It keeps us from walking across the street and meeting a neighbor.
One of the most humbling experiences in missions is listening to the people who went before you. They are the rock movers who gave their lives to making a way for the gospel to penetrate some of the darkest places. Some people ready the soil, some people plant seeds and others get the joy of seeing a harvest. Be humbled and encouraged by these people who God worked through greatly. God did the work, these men and women simply made their lives available for Him to work through them.
This past week our team traveled to the mountains and spent the week trekking through villages. About 30 years ago, a team of workers said “yes” to God’s call and brought the Word to a small minority group living in the mountains. While it was a long process filled with trials and persecution, today this people group has churches. They have pastors. They have the Bible in their own language.
Cafe 1040's mission was formed around the reality that there are almost 3 billion people who have little to no access to the gospel. That’s 42% of the entire world’s population and the majority of these people groups all live in one area of the world – the 10/40 Window.
Today, we get join together for the International Day for the Unreached.
A light musical alarm sounds in the background as I sit up to the small beam of sunshine poking through our window. The hot morning air, combined with the humidity, makes for an unusual awakening. As I push off my mattress to stand, I think to myself how different it feels than the air I am used to in Canada.
