How to Think Like a Missionary

JameeDecember 7, 2015Uncategorized

Tips for Mission Trips

If you’re planning to go on a missionary journey or to travel with a mission group, you should seriously consider how to think like a missionary. While you may be excited about travelling and the adventure that awaits in a foreign country, remember that the church or organization you’ll be visiting is focused on the work of their ministry. Therefore, to think like a missionary, you must first understand and connect to their vision, to their city, their people and to their projects and programs.

Get familiar with the pastors and leaders. Don’t be afraid to write ahead to ask questions so you can discover their passion and purpose. Begin to pray about how God can use your strengths and skills while on the mission field. Although it’s impossible to completely understand the mind of the missionaries, its important to put your personal agenda aside for the their sake and to do your part in building God’s Kingdom in their region. When you do this, you are opening yourself up to unexpected experiences and blessings.

To think like a Missionary, you must put yourself in their shoes. They have left their home, family and friends to pursue their call in God. And while leaving home to become a missionary may sound romantic, that is rarely the case. Life is usually harder with a burden for the people and the region. They must do more with less. There’s a new language to learn and cultural differences to understand. Plus, there’s an ongoing need to fund the mission.

The following are a few more things to help you think like a missionary:

  1. Missionaries are not on vacation:  If you are with a group, most hosts will plan some activities around the natural beauty or nearby recreational opportunities available. This is to add to your mission experience, but it is not the main focus.
  1. Complaining is futile:  Be willing to do without what you think you need.
  1. Missionaries want help. They don’t need more work.

A missionary journey should include fun and be an adventure. But remember, utlimately, it’s a mission for God and you are serving Him. Keep Mark 10:42-45 in mind:

“And Jesus called them to him and said to them, “You know that those who are considered rulers of the Gentiles lord it over them, and their great ones exercise authority over them. But it shall not be so among you. But whoever would be great among you must be your servant, and whoever would be first among you must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man came not to be served but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many.”

Learn more about Destino Cristiano’s Mission Group Opportunitites.

 

 

 

The Season of Praise

JameeNovember 16, 2015Uncategorized

turkeyAs pastors of a bilingual Christian church in La Paz, Mexico, we’re honored to share our American Thanksgiving tradition with our Mexican friends. This year, the Destino Cristiano team will be preparing a holiday meal with turkey and all the fixings, and offering a sit-down service with waiters and waitresses.

Our goal is to serve the people who have welcomed us to their city… well, even to their country. Since moving to Mexico and starting our church in La Paz, we have been blessed to experience the tradition of hospitality that the Mexicans are so gracious to provide. This hospitality is not just offered on holidays, but comes from their hearts every day.

Our hearts are overflowing in this season of praise, as we enter our second year of pastoring a bilingual church in the El Centro area of La Paz. How can we not be emotional and thankful when we have received so much love and acceptance from so many people? And while we sometimes ask ourselves why Spanish-speaking people would attend church with gringo pastors, we already know the answer: God is at work. He is doing something new. He is at the center of it all.

It’s the season of praise! We rejoice in God and we give thanks to our brothers and sisters in Christ! Gracias por todo!