Sustainability In Missions

I did five, 2 hour lectures over 4 days.

I’m grateful to Joe Thompson @jedidiahjourney who originally asked me to come up with a teaching on this topic for the @ywamhonolulu gateway.

One of our night sessions started 7pm and went till 9. To be real honest, I’m usually in bed during this window shortly after the kids go to bed.

I was also sick with a bacterial infection, white spots on my tonsils and throat and it hurt to swallow much less speak.

I also couldn’t really hear out of either ear because I had an ear infection in both ears. Luckily there was a/c.

At one time the rain was pouring so hard that it was hard to hear anything over the rain drops hitting the tin roof.

This is sustainability in missions. Persevering. Pushing through difficult, inconvenient, not your preference, challenging things.

As I thought about the tiny inconvenience it was to teach while sick, when I’d rather be in bed, I thought of a story of one of our previous school leaders who was transported to an underground church in a closed country in the back of a truck with a blanket over him to an undisclosed location so he could teach the Word Of God to a gathering of believers in the persecuted church.

Teaching while you’re sick, and past your bedtime doesn’t even feel like an inconvenience anymore in comparison to people risking their lives to gather with other Christians in closed countries.

I’ve realized that I’ve lived most of my life trying to avoid as much pain and discomfort as possible, and to make it as efficient and convenient as I can as well.

Maybe that’s part of the American way? But I’ve realized maybe some of those ideals and values have slipped into my Christianity too, and Jesus didn’t say follow me so you will be comfortable, and everything will run smoothly.

A big portion of sustainability in missions is finances and fundraising. And how invite people into partnership with what the ministry you are called to. So I spent time teaching on that as well.

It was fun to share some of the amazing testimonies of God’s faithful provision for us over the years. Thank you to everyone who has partnered with us and is a part of that story.

Another goal of sustainability in missions is still being fired up radical lover of Jesus when you’re 90 years old. How do we do that? Well you have to be prepared for “church hurt” so it doesn’t make you quit.

It’s part of the territory. Jesus was perfect yet He stirred up so much conflict they nailed Him to a tree. If we, being imperfect are on this journey, then we are going to have some conflict.

Loren Cunningham the founder of YWAM has been giving his last words to YWAM. Casting vision that YWAM is uniquely situated to translate the Bible into everyones “heart language” not just the 8300 official languages, but local dialects and their true mother tongue. Wycliff says the complete Bible has been translated into only 724 languages.

Less than 10 percent of the world has a complete Bible in their language. Read that last sentence again.

Talk about being fired up in your old age, still casting vision and championing young people. What an example of sustainability in mission. Grateful to be a part of this organization.

We’ve had people tell us they couldn’t do what we do. Maybe that’s because they don’t value what we value.

Maybe it’s because they aren’t called to what we are called to. And that’s okay.

We’ve been encouraged a few times on this trip by different people that it’s encouraging to see a family in missions.

Being single in missions was an adventure. Doing it as a family is for sure more of a sacrifice. But Jesus didn’t say serve me only when it’s fun and easy.

I’ve really been thinking about comfort lately. How much do you need to be sustainable? And how much do you get a taste of it and just want more?