by Jason Joyner | Jan 24, 2012 | Blog, challenge, Mission Monday, missions
It’s Mission Monday here at Spoiled For The Ordinary.
I’ve just started focusing posts on Mondays toward missions, but I’m anticipating a question/comment that could come up at some point.
“You talk about foreign missions all the time, but what about the need here in the United States?”
Let me state up front that I am a big fan of the missional movement that talks about always being called on mission. Whether I am at work, enjoying the state fair, coaching on the soccer field, or chatting on the internet about my favorite video game, I believe God can use me. My life is my mission, and there’s no off-duty. I want to see people around me know about the glorious freedom of the children of God. I live in an area of the United States that has a desperate need for evangelism. I don’t diminish this fact.
Still, I know that if half of the people who went to Bible-believing churches in my town fully lived for Jesus, this town could be transformed. (And I am one of these who needs to fully live my life for Jesus – let me challenge myself first!) My feeling has long been that there are enough Christians in this area to do the work needed. There are at least churches here that love Jesus.
The problem is that there are so many places around the world without a Christian witness. My mission trip to Thailand was to an area that had two churches in the city – and the province. Two churches for a population of 150,000 or so. There are nations and people groups who have no reproducing witness of Christ, whether due to lack of freedom or being a hard area to witness.
There are a lot of issues that I can talk about related to this. I know that it is hard for Westerners to be effective missionaries in all areas due to risks, cost, etc., and that it is easier for native missionaries to do work in various regions. Not everyone feels called to go, and I’m generally okay with that (although there’s the old Keith Green saying that the Bible tells us to GO, so we’d better have special leading from the Lord if we’re staying!) However, there is a need for being enlightened about conditions and opportunities in the world.
I will talk about local missions as specifics arise, but my focus is going to be international, because we are abundantly blessed in America. Almost embarrassingly so. We can be so fat from feeding ourselves spiritually, we get lazy and forget to give to others. I’d like to do my little part in changing that.
Hard words for a Monday. What do you think about this? I’m truly interested to hear!
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by Jason Joyner | Jan 9, 2012 | Blog, Mission Monday, missions, prayer, YWAM
Many people would like to pray for missions, other countries, and different prayer needs. Where can you find such information?
One tool I know about provides this and a whole lot more.
Youth With A Mission produces a Personal Prayer Diary each year. It comes in a nice day planner with areas for notes, calendars, articles about Kingdom issues, as well as information about every country and specific prayer highlights each month. The diary also has a Bible reading plan that takes one through the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs several times.
The diary also includes an encouragement to pray for the Seven Spheres of Influence that I’ve talked about before. Each day of the week is reserved to lift up concerns regarding Church and Religion, Family, Government and Law, Education, Science/Health/Environment, Business, and Media and the Arts.
I’ve used this for years, although often sporadically. This year I am committed to diligence in praying for the daily topics. I know many people are tied to their electronic devices, but this slim and durable book is a more than a planner – it has the potential to impact the world if people use it to pray for the nations.
Right now they’re only $11.89 at the World Christian store, and I’ve seen it listed on Amazon as well. Check it out if you’d like a simple way to make a difference!
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by Jason Joyner | Jan 9, 2012 | Blog, Mission Monday, missions, prayer, YWAM
Many people would like to pray for missions, other countries, and different prayer needs. Where can you find such information?
One tool I know about provides this and a whole lot more.
Youth With A Mission produces a Personal Prayer Diary each year. It comes in a nice day planner with areas for notes, calendars, articles about Kingdom issues, as well as information about every country and specific prayer highlights each month. The diary also has a Bible reading plan that takes one through the Old and New Testaments once and Psalms and Proverbs several times.
The diary also includes an encouragement to pray for the Seven Spheres of Influence that I’ve talked about before. Each day of the week is reserved to lift up concerns regarding Church and Religion, Family, Government and Law, Education, Science/Health/Environment, Business, and Media and the Arts.
I’ve used this for years, although often sporadically. This year I am committed to diligence in praying for the daily topics. I know many people are tied to their electronic devices, but this slim and durable book is a more than a planner – it has the potential to impact the world if people use it to pray for the nations.
Right now they’re only $11.89 at the World Christian store, and I’ve seen it listed on Amazon as well. Check it out if you’d like a simple way to make a difference!
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by Jason Joyner | Feb 19, 2010 | Bible, Blog, books, Loren Cunningham, missions, non-fiction, YWAM
My friends and regular readers of this blog believe that the Bible is a special book.
If we only knew how much…
I recently finished
The Book That Transforms Nations, the latest book by Loren Cunningham. He is the founder of Youth With a Mission, and if there’s anyone who is qualified to write this book, it is him. He has ministered in EVERY country on Earth, as well as numerous territories that don’t count as countries but are distinct areas nonetheless (how many of you have been to Pitcairn Island?).
The book has a straightforward structure. The first part of the book explains the problem, especially in the West, of our turning away as a society in general from God’s Word. He then spends a majority of the book describing ways the Bible has been used to transform cultures, from whole countries like Norway and South Korea to Calvin’s Geneva and yes, Pitcairn Island. Third, he describes how what we believe about God affects how we act in life, and shows how exceptions to the rule actually prove his point, with examples such as Japan and Latin America. Finally, he casts a vision on how we can get the Word out there.
We don’t hear stories anymore of the way God has transformed societies. I was impressed by Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Norwegian who skied to much of Norway spreading the Word, and the difference it made in that land. We may know a little about William Carey and his ministry in India, but I didn’t realize the extent of work done there.
Some of this information isn’t all that new. The idea that how we believe about God affects our culture comes admittedly from Francis Schaeffer (and it isn’t necessarily original with him). Loren touches on the various areas of culture that shape it, the Seven Spheres of Influence, which I have blogged about (after learning them from YWAM). There could be more practical information about how to do what the book is trying to promote: getting the Word out to people and let it transform hearts.
Still, Loren (and his sister Janice Rogers, who has written other books with him) has an easy style to read, and he excels at getting the reader excited about the proposition in the book. I finished and was immediately ready to start tossing Bibles on co-workers’ desks (however, I believe I would better serve the Lord by staying employed for a longer term basis).
What really challenged me was page 198, where he talks about how easy we have it to finish the job, as previous generations had to hand copy the Bible, and travel by foot or animal to get it anywhere. Modern technology puts reaching the whole world with the gospel as a doable goal in our lifetime! His challenge is that “our willingness to obey the Lord and move out is the only real limitation” (p 198).
I encourage anyone who has a love for Jesus and His Word, and a desire to see our country and the other nations changed to check out this book.
by Jason Joyner | Feb 19, 2010 | Bible, Blog, books, Loren Cunningham, missions, non-fiction, YWAM
My friends and regular readers of this blog believe that the Bible is a special book.
If we only knew how much…
I recently finished
The Book That Transforms Nations, the latest book by Loren Cunningham. He is the founder of Youth With a Mission, and if there’s anyone who is qualified to write this book, it is him. He has ministered in EVERY country on Earth, as well as numerous territories that don’t count as countries but are distinct areas nonetheless (how many of you have been to Pitcairn Island?).
The book has a straightforward structure. The first part of the book explains the problem, especially in the West, of our turning away as a society in general from God’s Word. He then spends a majority of the book describing ways the Bible has been used to transform cultures, from whole countries like Norway and South Korea to Calvin’s Geneva and yes, Pitcairn Island. Third, he describes how what we believe about God affects how we act in life, and shows how exceptions to the rule actually prove his point, with examples such as Japan and Latin America. Finally, he casts a vision on how we can get the Word out there.
We don’t hear stories anymore of the way God has transformed societies. I was impressed by Hans Nielsen Hauge, the Norwegian who skied to much of Norway spreading the Word, and the difference it made in that land. We may know a little about William Carey and his ministry in India, but I didn’t realize the extent of work done there.
Some of this information isn’t all that new. The idea that how we believe about God affects our culture comes admittedly from Francis Schaeffer (and it isn’t necessarily original with him). Loren touches on the various areas of culture that shape it, the Seven Spheres of Influence, which I have blogged about (after learning them from YWAM). There could be more practical information about how to do what the book is trying to promote: getting the Word out to people and let it transform hearts.
Still, Loren (and his sister Janice Rogers, who has written other books with him) has an easy style to read, and he excels at getting the reader excited about the proposition in the book. I finished and was immediately ready to start tossing Bibles on co-workers’ desks (however, I believe I would better serve the Lord by staying employed for a longer term basis).
What really challenged me was page 198, where he talks about how easy we have it to finish the job, as previous generations had to hand copy the Bible, and travel by foot or animal to get it anywhere. Modern technology puts reaching the whole world with the gospel as a doable goal in our lifetime! His challenge is that “our willingness to obey the Lord and move out is the only real limitation” (p 198).
I encourage anyone who has a love for Jesus and His Word, and a desire to see our country and the other nations changed to check out this book.
by Jason Joyner | Oct 13, 2009 | Blog, missions, prayer, Seven Spheres, Thailand, YWAM
I can’t believe that it was almost 18 years ago that I spent 2 months in Thailand with Youth With a Mission. It was an amazing time of formation for me, being fresh out of high school. I changed from a wide-eyed Idaho boy to a wide-eyed Idaho boy with a sense that there is a big world out there that needed Jesus. The Thai people were incredible to be around, and I’ve never forgotten the experience.
A couple from our outreach team showed true sacrificial love by staying behind in Thailand on a long-term commitment. In that time they’ve just become the directors of YWAM Thailand. Thanks to Facebook, I’ve been in a little contact with them, and I’m so excited how far they’ve come in their ministry to Thailand. God has kept me State-side for the time being, but that doesn’t mean I can’t support them from afar.
Thailand is about 95% Buddhist, although for them it is very much a cultural identity. To be Thai is to be Buddhist, it is said. However, there is a strong mix of ancestor worship and spiritism as well. There is a sizeable Muslim population in the south, with some occasional breakouts of violence, and few Christians. Thailand has been a hard place for missions for a long time.
It is known for its beauty and its corruption. Thailand immediately conjures up images of beaches, the tsunami of 2004, and human trafficking and red light districts. There have been frequent governmental upheavals. It is know as the “Land of Smiles” because the people are very friendly and hospitable, but it belies a deep need under the surface.
My YWAM friends have called for 40 days of prayer for Thailand. It started at the beginning of this month, but it is never too late to pray. I’m asking for my friends and interested people to remember Thailand in your prayers for the next month or so. God can speak prayer needs to your heart. If you are still wondering about how to pray, a suggestion would be to pray through the
Seven Spheres of Influence that shape a society:
Family/Home
Church/Religion
Government
Education
Arts/Culture/Entertainment
Business/Commerce
Media
I was also referred to
Bless Thailand, where they are slowly translating a prayer guide into English. If you’ve been to another country, you know that it sticks with you. I want the Father’s heart for Thailand, and I hope the people there will open their hearts to the love He has for them in this season.
Thanks for praying! Bless you.
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