Welcome to April’s Messenger, a monthly publication from MRN. As we continue working our way through a model for missionary care, Mark Brazle shares tips to help sending churches care well for their missionaries.

by Mark Brazle

It was March 27, 2013. Our good friends, John and Rhonda were on their 30th anniversary “bucket list” Caribbean cruise with another couple, Ron and Hope, also from Ohio. While playing on Nassau beach, facing away from the ocean, John was suddenly struck from behind. A large rolling wave snapped back his neck, leaving him paralyzed from the neck down, face down in the water. In seconds, he realized he was in trouble, but helpless. Unless someone noticed, unless someone cared, he would drown in moments. Fortunately, our friend Ron noticed John was facedown and not moving. He knew he had to help. He quickly invited a couple of strangers to help turn John over and pull him up onto the beach. Due to Ron’s quick response, John was breathing again in moments. His life was spared. 

What about global workers who find themselves thousands of miles from home, face down, unable to breathe, paralyzed due to the pressures of life on the field? “When you are alone in a dark place, the voice of someone you trust can be incredibly empowering.”[1] What a great summary of the work of someone who looks after the lifelines of cross-cultural workers. We believe one helpful definition of missionary care is inviting the cross-cultural worker to breathe again, or simply coming alongside to breathe encouragement into a moment of despair. Who will “come alongside” and help them to be encouraged and able to get back up again? How can we help our global workers stay fresh for the far journey? How can sending churches grow in being more helpful?

Discouragement and/or stress on the field can appear out of the blue. Speaking from experience, it might happen when your team is at odds over how to move forward with “Plan C”, having scrapped your best ideas. Imagine after two years, your language teacher is trying to correct your diphthong - a sound you wonder if your mouth will ever or should ever be able to reproduce. You question why your verb tense must be corrected for what feels like the hundredth time. It could be that you have made a cultural or language faux pax that just might put a nail in the coffin of your fledgling missionary efforts. Add to that your marriage is struggling, your kids are out of control, and you seem to have developed an allergy for the local climate or the culture seems to be rubbing you raw. What do you do when your co-worker calls from the hospital to tell you their 18-month-old is on life support after a drowning accident? What needs to happen? There may also be stresses from a lack of safe tap water, healthcare issues, dependable utilities, or personal safety from anti-Christian governments or groups.

At MRN, we believe the sending church is responsible for the care of those they send. This means the church that sends workers is responsible for ensuring those global workers go well prepared, that they remain resilient, healthy and productive on the field, and are brought back to their culture of origin in a vibrant way so they can find productive ministry when they return. You may be thinking that this seems like such a huge task! Where do we start? The good news is that help is available!

Here are some helpful tips:

1.     Prepare to care.  Start by organizing a “care team” for each family on the field along with a liaison couple, mentors, and prayer warriors. Dottie Schulz has written a helpful summary of what this can look like on the local church level.[2] She shares who should be on such a team, basics to be aware of, a summary of possible duties, accountability questions to ask workers on the field and even a list of potential stressors they might experience. Bear in mind, the relationship between the care giver and the missionary is developed over time and needs to be strong before some conversations will be helpful. Be building friendships with those you send. With the help of those sent, be courageous about forming teams of prayer warriors who see regular prayer for those on the field as their mission. Imagine having a goal of 100 prayer warriors lifting up workers on the field on a regular basis. Equip those prayer warriors with a simple list of 3-5 items for which they can pray, knowing they will want to watch what God does in response to their fervent prayers.

2.     Be intentional. Gather and share resources with your care team.[3] Consider the value of regular check-ins with those on the field, whether weekly or monthly. When a sending church is organized for care with a “care team” and a “liaison couple” for every family they support, it can make all the difference. It can be like breath of fresh air for the struggling worker, when someone simply takes the time to ask, “What is your greatest challenge this week?” Or picture yourself as a struggling worker and someone simply reminds you that your first ministry on the field is to your family with the question, “What have you done to have fun as a family this month?” Consider simply sending a text on WhatsApp saying, “We prayed for you this morning!”

3.     Listen! You might ask the best questions ever, but it won’t help unless you make yourself available to listen well to the answers. This was a common theme of the “Missionary Care Summit” via Zoom on March 27. If you missed it, you may request the link to the recording and resources by emailing missions@mrnet.org.

4.     Don’t be afraid to ask for help. At MRN, we are here to help. Consider hosting a “Missionary Care Workshop” for your church or for area churches who are mission-minded and interested in caring well for those sent. Email us at the address above or reach out through our website.

You may be wondering what ever happened to our friend, John? We are happy to report he is walking again, though not without help. And understand it has been a long road.[4] Bear in mind that had no one cared, he would not have survived. It is our prayer that you will make that same difference in the lives of those you have sent: not just that they would survive, but that they would thrive!

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[1] Edited by Reagon Wilson & David Kronbach, “Tender Care: providing pastoral care for God’s global servants-holding the lifelines for those engaged in cross-cultural living” (must be ordered from Barnabas.org) p. 21

[2] https://www.mrnet.org/missionary-care-team-responsibilities

[3] Start with “Serving as Senders” by Neal Pirolo, (Emmaus Road International, 1991 expanded in 2012) or “Well Sent” by Steve Beirn (CLC Publications, 2015) or look for Missionary Care: An Annotated Bibliography By Dr. Dottie Schulz on mrnet.org/resources

[4] John Chartier’s book, “Embracing The Waves” is due out this month.