Making the Most of Home Assignment
This month we wrap up a two-part series on home assignments (or furloughs) with counsel for sending churches. Mark Brazle, who brings an abundance of experience to the conversation, has not only gathered his thoughts for best-practices in hosting a home assignment but has also brought in a number of voices of missionaries still experiencing home assignments.
by Mark Brazle
MRN Missionary Care Specialist
If you are a part of a missions committee or missionary care team for a sending church, you have likely wrestled with the question, “How do we best prepare for the furlough or home assignment for those we have sent to the field?” They are coming to the States for potentially 6-8 weeks. Where do we start? What needs to be on our To-Do list?
NOT vacation!
Someone with experience said it well, “If you want to see a grown missionary on furlough cry, ask how their vacation is going?!”[1] Most global workers will tell you straight up that one of the reasons for re-naming “furlough” as “home assignment” is because it is work! Exhausting work! They generally are longing to get back to their place of work so they can rest from furlough. So, let’s start there. How can we send our workers back to their place of service recharged, refreshed and ready to pour themselves out for the next two to three years? But I really don’t need to repeat what Kevin Linderman wrote last month! Check it out.
Plan carefully!
Pray about the plan. Please realize the global workers must start planning their stateside trip up to a year in advance! So, it might be nice for the sending church to be watching for questions and offering suggestions concerning best possible dates and use of time. Organize for care during home assignment by listening well when you are face to face with your worker.[2] Find out and discuss openly what they really need. Do they need to see a doctor, dentist, financial advisor or other professional? Have they planned adequately for time with their own family in balance with the time they must spend with their supporting churches? Who will best serve on the “home assignment planning team?” Pay attention to this: it needs to be those who know the global workers and communicate frequently with them.
Just between us: let’s spread the word!
Do not say:
“Welcome home!” (This is not their home!)
“How’s your vacation going so far?” (Nope, not a vacation!)
Do say:
“Welcome back!”
“How can we serve you while you are with us?”
“We are so proud of you and thankful for the work God is doing through you!”
Maybe we could ask them!
One of the dividends of COVID-19 has been time to talk, communicate, consider. So, we took the time to ask some global workers, “What is the best way to prepare the sending church for the global worker coming on home assignment? What are some examples of what your sending church has done well? What could they have done better?” Here are a few of their answers.[3] We hope this will trigger your imagination. But remember, if you ask such questions, pay attention!
"Our church has done great in helping us find temporary housing in ways that helped us not feel like we were imposing on family or church members. They asked around, found a house that needed a house sitter for a few weeks and let us 'make ourselves at home.'”
“They asked around and found a family willing to loan a vehicle for the duration of our stay.”
“They helped us coordinate schedules to visit small groups and share meals with members in an intimate small group setting. It’s exhausting when they do single-family gatherings with the missionaries!”
“One church made sure we had some ‘fun’ activities with the kids built into our time (for example: Disney, Catalina Island, Six Flags). They pay for these activities and make sure we actually do them!”
“They let us stay at a cabin in the mountains that belonged to someone on the committee for three days! Just us! Since we arrived there halfway through, it was such a blessing!”
“We also like to take part in activities of the congregation when we are present. For example: VBS, singing workshops, Bible Camp (for a day),…This is a way for us to meet the members and get to know what the church is like in their own growth and faith more than a newsletter or website.”
“Exposure to the whole church, especially on a Sunday morning, was important, allowing us the opportunity to share our heart and preach!”
“Allow the wife [yes, she is THE missionary, too] to speak to the ladies so she can tell her side of the story if she would like to do that.”
“… the women’s ministry at one church plans an annual ladies retreat & asked Lisa to come and be the speaker. They figured why bring in someone they don’t know, when they have connections to us. Lisa went, did it, and it was a huge blessing not just to the ladies spiritually, but relationally. Several weeks later when we were there together, the reception was very warm and felt like home.”
“I wish most of all that someone could have just listened to me. And then cried with me and prayed with me and rejoiced with me. That’s all.”
“Build in social time and non-social time. We want to connect with people, but we also don’t want to go back to the mission field broken. Bring people together for missions presentations at church. Bring people together for a meal in peoples’ homes. Try to do that with a lot of people at once. One on one meetings are a nice thought, but are exhausting if missionaries have something every lunch and dinner during the time they are at their sponsoring church. This might be necessary if the missionary is only there for one week. We have had the luxury of having 3 weeks at our sponsoring church. This gives enough time for busy time and down time.”
“Let the missionaries speak to the teens, to the seniors, during the Bible class times. The missionaries came a long way, please use their time with you wisely. However, let the missionary know these things are optional. They don’t need to be speaking when they are tired and need some rest. So, allow for some room to talk about expectations."
“Communication outside the missions committee to the church leadership is a must.”
"What’s the best way to prepare the sending church? Monthly contact with an elder or missions liaison is very important. Having a person in charge of announcing furlough dates is critical. The person in charge of our schedule while at the sponsoring church gets our “Hi, we are coming” video to the AV person to be shown 2-3 weeks before arrival."
These insights, directly from the field, must be taken seriously to help make home assignment both beneficial and productive. It is the responsibility of the sending church to listen well to the needs of their global workers and prayerfully prepare with care how to assist them in having the best home assignment ever.
Let’s determine to work together and be creative!
We must share ideas![4] One couple realized after they arrived in the States that they needed to give their furlough report to supporters on Zoom. So they re-grouped and stayed with their family physically while reporting to supporters virtually. Several workers we know have needed to postpone their home assignment. Because of this, some have given virtual home assignment reports on Zoom. Our present reality calls for an increase in flexibility and communication.
Let’s continue to pray together that we can help make home assignments the best ever for those visiting from the field. Please reach out if you have any questions or ideas.
[1] https://www.ontheseventh.org/post/how-to-make-missionaries-cry-ask-them-how-their-vacation-is-going
[2] Consider using this downloadable conversation guide ("Global Worker Care Update") to highlight what your worker is experiencing on the field.
[3] Special thanks to Kyle & Rebecca Hooper, Don & Cindy Roehrkasse, Scott & Shirley Raab, Craig & Katie Young, Luk & Holly Brazle, Jonathan & Brooklyn Sims, Scott & Lisa Harris.