Someone near and dear to me, we’ll call her Marla, is fighting an up hill battled at her church to keep you—those on the field—remembered and cared for.
Over the years, pastors have come and gone. Some for natural, understandable reasons and some for reasons that have left hurt, confusion, and chaos in their wake.
Being on the field for any period of time, you are familiar with the ebbs and flows and changes that occur in your sending church or churches. It’s a familiar story for missionaries to be sent to the field from a well-connected and known position. Equally familiar, as the years go by, leadership changes and with new leadership might come new focuses or priorities. You’ve probably experienced a church that sent you with a financial committed that either increased or decreased over the years as your needs, their ability, and their priorities change.
So far, I haven’t said anything new or revolutionary. You know this. I know this.
Lead pastors have come and gone. Mission pastors have come and gone. What the “mission committee” looks like has morphed over the years. They are currently needing to hire several new key staff members at the church and may be shifting who is “responsible” for missions and missionaries around again.
Marla is one of the people at her church who has stayed the same over the years. She’s the one who knows your name, knows your ministry, prays for your kids, and does her best to create opportunities for you to share when you are on furlough.
I have been thinking about her. Probably the majority of the missionaries sent from their church have no idea the meetings she schedules with the pastors, advocating for missionaries. They don’t know of the “battles” (why does it have to feel like it takes so much energy, effort, and girding of loins) on your behalf. Marla reads through the budget and speaks up when your needs might be overlooked and under budgeted. They would be surprised to know that she’s paid a price on their behalf because she’s done it quietly, faithfully, and without a title. So, few know. Most do not.
I share this to remind you that one of the challenges of living far away from those who sent you, is that you probably don’t know of the quiet, faithful souls who are advocating on your behalf. They take partnership with you and God seriously and count it a privilege to be a part of your ministry.
Today, let’s pause, and thank God for those faithful servants like Marla. If you’re thinking, “I don’t have anyone like that.” You probably do, you just don’t know it—because that’s how they roll. Thank God for those who have stood in the gap for you—unseen, unpaid, and unwavering.
