As we move into summer, our Missions Team prepares to send out our annual short-term missionaries, something we have not been able to do en masse for almost two years. Other than some brave souls from LifePoint traveling to Kentucky last summer to help at Laurel Mission, and a few individuals who managed to get overseas during lulls in the Covid spikes, we have been pretty much “landlocked” since 2019.
I have found that it is virtually impossible for a person to go out on a mission trip without being affected positively in numerous ways. On rare occasions, the short-term missionary returns with the firm conviction that they are not interested in going out again. Even then, however, they almost always return with a greater appreciation for missions and the work that missionaries do. Virtually without exception, short-term missionaries return with an expanded vision and excitement for what God is doing in other parts of the country and the world. Their view of life and their place in this world changes, and a deeper appreciation for the reality that not everyone lives as we do is developed.
God is at work in Indianapolis, but he is also at work in Monterrey, St. Petersburg, Manila, Port-a-Prince, Nairobi, Baghdad, etc. He is at work in the world and he is using believers to connect with the lost and hurting in every nation, tribe, and people group. The best way to experience that is to see it first hand, which is why I have stressed to our Missions Team to make funds available to help our own students/members get out on mission. It creates excitement, it gives people the opportunity to experience missions on a short-term basis before they make bigger decisions about full-time missions, and it keeps us here at home vitally connected to the world at large through the stories that our missionaries return and share with us.
With this being said, however, mission work is not just about getting on a plane and going someplace else. There is so much to do right here as well. We support the ongoing work and ministries of Wheeler Mission, Servant’s Heart, the Son Foundation, Life Centers, Campus Outreach, and Indianapolis Theological Seminary, along with other sundry ministries here at home. This work is just as much a “mission” as caring for the lost and hurting in Bangladesh, and in much closer proximity to us. Let’s not forget about our own sphere of influence right here in our own home city.
Over the summer you will see occasional articles here in my “Jym Shorts” spot written by some of our short-term missionaries. Nathan Miller, who recently returned from spending nearly a year in two different locations in Africa, shared with us two weeks ago. More will follow. Writing their stories will help them process what God is teaching them, and reading them will help us connect with the particular location they served in a more intimate way. Keep in mind that these are your mission dollars at work through your generosity to the Missions Faith Promise we collect each fall here at LifePoint. I have an ulterior motive that I might as well be honest about. I want those of you who give to continue to give and to give more sacrificially as the Lord enables. Yes, even in a time when there are many questions swirling about in relation to our economy. And for those of you who could give but have not, I want you to start giving. This is a church effort—a family effort. I believe it is what God would have us do, and I want you to be a vital part of it.
This Sunday we will hear from two of our missionaries, Ryan and Melinda Hicks. We will also pray over a group of short-term missionaries preparing to leave in two weeks for Laurel Mission in Southeastern Kentucky. Chris and Rachel Hanson, along with their three children, are making preparations to leave for long-term work in Cameroon. Zack Clayborn is preparing to leave in January of 2022 to join them there on a short-term basis. Kara Lantrip is ready to go to Brazil for a two-year term as soon as her visa is issued. Nathan Miller is thinking about additional missions work, teams are making ready to head to Mazatlán, Mexico; Kiev, Ukraine; and El Salvador later this summer and early fall. We are bustling with missions work again!
So, here’s to a summer of missions. Pray for our teams and individuals as they go out. Pray that “the message of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored” (2 Thess. 3:1) and that lives at home and abroad will be impacted by the great and glorious gospel of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Grace and peace,
Pastor Jym