The Local Church as First Responder

Though all of the Body of Christ is needed when crisis is happening, it is particularly important for the local church to play a key role in assisting those seeking refuge in a new place or country.

Statistics show that many who are seeking refuge have been poorly treated en route, are frightened, traumatized, and uncertain of their future. They are strangers in a foreign place. The Bible gives us guidance in Leviticus 19:34 as it instructs the Body of Christ:

“You shall treat the stranger who sojourns with you as the native among you, and you shall love him as yourself, for you were strangers in the land of Egypt: I am the Lord your God.”

The Church, therefore, is about caring for people—their spiritual, physical, and emotional needs, in all the world, in the name of Jesus, and by the power of the Holy Spirit. In other words, Missio Dei, the mission of God. The local church—a gifted body of believers filled with the love and compassion of Jesus, released together to touch the world—can bring healing, harmony, and restoration to multitudes. And the local church will be present for ongoing care after the media hype is gone and after expatriates have returned home. It is a continuity of presence.

It is the picture, I believe, of what the Church was intended to be: an organism of salvation, reconciliation, and restoration to the world. Truly it is also a place of gathering together to worship and adore the Lord, to build each other up, and to offer shelter and a place where persons can find salvation, reconciliation, and restoration.

Dr. Joanne Butrin served as a missionary in the Democratic Republic of the Congo for fourteen years. She now serves as director of International Ministries for AG World Missions. She has authored several books and lectures worldwide on topics of social justice and compassion.

Is It Worth It?

Noemi Tovar - MA to Spain

Is it worth it? A year of grieving, a year of loss, a year of fighting, putting things off, avoiding, blaming, complaining, victimizing, confusion, anger, fear…rock-bottom. Six months in, really it was seven consecutive months where I was stripped of all my comforts, challenged by my ever-changing environment and role deprivation given the pandemic.

Who am I? 
What am I doing here?  
What is my purpose here?
 

These are questions that plagued my mind and finally when I couldn’t fight anymore, I understood. I understood what God was doing in me.

Before I came to Spain, God was creating in me a new heart and now that I am in Spain, He is creating in me a new mind. I have been strategically placed in such an unstable environment with a long-standing ministry that’s ever evolving. Change. I don’t like change. But I need to face it, I need to embrace it, I need to live and breathe it.

Is it worth it?

To face the longstanding fears I had that wouldn’t let me move forward was by far the most courageous and brave steps I took this year. Steps that strengthened me to not only walk forward but motivated me to further walk alongside and cling to Jesus’ hand ever so tightly more than I had ever done before.

Is it worth it?

To lose it all in order to gain it all in Christ. For the first time I walked in the shoes of the foreigner, the immigrant, the displaced, the lost, the lonely, the despaired. And I can for the first time say, “I know what it’s like to really walk in your shoes; you are not alone, here is my hand. Let me encourage you and remind you by saying that following Jesus, following the desire to serve that he has placed in your heart, although it may not be the easiest road to walk on - that you will suffer hardships, grief and losses, victory and glory days -  when it is all said and done, it will always be worth it. And the comfort of knowing He is always there is a longstanding promise that will never be broken or shaken.”

To be a first term MA in a pandemic has taught me what I might not have learned during any other time. The best place I could’ve been is right where God wanted me to be - in Madrid, Spain. And it was very much worth it. 

This blog is part of the Join the Movement series. If you are interested in receiving this newsletter monthly, click “Join the Movement” at the top of our website. If you are interested to serve as an MA like Noemi, go to www.wideopenmissions.org for more info.

New Beginnings: How The Pandemic Turned A Dream Into Reality

With her background in Hollywood and theater production, missionary Brenda Lillie has a special place in her heart for artists, perhaps because she is one. In 2017 God gave her the vision for The Bridge Artistic Network—a community of faith created by artists, for artists. But as Lillie says, “When God gives you the vision, He doesn’t always give you the whole vision at once.”

Brenda says her goal in the community for artists is “for every person to be encouraged, engaged, and empowered by Christ so He can do His work and infiltrate both their art and their lives.” With that goal in mind, she continued to pray about what The Bridge could be.

Brenda prayerfully developed ideas, and at first, they were always centered around a brick-and-mortar location in the Netherlands, where she serves as a missionary. The location would be able to host events and workshops as well as serve the venue for The Gathering, a service where artists learn to worship the Lord and grow in Christ together.

But even before the pandemic began, God began to shift Brenda’s approach to the ministry.

She remembered something she heard in a podcast, which was paraphrased, “Stop apologizing for how God made you. Stop apologizing for how you were fearfully and wonderfully made. Start picking up your talents and abilities. Start using them for God’s glory, and let Him do the work.” Through this encouragement, Brenda began to use her gifts even while itinerating in the United States.

In 2019 she developed a one-woman show on the life of Corrie Ten Boom, a Christian watchmaker whose family helped Jewish people escape the Nazis by sheltering them in a hidden room in their home in Haarlem in the Netherlands during World World II. The ten Boom house is located just minutes from Brenda’s home, and Corrie’s faith has inspired Brenda for years.

By the beginning of 2020 Brenda had shows booked for more than four months, and Brenda took this success as proof this is what she was supposed to do. She was doing serious ministry through theater, people were coming to Jesus, and she was getting the word out about The Bridge through her itineration.

The first Sunday in March was the last time Brenda performed in front of people.

About a month into lockdown, Brenda prayed, “What am I supposed to do now, Lord? You brought the Corrie show to me. You opened all of these doors, and now You’ve shut them. This has to be for a purpose.” The arts usually involve attending events and performances, and the outlook for attending anything in person for a long time seemed grim,

Brenda began to see the need for connection, especially among artists—many of whom were suddenly unemployed and separated from community. She then felt compelled to do something she never would have come up with on her own: start a Facebook group for artists.

She did it, and called it—you guessed it—The Bridge Artistic Network. “If you’re an artist, you are welcome,” says Lillie. She started shining the light of Christ over the artistic community that God began to virtually assemble. Since April more than 130 artists from all over the globe have gathered, many of whom are from unchurched backgrounds. “These are artists of every kind,” she explains. “A mom who’s teaching her kids to color inside the lines, a five-time Emmy award winner, and everyone in between. The level of artistry is vast and different, but it doesn’t matter, because we look at each other with love and encouragement.”

It ma have taken a pandemic for God to give Brenda the next piece of His vision for her ministry, but she feels nothing but blessed. “This pandemic,” she says, “as crazy and horrible as it’s been, has also been a huge blessing in so many ways, because it’s gotten us all to slow down, take a deep breath, and realize what makes us tick as human beings. But I’m always going to remember this time as a moment where i connected with people in such a different way. And even if it’s only for this moment, I want them to know how loved they are and how fearfully and wonderfully made they are.”

Brenda Lillie is a missionary serving in The Netherlands and is founder of The Bridge Artistic Network.

Mistaken Identity by Kristina Keen - Missionary Associate to Northern Ireland

Living with the title "Missionary" can come with unspoken expectations from supporters, colleagues, and even yourself. I came to Northern Ireland with the heart and intent to work hard for the Kingdom of God and support my pastor here in whatever way I could. Upon arrival I picked up a full schedule and got to work, taking from past ministry experiences and learning some things for the very first time. By February 2020 I was starting to get into a comfortable groove where I finally felt like I was serving in a way that met my own standards. The next month we went into our first COVID-19 lockdown and the days and my work shifted drastically. I was no longer able to do all of the things that I had been doing, first, for health and safety reasons and then secondly, because nothing could look or work the same as it did before we went into lockdown. For the first few weeks that I was stuck in my apartment alone I focused on making sure that we could get our Sunday services up online. We wanted service available for our church family and anyone who might have been searching for hope in a time where things were feeling a little hopeless. As the dust settled, I realized that I had been putting too much of my identity into my external deeds.

I had replaced my identity in the Lord with the work I was doing and when I was no longer able to do as much work, my self worth began to crumble. The first lockdown lasted months and instead of focusing on the work I was no longer able to do I took the time to hone in on what I was able to do and do it well. But more importantly I faced myself and realigned my identity in the Lord. He loved us first, before we said, “yes” to following Him, before we ever did anything for Him. Psalm 18:19 says, “He led me to a place of safety; He rescued me because He delights in me.” It can be easy as people who are paid to do ministry to find value and worth in what we do for God but we must remember who we are in God.