In Praise of a Sending Church

I have come to realise that not all sending churches are created equal. As I’ve interacted with other missionaries in our area, and with those serving in other places, an unfortunate number have had cause to speak negatively about their home church and their involvement in the mission. Many have expressed a feeling of not being “sent” or supported. There is a big disconnect between those on the home front and those on the field.

Sometimes when these things have arisen in conversation, I have almost felt a sense of embarrassment at speaking about our own home church. In such situations, it seems somewhat naive to speak glowingly of a home church, as if we are only looking at it through rose-tinted glasses, or with honeymoon-like affection. I’ve even had some express scepticism that it’s really all that we say it is, that we’re not hyperbolising at all.

To be sure, our home church is not perfect. And I don’t expect it to be this side of Christ’s return. But at the same time, in sending out their first missionaries, they have done a stellar job. And when so many seem to be lacking in this area, at the end of our first term on the field, I think it is right that they are commended and held up as an example of what churches ought to aim for.

It is probably worth saying (especially for those from churches not in Ireland/ the UK), that the average church size in the Republic of Ireland is 35 members. Our church hovers at about the 30 mark, give or take at any given time. On one hand, some of the points below are all the more impressive given the small size of the church. On the other hand, there are maybe certain elements that are easier, or more normal in a small church’s existence (such as a tighter-nit sense of community).

So, in what ways have they sent us well?

1. Steering

We joined this church when we moved to Dublin, shortly after getting married. It was 7 years before we actually left for the field, but even at that time we had intentions for overseas work and let the church know of this calling from the moment we joined so they could pray with us.

Thankfully, they did not say, “That’s great to hear, you keep going with that.” Rather, they were fully invested in the process. After a few years the elders recommended that we take time to do formal theological training. Once blurred vision became a bit sharper, they would talk with and question us on the pros and cons of certain routes, etc.

Though entirely unexperienced in this endeavour, they applied local, pastoral wisdom and experience to the task of overseas missions with care. They did not leave us to our own devices, but rather provided direction and ensured steps were taken with appropriate discernment.

2. Sending

One of the things we have found is that there are a lot of missionaries who don’t feel “sent” from their home church. They have carried a vision, and been “allowed” to run with it, so to speak, yet it has not been carried by the church, or perhaps only by a select few friends within the church.

I do think that there needs to be more sending of missionaries a la Acts 13, where churches expect to send, are in prayer, have a willingness to go, and are sensitive to the Spirit sending out who he chooses. This was not our experience, as mentioned above, but nonetheless, the church quickly owned it as a community, not segregating us as individuals.

Over the years it was a joy to see the whole church catch a vision for God’s purposes in the world through mission, becoming interested in what he is doing in various countries around the world. And this growth in mission vision fed back into sending us to South Asia. We were not just bid goodbye to, we were sent, as if the whole church was going overseas with us.

3. Seeking Expertise

Our church does not have experience of sending in this kind of way. As we met with our main mission agency (we have MOUs with 3!), our church were intentional about being part of that. They took on board wisdom from those who are skilled in the matter. Unlike some stories I have heard, they didn’t seek to divest themselves of responsibility by casting us off onto the agency, but rather sought wisdom that they lacked, in order to assume their own responsibility better.

Once we had been in contact with a team on the ground, they too contacted them, once again gleaning wisdom and gaining more of an understanding of practical issues of living in South Asia, in order that we may be better supported.

4. Sacrificing

This small church of ours sacrificed one of their two elders at the time. (Praise the Lord for raising up another since!). The other elder sacrificed his fellow burden-bearer and prepared himself to shoulder the load for an entire year by himself. By no means do I mean to indicate that we were somehow indispensable. But nonetheless, in a city in the most unevangelised English speaking country, with an evangelical population of only 1.2%, where we had lost people due to the housing crisis, and a leader actually had semi-stable housing and jobs enabling him to stay and minister, it may even seem foolish to other people or churches to send a family away.

Yet because we together had a vision of what the Lord was doing, there was never a sense of that. They willingly gave up members, a leader, and joyfully embraced the sacrifice of sending, with all its difficulties and benefits.

5. Schooling the children

One amazing part of the sending process that brought tears to our eyes, was that it was not just my wife and I who were sent, but our kids also. And it was not just the adult members of the church who sent us, but the kids of the church also.

So much time, prayer and effort was put into teaching the children what it meant to send their two companions off to live in a foreign country for the sake of the gospel. Teaching them to understand God’s bigger purposes, teaching them about the spiritual warfare we would face, teaching them how to pray for us, and about various parts of us living in a new culture, the children in the church were as much a sending force for our kids as the adults were. And they have maintained that through praying for us, sending videos asking us questions, etc.

Not only is this beautiful fruit for our kids now, but we trust that this sort of investment from the beginning, will bear fruit in these other kids lives in the future as well, as mission is in their hearts, prayers, and experience as senders.

6. Supporting

Our church is blessed by owning its own building, without a mortgage to pay off. Not all churches are in this position, and for this or other reasons, do not always have the ability to provide huge financial support to their missionaries. Nonetheless, our small church did not consider this too big a price to pay. Their commitment to us comes in at about a huge percentage of our monthly support, and allows us to cover our daily needs, as well as have finances for ministry, etc.

Outside of the balance sheets, members have come to visit or sent over toys for our kids. On returning to Ireland for furlough, we had neither somewhere to stay nor a car to get around, while expecting our third child. The church decided to finally bite the bullet on renovating an old building on the property for us to stay in. When this was delayed, one lady in the church gave up her house to our family to stay in for a month, until the work was complete. Another family in the church gave up their 7-seater car for us to use over the summer. Whether on the field, or at home, we have wanted for nothing, thanks to the love of our church (and other churches/individuals too!)

7. Staying in Contact

In the process of sending us, the other elder realised that providing proper care to us would be too big a task for one man. He, together with other members of the church, formed a pastoral care team, designed for care and accountability of full-time workers.

As a result, we have had monthly calls, checking in on how we are doing, gathering prayer points, and updating us on how the church in Ireland is doing. This is then relayed to the rest of the church who pray for us. It is an encouragement to us, as well as an accountability measure that ensures we are not acting in our own desires as lone wolves.

Then there is the rest of the church who regularly message us informally, checking in, offering encouragement, giving updates, and even responding to almost every blog with encouraging thoughts (or typos!)… you know who you are 🙂 We have never felt out of the loop or forgotten, and we can only imagine the extra hardship on missionaries of old who had to wait months to hear anything from their home church.

8. Supplication

We are prayed for. Every time we have our monthly check-in, the whole church prays for us. Whenever we have a need, we can let the church know (praise the Lord for WhatsApp!) and we are prayed for. People write to us, asking us for prayer requests, and praying for us.

Again, this is not limited to members of our church, but many others. Nonetheless, our church is constant in prayer for this endeavour. And we need it!

9. Synchronising (yes, I’m stretching the alliteration here…)

On returning from our first term overseas, we have neither been set aside, as if we are those “not really in the church”, nor have we been lifted up as special cases which can be its own kind of isolating. Rather, our church family have just welcomed us back in as regular members again. Of course we have given a report, and conversations happen about South Asia, but we are just back into the usual rhythms of blessing and being blessed in the church family. New members started with, “oh you’re the ones we’ve been praying for!”, and the proceeded to just engage with us the same as anyone else.

I write this point, having heard the experience of many, that each furlough becomes a further marker of separation between the missionary and their church, as new faces come, as less deep relationships fade. And I see how it could very easily happen. Initial fervour over something new gives way to the commonplace of daily life and church turnover, and the missionary becomes a distant thought. And after only one term on the field we cannot claim that this has not happened after multiple terms overseas.

Nonetheless, I write it after the previous eight points. I do not know how the church will welcome us back in 10 years’ time. But I do see a trajectory of intentionality and care. And I’m confident in the fruit that will bear.

10. Sensible

We have felt thoroughly blessed by the dual fact that on one hand our church holds us accountable to live and serve in a faithful way, yet on the other hand trusts us to make decisions, and seek, by God’s help, to plant churches that reflect something of our home church in a new culture.

And more than that, the accountability they desire is that we are being Biblically faithful, in our marriage and parenting, and ministry. Themselves ministering in a country that is fiercely hard soil, they are well aware of the difficulties of ministry, and just how slow good, faithful work can be. They don’t look for numbers of baptisms or put pressures for converts. They apply Biblical metrics of success and faithfulness, while praying for fruit to come from our labours over there.

We praise the Lord always for this church’s faithfulness and love. May these 10 commendations of our sending church be an encouragement to all who are doing likewise to keep going and blessing their workers, and an encouragement to others to pick up some points where they are lacking and pursue them, that those involved in full-time ministry might be blessed by them.