Every November, churches across the U.S. collect food for those in need to celebrate Thanksgiving. This year more churches should start planning and gathering food early not just for Thanksgiving but also for the weeks before and after.

The number of Americans using food stamp government assistance has risen to record levels. In May, over 10% of the total U.S. population received food stamps.

In order to reach all of these people, churches must do more than what they have done in the past.

(via Good)

Innovation3, Bob Roberts of NorthWood Church (Keller, TX) discussed how we can catch up with the rest of the world.

There are two core fundamental ways in which movement and transformation take place in the context of society

We know how to help our local church, but we are old school about global ministry. Being missional is more than just doing a couple of projects for the poor.

What does the Great Commission say?
As you are going, make disciples.

How did the early church produce disciples so quickly, yet we take so long? When they make disciples, they abandon themselves to live for Christ. If we could follow Christ today, where would we go? Where it is tame? Or where all hell is breaking loose?

What does it mean to make disciples? When Jesus says make disciples of all nations, what is that all about?

Abraham in Genesis 12 is the ultimate disciple. He was a blessing to all nations.

The lowest common denominator is the disciple.

Gospel > Disciple > Society > the Church emerges

What is the Non-Western Church Like?

1. We focus on the Holy Spirit, and the West is pragmatic.
2. We focus on obedience to the Word of God.
3. There is gratitude towards Abraham for what he did, but there is a focus on Ishmael.
   The Great Commission will not be fulfilled until Muslims come back to Christ.
4. It is an integration of faith, and life, and everything.
5. They is an absence of money that causes us to trust God for everything.

We need to engage the world. God is going to do it with or without you. Your only responsibility is obedience.

When it comes to short-term mission trips, often it is the lives of the missionaries that are impacted the most. The Barna Group recently published research that explores how short-term mission trips affect those who take them. Here are some highlights:

Who takes short term mission trips?

• 9% of American adults
  >> only 3.5% of American adults went in the last 5 years
• 11% of churchgoers
• 23% evangelical Christians
• 12% of Mosaics (ages 18-24)
• 9% of Busters (ages 25-43)
• 7% of Boomers (ages 44-62)
• 9% of Elders (ages 63+)

How do short-term mission trips affect those who go?

• 75% say the experience changed their life in some way
• 25% say it helped them become more aware of other people’s struggles
• 16% say it taught them more about poverty, justice, or the world
• 11% say it increased their compassion
• 9% say it enriched their faith
• 9% say it broadened their spiritual understanding
• 5% say it boosted their financial generosity

For Discussion:
- How have short-term mission trips (local, national, or international) affected your congregation?

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. The home we lived in was a tall and skinny red three story concrete building squished like a townhouse between two other houses. From the outside, much of it looked like a castle turret. This is where the staircase was, and underneath the staircase, at the very bottom of the house was a cold, dark, and dusty bathroom with a low ceiling.

The kitchen was across the hall from this bathroom, so we frequently passed by it without giving it any notice. But one night as I was in the kitchen opening a bottle of coke, I heard a ploop.

I paused and listened…

Ploop, ploop.

The noise sounded like it was coming from the bathroom. So I quickly rushed across the hallway, turned on the bathroom light, and looked into the toilet.

What appeared to be a big brown worm was swishing around, and then it shot down the hole towards the sewer. But it wasn’t a worm. It was a rat tail. And all around the toilet seat were rat paw prints. I was surprised. I did not know rats could come up from the sewer to the toilet. It was an unexpected problem but easily fixed by placing a weight on the toilet lid.

MINISTRY LESSON
Expect and plan for unexpected problems in unexpected places.

This may sound impossible, but it is really quite simple. You can never completely prevent problems from occurring. But you can budget resources (time, money, & skills) so that they are available when an unexpected problem arises.

In others words, create margin for your ministry’s time, money, and skills by not scheduling every minute of your day, not spending every dollar in your budget, and not overcommitting yourself to one specific task. Then when an unexpected problem shows up in an unexpected place, you will likely have the resources to solve the problem quickly and effectively.

For Discussion:
- How to you prepare your ministry for unexpected problems?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope
4. Christmas Tacos
5. Worm Pills
6. The Presence of Guns
7. Cusco Limits

On May 12, a devastating 7.9 earthquake hit China. Reports claim:

• 45,000,000+ people have been affected by the earthquake
• 5,000,000+ people are now homeless
• 360,000+ people have been injured
• 65,000+ people have died
• Thousands are still missing

You can help China. Buy a shirt.

A graphic designer named Steve has partnered with World Vision to sell 50,000 t-shirts and raise $1,000,000 to help China. It is called FiftyThousandShirts.com.

Uncontacted tribes still exist. It is hard to believe a group of people can exist for thousands of years without having contact with the outside world. But currently over 100 uncontacted tribes are scattered throughout the world.

Yesterday, new photos of an uncontacted tribe on the border of Peru and Brazil were published. When the tribe saw the airplane, they tried to shoot it with arrows. Unfortunately, contact with such tribes also brings them in contact with deadly diseases they have never known. Survival International reports many uncontacted tribes are fleeing their land as colonists, loggers, oil crews, and cattle ranchers come.

So how do we reach these uncontacted tribes with the gospel? It is not an easy question to answer, particularly when contact could expose them to diseases. Each tribe is unique. One missions organization that does well reaching people who have never heard the gospel is New Tribes Mission. If you want to see what evangelizing and discipling a remote tribe looks like, watch the following two videos about the Mouk tribe of Papua New Guinea.

Evangelizing the Mouk Tribe

Discipling the Mouk Tribe

For Discussion:
- How do you think these uncontacted and remote tribes can best be reached with the gospel?

[via Yahoo! News & The Daily Mail]

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. Two weeks before we moved to Peru, the leader of the Shining Path terrorists was captured. His capture made Peru significantly safer.

Because of terrorism, Lima was a place where a bank security guard might carry a grenade and where grocery security guards routinely checked cars in the parking lot for bombs. Overall, I found Lima to be quite safe. Legal gun ownership was restricted to specific people, such as police, military, security, and diplomats. But despite my sense of security, terrorism still occurred.

In fact, a few blocks from our house, a school was bombed. The blast rattled our windows. But our street was always safe. One reason is we prayed for God’s protection. And another reason is we had gunmen protecting both ends our street. One corner had two private security guards protecting our landlord’s house with semi-automatic pistols. The other corner had a military jeep with several soldiers carrying submachine guns.

Needless to say, our street had no crime. No terrorism. The presence of guns helped make our street safe.

MINISTRY LESSON
The presence of church security helps deter troublemakers.

Church security guards make potential troublemakers think twice about doing wrong, particularly misdemeanors like vandalism or petty theft. I also believe the presence of guns and church security can deter potential church shooters.

Sadly, we know even with armed church security that church shootings can still happen. Such was the case at New Life Church (Colorado Springs, CO) when a church shooter killed two and injured three in the church parking lot before he entered the church building where he was finally shot and stopped by an armed church security guard. The security guard had been praying and fasting beforehand.

Just in the past two weeks, three church shootings have occurred in California, Delaware, and Jamaica. Without question, it is important that we pray for God’s protection and fully put our trust in Him. But many churches also consider it important and good stewardship to have a church security presence. In fact, one church goes as far as sending their security team to The Defensive Shooting Academy for police and military quality training.

For Discussion:
- Do you think church security is a good idea or bad idea and why?
- If you already have church security, what are your best tips for keeping church safe?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope
4. Christmas Tacos
5. Worm Pills

I spent part of my childhood as a missionary’s kid in Lima, Peru. One October, my parents hosted a team of doctors and nurses from Cincinnati for medical missions in Lima and Cusco.

At one of the ministry sites near Cusco, many of the children had worms. It is an easily cured problem with worm pills. Unfortunately, our medical team could only briefly solve the problem. After taking a worm pill, the children would rush to the water spigot to wash the pill’s bad taste out. But the water from the spigot contained the parasites which gave them worms in the first place.

The worm pills could never solve the problem until the root of the problem was taken care of first. Without clean water, the worm pills were useless.

MINISTRY LESSON
Effective problem solving takes care of the root of the problem.

For example, a congregation that resists change for tradition’s sake, does not need persuasion as for why change is necessary. What they need is a mindset shift from a selfish, inward focus to a selfless, missional focus.

Or when your children’s ministry check-in process is creating long lines, do not corral the parents with stanchions if what you really need is to simplify the check-in system.

If volunteers are not performing well, you probably do not need better volunteers. You probably need better leadership.

If you don’t take care of the root of the problem, you will always have problems to solve.

For Discussion:
- What are your tips for problem solving?

Other MK Ministry Lessons
1. Speaking Another Language
2. Big Numbered Intis
3. Timoteo’s Fly Eye Kaleidoscope
4. Christmas Tacos