As the events of last few weeks have unfolded, I have found myself asking so many questions: How can people hurt other people so easily? How can people hate others so deeply? How has our society progressed to the point of so greatly devaluing a human life? The events of the last few weeks have led me to pray: for my black friends who are tired of injustice, being misunderstood, being ignored. May they have hope. For my cop friends who protect and serve with good hearts and good intentions. May they have hope. For my white friends who are sick of hearing about racial issues and won't enter into discussions about it. May we wake up. For the Church, which has an opportunity to enter into the mess and share the hope of the gospel. The gospel that has the ability to reconcile people to each other and each person to God. May we take every opportunity we have to share it.
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I've been home now from NMB for about 2 weeks, but still wanted to post a quick update. Our final week with the staff team in North Myrtle Beach focused on "passing the baton" to students as they took over leadership and direction of the summer mission. Several times throughout the week we were able to celebrate as a staff team all that God had done in the first 6 weeks of the summer mission. Many of us commented on how life-giving the summer was and how refreshed we were heading back into our "normal" lives at home (which is not always the case after a crazy 6 weeks!). Several of us commented on how much we enjoyed connecting with each other as staff, which was especially sweet because many of us had never met before setting foot in North Myrtle. I even heard one person say they felt like they were leaving the summer mission a totally different person after seeing God work in and through them. This life change, which you can often see happen before your eyes, even in a short amount of time, is the best part of being on a summer mission. I am so used to the "global missions" world of summer mission trips -- preparing students and staff for cross-cultural experiences, language barriers, encountering vastly different worldviews, etc. This summer was especially visionary for me because I got to work with staff and students BEFORE they head overseas next summer. I could see the wheels turning as they considered how God might be able to use them next summer on a global summer mission. Multiple students and even 5 of our staff have committed to going on overseas mission trips with Cru next summer. What a cool thing to witness firsthand; I feel like this summer I got to see the students develop into the students I normally work with for global summer missions. It was sad to say goodbye to students and staff, but a fun part about my role on the Leadership Team is that I get to return to North Myrtle at the beginning of August for a final debrief with students! Much of my time will also be spent wrapping up details and logistics of the summer mission (budget, stewardship of our resources and relationships, evaluating and planning for 2017, etc). I LOVE this stuff. So much preparation goes into a summer mission. I knew I was headed to NMB in August last year, and it's been a year of planning to ensure a successful summer mission. I'm excited to be able to go back to North Myrtle and get to close things down and prepare things to set up well the next summer leadership team. Week 5 was one of my favorites here in North Myrtle Beach. The whole week was devoted to talking about God's heart for the world and the Great Commission. We kicked off the week with a huge experiential dinner that gave students the chance to see how lost some countries are, and how privileged we are in the US to have great access to the gospel. We heard from a staff member who shared a broader vision for how God's heart for the nations is evident throughout scripture (and not just in the Great Commission in Matthew 28). He also shared briefly about God's reputation and how it's not dependent on our going to the world. We don't go to the world out of guilt or shame in how blessed we have been to be Americans; we go because of joyful surrender to God and his commands in scripture.
Throughout the week we talked about the misconception of "A Missionary Call" (an article by The Traveling Team). We often think that we need a special call from God to be involved in the Great Commission. Throughout Scripture God commands us to make disciples, bear fruit, to deny ourselves, take up our cross and follow him. The notion that there need to a special "call" into the mission field and not into any other profession is a big miss. It was a challenging week for students to consider this, and consider how they might be involved in making disciples in the future- whether in the mission field or not. It was a perspective-shifting week, for students and staff alike. A few of our staff committed to going overseas next summer and challenged students to go with them. One of our goals for our summer mission is that as a result of the things students experience this summer, over half of them will go overseas in the next few years. A favorite part of the week for me was asking students what they were learning and experiencing. Throughout the week I heard things like: "I never imagined I'd be here (in North Myrtle Beach) doing this, sharing my faith on the beach. But if I can do this, I can see myself going overseas and doing ministry." "So many Christians don't know the things I know. I'm so equipped to share the gospel and go overseas, especially after this summer mission. Why wouldn't I go?" |
Amy WellnerEncouraging others to intentionally live out their God-given identity. Archives
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