You’ve heard his call, “Go and make disciples of all nations,” first as a faint whisper. Then it grew louder into a groaning. Finally, you responded to God. “Here am I, send me,” you echoed like Isaiah. Then you heard other voices that sound like this: “How are you going to afford it?” “Where’s the money going to come from?” You found yourself responding, “I can’t afford it. I don’t know where the money’s going to come from. Not me.” Then unknowingly you add, “Hmmm. Maybe I was wrong. I can’t...

Ever since you became a mom, you haven’t gotten much sleep, have you? You had to sleep on your side during the latter months of your pregnancy. You endured hours of labor (or Caesarean section?) to bring us out to the world. You hardly slept those first few months feeding us while all we did was eat, sleep and poop. You wouldn’t be able to rest when chicken pox or the flu kept us up. You stay up when we stay out, even though by now, most of us are too old for a curfew. You get up early to prepare some of our favorite home-cooked meals. You share in our insomnia when we wrestle...

As a short-term missions organization, we often minister with people who are torn between their careers and a calling to missions. For some, the calling came later in life — once they had a house and a family and a job. For others, the prospect of full-time mission work is intimidating. How does one begin exploring such a calling?   I came across this interesting article on the Christian Post that addresses this issue. Here is an excerpt:   As far as God is concerned, someone is unemployed if the person is not working for Him, said a Latin American mission leader at a global missions...

Not all mission trips are created equal. There is a growing skepticism in the American church towards short-term mission trips. To be honest, many of the skeptics are justified. When not done well, short-term missions can, quite frankly, hurt more than they help. At the same time, there is a growing interest in philanthropy and volunteerism in our culture. We are more interested than ever in helping people, but less inclined to include Jesus in the experience.   This approach can also be quite harmful, according to Todd Eckhardt, director of Homeland Ministries at World Gospel Mission....