How does global mission partnership work? “In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now,” (Philippians 1:4-5). The Philippian church was not just concerned about how the gospel was going in their city, but where Paul was ministering as well.

• Partnerships at a church and an individual level
• Missionaries on home assignment at your church – what’s helpful and what’s unhelpful?
• Why link the visits of missionaries to local mission?
• How missionaries can be great for community building
• Using tech to support and encourage people around the world

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TRANSCRIPT:

The following is an uncorrected transcript generated by a transcription service. Before quoting in print, please check the corresponding audio for accuracy.

0:15

G’day, I’m Pete Hughes and welcome to The One Thing, our podcast designed to give you one solid practical tip for gospel centred ministry every week.The One Thing’s brought to you by Reach Australia.We want to see thousands of healthy evangelistic and multiplying churches all over Australia, but not just Australia.

0:31

We actually want to see the gospel go around the world and to leave Australia and go in other places.One of my favourite verses actually, particularly from Isaiah is it is too small a thing for you to be my servant and restore the tribes of Jacob to bring back the those of Israel I’ve kept.

0:47

I want to make you a light for the Gentiles that my salvation may reach the ends of the earth.I, I just love the fact that God says, you know what, it’s a smaller thing for me to deal with the Old Testament people.I want to do something that is just huge.And that’s what we’re seeing as we see the gospel go around the world.Now today and the next episode, we’re going to be looking at the relationship between global missionaries and local churches here in Australia.

1:10

Today I’ve got a couple of great guests, Mike and Tanya Snowden, who have both been overseas missionaries in Spain.Mike is now working at Willoughby Park Anglican Church.Tanya’s also working for CMS.So has sort of seen both sides of the partnership between overseas mission and and and at home partnership guys welcome.

1:30

Thanks very much.Good to be here.Now, you guys spent some time in Spain.How long were you there for?Nine years.Wow.OK.What was?I’m sure everyone asked this question, but what was the What was the best thing about living in Spain when you were there?I mean, it’s hard not to say like the come on and other things, right?

1:49

You know, it’s not just about food.Yeah, of course, but it’s cheap.That was that was pretty good.Food was pretty.Good.Yeah, yeah, yeah.Well, I just I loved some friends that we made there and and still love them there.There’s just some beautiful people who just love seeing Jesus made known among in their country.

2:06

Oh that’s, that’s beautiful.Can you?Was there anything you want to add to that?I love the people, too.But I think what I love, we just visited Spain recently, actually.All right.People make time for people.Yeah.So we didn’t plan our visits to people before we left.We got there and everyone just made time for us.

2:23

So people don’t, you know, kind of have as much of A daily grind.They’re working.They’re 10 hours a day.They just make time for people.And it’s a beautiful thing.Oh.No, I want to, I want to move to Spain, but we’re not moving to Spain.For now, you’ve pressed play on another episode of The One Thing We’re Talking Today about churches partnering with missionaries.

2:44

Today’s podcast is brought to you by the Reach Australia Team Development Programme.Running over two years, the team development programme helps ministry leaders and ministry teams develop personally and professionally.If you’re interested in the team development programme from Reach Australia, even if it’s early days for you, get in touch and to the Reach Australia website and look under Healthy Churches.

3:04

And now back to the podcast.OK, let’s, let’s start with how do, how should churches actually think about missionaries?I mean, I, I, I guess when I’ve been in churches, it’s usually just been, I put some money on the plate.We pray for them once a month.

3:21

That’s about it.Is that, is that all there is to the partnership?Is there, is there meant to be a better sense of partnership between churches and global missionaries?Tanya.I hope so.Right, So my favourite story about partnership was when we were missionaries, we visited a link church and someone had heard us talk about this girl called Sada.

3:40

So every church we visited, we talked about this girl.She become a Christian doing it really tough in her high school.We got everyone to pray for her.We went back to Spain.Three years later we came back and someone came up to me and said, oh, how’s Sada?How’s she going?What’s happening with her?

3:56

And the reason I love that is because that person didn’t just care about us and our kids and how we’re going.She cared about people in Spain.She felt like she was a part of what God was doing there.So I think, yes, the partnership is definitely a real thing.It’s a personal thing.

4:12

It’s a relational thing, but it’s not just a church and a missionary.It’s actually the church partnering by sending a missionary, but partnering what God is doing around the world.Does that make sense?Nothing that that just really rang true for me in terms of remembering like Paul and the Philippians.

4:30

So I just always going back to the, you know, you’ve got the keyword partnership that comes up in chapter 1.But Paul is just overjoyed and constantly thanking God in his prayers for their partnership in the gospel.And it’s not just from when he’s with them.It’s from the first day until now when he’s stuck in chains sharing the gospel in the and there there’s a real incredible sense of partnership that produces fruit in both places such that they’re sharing the gospel even more where they are because they’re continuing to rejoice in what God is doing in in each other’s lives and and pushing each other to keep sharing Jesus in those places.

5:09

See, that’s what I really love about the idea of partnership is that it’s like we’re supporting you globally, but as we do that, we’re thinking more and more about those stories of people who have become Christian.So I want to actually take the gospel locally.I want to take it across the street while you’re taking it across the sea, so to speak.

5:24

And yeah, OK.But that, I mean, it’s interesting that you picked up on that individual that, you know, they remembered that particular story.How much is the support of missionaries?Should it be a church thing or an individual thing?Again, it’s it’s hard to separate almost the church from the individual sure, almost think of those that old El Paso where it goes like a bodkin no Los dos.

5:47

You know, he’s thinking of like, oh, why, why can’t we have both?And if I’d.Love to just drop Spanish in there, you know you’re good.Look it in anyway but but as in each church is obviously going to need to work out the pragmatics of what it looks like for each of their local members to be involved in partnership, as well as what they’re going to do with their church budget or different things like that.

6:09

But recognising that from the start, it’s always going to be about individuals who are part of local gatherings who are then participating with others as they partner with others all over the world to keep sharing Jesus such that there’s a real recognition that we are part of the bigger family of God.

6:26

And so of course, we’re going to be invested both at an individual level and in the bigger organisational things that we do.Yeah, I think that so as CMS who exist to actually partner with churches to raise up individuals to go.

6:43

So without the churches, our workers and organisation doesn’t work.And I think the churches are key right from the get go because people who are sent, they don’t just come to us and we do all the work.They’ve been deciphered and grown up in a Church of local believers, and we pray that church has been the one who have invested in them and pushed them to go.

7:04

Does that make sense?Because that was one thing that struck me when you mentioned the book of Philippians.On one hand it’s the church that’s partnering, but there’s always individuals that Paul is calling outgoing.Oh, yeah.And thank that person.And that person was really great.And this person refreshed my soul.And and so it was sort of this, it’s both individual and church thing.

7:19

And you see that that pattern in the New Testament as well, don’t you?Yeah, absolutely.Yeah.Let’s talk about home assignment, because that’s probably one of the key points of mission partnership.When the missionaries come home, they spend some time with their linked churches.Tell us about some of the things that you’ve found helpful or things that you have found really unhelpful.

7:40

It’d be really interesting to dig into some of those ones that are unhelpful as well.But yeah, Mike, tell us about some of the things that you’ve found helpful in your home assignments.OK, I’ll I’ll go to the helpful by a slightly unhelpful.Yeah, let’s always.Oh, you’re not just ’cause there’s a little helpful way.Yeah, yeah.So.

7:55

So it’s when the home assignment language is translated to them into saying, oh, you, you must feel so good to be home, right?Almost like, oh, you’ve, you’ve got a break.And like we’re we’re trying to support you in this time.But it’s it’s not like you’re here to serve us in some ways.

8:13

So what I mean by that is there’s another word that sometimes gets used for the time, which is deputation.Yeah.And that no one knows what it means, but it seems to be it’s like you’re here to sell us a vision of, of what God is doing in another part of the world.

8:29

And so you have a purpose amongst us.And when people in churches recognise what you’re coming to do and that you are then in partnership in terms of what’s going on here locally, that’s that’s like the stuff that gets me going and that gets me excited about what we’re doing in partnership with those churches.

8:48

So when you go to visit a church, what’s the what’s the one thing that you want want them to actually take away from your time with them?I’m praying that each church will have a slightly bigger view of Jesus in terms of what he’s doing around the world, such that when we share stories of what’s going on there where they can’t control it, they’re not involved in the lives there, that they’re going to say I can depend on God to do things here as well.

9:14

So as I’m partnering with these guys that are doing stuff with those local believers over there, I’m seeing how big Jesus is.I can depend on him to do things beyond what I could possibly imagine here locally as well.Tonya.I’ll say 1 slightly unhelpful thing that you didn’t say about the home assignment language.

9:34

The trouble is with the word home, right?So as missionaries, we would have seen our home was probably most likely in Spain.We were leaving there to come back here.But also it’s not really our home there.The home question is tricky and even more so for kids.

9:52

So our kids, most of them are born in Spain.They didn’t say here is home.They have a connection.So that’s just tricky and can get people a bit offside.And we’re not here for a rest that’s.That’s a big one, I reckon, because I think a lot of people go, oh, you’re here for a three month kind of rest, I’ll buy your way while you’re here.

10:11

If you wouldn’t mind just coming and popping in and saying hi to our church.It’s no, it’s not a rest.You guys are actually.And I’ve seen people do it and they work very hard on that.I don’t want to say home assignment anymore, I want to.Call it something else, don’t you get it?Like home assignment, it’s an understood.Word.Yeah, sure.Just.

10:27

Use it, but being sensitive, I think to what home means and not assuming then sure that people are sort of coming to your church for a little, a little break.Yeah.So what have been some of the good things, things that churches have done that has helped your home assignment?Yeah, I think one of our churches did this a bit for us and for friends.

10:47

They actually included us as part of the staff team of the church.So one of our churches invited us to come every week to the staff meeting.We couldn’t actually go every week, but that really said something.And other friends of ours were just included as part of the staff team, even when they were overseas.You know, they get asked questions and they just feel like they’re part of the DNA.

11:06

That’s a really helpful thing.And I think just on that point of we’re not here to rest use, being used and being busy during the week is a good thing unless you’ve had a really hard pastoral situation.If we didn’t have much on, that was disappointing rather than a relief.

11:26

Yeah, Yeah, I think it’s and maybe we’re hitting on that idea of it’s when you’re sort of almost being brought in as a guest.It’s like, will you come in and do, do your guest thing, do what you need to do present and things and then you know, but you’re, you’re a kind of a disruption to our normal programme.

11:42

But we know that’s important.So we’re going to, we’re going to kind of let you in rather than a thing of thinking we’re part of the same family of God with the same mission.And we really want to see what God is doing in your part of the world where we’ve sent you to work.

11:58

And so please come back and be involved in what’s going on here so we can know more of that.But please also come in and, and see what we’re doing so that you can bring some of that perspective and help us in terms of thinking about what we can do better locally with the different things that you’ve learnt in another culture.

12:15

Yeah.And again, it’s that that idea of the partnership is, it’s it’s a two way thing actually.Yeah, helping think about that local mission.So how far?There’s a certain amount of planning that needs to happen here, isn’t there?So are there things that when should a church team start thinking about, oh, we’ve got someone coming in, do I just wait for the week before and go, oh hey, they’re here, what do we do now?

12:37

What sort of planning do you reckon could be happening there?Yeah, I think you want to be as planned as you can.Yeah, that can be difficult because the missionary, you might not know when they’re coming back.Every organisation will be a bit different in how they organise that.At CMS we have a meeting with the missionary to tell them when their home assignment is.

12:57

It’s a bit of a conversation and as we’ll get in touch with the churches, it’ll usually be six months out, maybe a little less.I’d say from there you want to get thinking.I think one of the really unhelpful things is if a missionary turns up at a church and no one in the church knows that they were coming.

13:14

Yeah, and that some of them don’t recognise them, that’s pretty off putting.Yeah, we found it helpful to have a laid up time.We didn’t even make a video sometimes that the church could show a week or two before.Hey, we’re coming and these are our faces again, just a, just a little tools that can help people engage in that partnership more.

13:33

Do you think it’s helpful if the church was actually linking it, say, with a bigger kind of global mission season or something like that?Or even just a mission season of thinking about how are we taking the gospel to the world across the street, across the thing?Is it worth actually plugging that into that, or is that a?

13:50

Distraction, I think that was some of the most helpful things that we saw when a church had has say an annual month for something like that of mission.That’s what we we saw.And so 4 Sundays or so and they’ve thought, oh, I wonder if we can get you guys to come during that week, if it’s going to work within the three to six months that you’re here.

14:09

Yeah.And use you as part of the drawing the focus to what God is doing on around the world.But as part of a thought through structure of actually this is going to this is going to be a helpful tool for our our church in terms of what we’re doing and lifting our eyes to see a bigger vision of Jesus.

14:27

Yeah, more intentional, less tacked on.Yeah, I think is the key.That’s yeah, that’s what I’m hearing is, yeah, think about it, plan it, make sure that it’s clear.OK, so that’s home assignment for one of a better term.Now that we’ve learned that, what about when missionaries are on the field and what are the some of the things that we can do to help?

14:46

And I reckon this is the one I’ve struggled with the most, to be honest, because it’s sort of out of sight, out of mind a little bit.OK, let’s talk a little bit about more practical things that people can do while you’re, you’re working with them.What are some of those key practical things?Because I know that they’re going to be people at church who go, I, I’m not great upfront, but give me something practical to do and I am in a happy place and this would be a great opportunity for them to serve.

15:09

What are some of the practical things that you could they could do for missionaries?Yeah.So while we were back on home assignment deputation, I think the key was to know the missionaries.So everyone’s going to be different, right?So if it’s a real partnership and relationship, you’re going to ask the missionaries.

15:25

So I think that’s the first thing, just asking them how can we help?But then some people will be less forthcoming in that right.You’re always gonna as a missionary, you’re gonna have somewhere that you’re staying when you leave to go back to location, that place will need to be cleaned.We had people come clean and set up a house before we arrived.

15:43

Then when we left, they cleaned it.That sounds like that’s.I mean, that’s an easy practise.That’s an easy thing to do.Yeah.Come in and clean.And and I also want to say that there was a church that I was working with and they would do this cleaning kind of thing.We actually had an ex missionary who was the head of our mission kind of committee and she saw that was a big thing.

16:00

She really appreciated it when she was a missionary.But what it was really good for is that we would a small group would go and do it and it was such a great small group bonding session.So it wasn’t just good for the for the missionary who is benefiting from it.It was actually really good mission.It was really good community building moment.

16:18

So yeah, that’s it’s a great, great opportunity and.That’s just one example of the many things that will be involved in just the life admin of coming back to Australia.You think about what it’s like to change countries.There’s just so many little and even bigger things.It’s getting a car, it’s working out how you’re going to eat week to week, especially in bigger weeks where you’re both trying to be involved in presenting and you’ve got the kids and things.

16:41

So if a church can just go, oh, I wonder what would be all the different life admin things?And can we take a couple of those and do them for them, like the cleaning or like the finding a car and just say we’ll look after that.Sure.Did you guys ever get babysitting?Was that a thing?I was literally about to say yeah at one of our churches.

16:59

Two really helpful things they did.One of them was setting up a babysitting Rosten, and that can be complex because often kids who are back on this time here, they’re a bit sensitive, more fragile.They’re in transition.So every family will be different.But we found it really helpful and there were a couple of key young adults who built a relationship with our kids and they loved having them come and do.

17:20

That meant that we could both visit the small groups or whatever we were doing.That was excellent.Another thing was meals.Again, that can be complex.We have super fussy eaters in our family, not Mike and I, but the lady who made meals once a week, she would make them and she was just very understanding of that and she would make specific things that she knew they would eat right.

17:41

So it’s just part of knowing the missionary as well too.Yeah, yeah.That’s, it’s really communication, isn’t it?That’s what it comes down to.It’s just communicating along the way.Yeah, yeah.All right, that, that’s a bit more on the home assignment thing.Let’s let’s come back to missionaries who are actually out on the field.So when you return to the field is, sorry, is that the right return home?

17:59

That’s what I should be saying, isn’t it?Yeah, yeah.Return home.What are some of the things that people can do to support them?So I found this the hardest thing because it’s sort of out of sight, out of mind.It’s a much harder thing.Plus just knowing what to do.So give us some examples of things that have been helpful or perhaps things that have not been helpful while you’ve been on the field.

18:20

There’s.So many helpful things that are really small and I think that sometimes the hard thing to notice is that you can just take a small step.So I think one of the most encouraging things is, you know, we were seeking to send out a prayer letter or a partner update once a month when someone replied just even saying prayed, that was like, Oh my goodness, we’re, we’re involved in this together.

18:46

This is great.And this is super encouraging.And it took them writing one word in reply.And so we then found that from the first time we went back, we were just telling everyone, Hey, this is something you could do.Why don’t you start writing and saying prayed.And people found that more accessible, but it was one thing they could do.

19:04

But then it was like 30 people saying that they prayed and someone will wow, what’s great in this?This is so good and so many little practical things like that.But it’s small.Wow, it’s just such a little thing, isn’t it?Yeah.Yeah, and we noticed it, particularly when there were senior ministers or people in leadership who took that time.

19:23

It made us remember, oh, that’s right, there’s this church here and there’s that church there, and they actually care about us.Yeah, good.Have there been anything that churches have done that have been really unhelpful while you’ve been on the field at all?That’s a great question.I think having realistic expectations.

19:40

So none of our churches really did this, but I know other friends who might have churches who ask them all the time to make new content or a new video or sometimes that can be a bit much.But I think it’s more just using whatever we would send.

19:56

There’s more encouraging stories out there.So lots of churches have small groups that adopt A missionary.Yeah.I think it’s the letting the missionary know that you’ve done that and you’ve prayed for them.People would send a little WhatsApp message with the photo of their group saying we prayed for you tonight.So probably just not expecting their return.

20:14

Occasionally you might get a really long response to a prayer letter from someone you don’t really know.Feeling the pressure to write back to that can be a bit tricky.And in general, people were good and people are scared to do stuff, so just do something.And I think that can be part of then the home assignment time when when you’re talking with the missionary is to go, how could we establish things that you can do that are achievable to keep letting us know about life.

20:40

So if you’re going, if you’re hoping that they’re going to make some videos that’ll be talk with them about that and go, well, let’s see, is there a way you could make videos that are going to be useful for others as well?And that’s maybe all we’ll expect.Just a one minute video that’s twice a year or something would be great.

20:56

And that’s the kind of thing we’ll like try and ask you for.But if you’ve set up an expectation.Yeah, having that clear expectation.One story.Love stories?So one of our kind of favourite partnership moments was at the end of our time.We were in Spain, we were trying to get back to Australia.

21:11

My dad was sick, terminally ill.It was in COVID time, so it’s really hard to get back.Our flight got cancelled.We’re three weeks before we’re supposed to leave.One of the senior ministers finds out about this.He immediately gets in touch, but what he did from getting in touch with us was organise with the other churches who were linked with us to have a prayer meeting on Zoom with all the different people from all the different churches.

21:36

And it was quite easy to organise, send out an email, find a time.We jump on this call and they were like, oh, I don’t know, There were like 70 people from different churches praying for us.It was such a beautiful expression of partnership.And we thought, oh, people could do this, not just when there’s an emergency, but more often and.

21:56

The reason why that worked as well, why it was so easy, is because there was an existing relationship that was already happening.So, so because of that foundation that had been built by this church, by this minister and by some of the others, that was very easy to make happen, but it needed that investment.

22:13

Yeah, it’s amazing what technology, how technology has brought us together, so to speak, especially, I mean, and as supporting people in global mission fields.Now I realised there are going to be some partners, there’s going to be a lot more sensitive because of the place that they’re in.We need to be a little bit more sensitive about how that information is passed on.

22:32

But for example, I’ve just noticed, I don’t know whether you guys have noticed it, but I’ve just noticed this new trend of I just couldn’t be bothered texting a whole message.So I’m just going to record myself doing a video and I’m going to send that as a message.I’m going, I might have A, how lazy are we?But B, it’s actually quite interesting about you.

22:49

You’re not just getting words, you’re actually getting someone speaking to you and going, hey, I was just in Sydney.I was praying for you today.I just thought I’d let you know that and just send that on.I think that’s an interesting kind of way of doing things.So.Yeah, the the Spaniens are very good at the WhatsApp audio.Oh man, they just go for it.

23:05

But again, there’s something beautiful about that.Hearing the voice.Yeah, particularly when it’s an encouraging thing or a prayer point.Yeah, yeah.All right, so let’s let’s cut to the one thing.This is the one thing I need you to get to one thing.I’ve I’ve had some issues with guests in the past.I’m just saying, but and I’ll let you each have one thing because there’s two of you.

23:23

But what’s the one thing you you want churches to know about caring for missionaries?I would say that it’s a relationship.They get to know them.Yeah, ask how can I help?But it’s a relational thing.It’s not paper giving.

23:39

Get to know them.It’s not just CMS is there to facilitate the relationship.It’s not just there to kind of be the be the the thing.So yeah, yeah, yeah.Like.Think changing the language from the we support missionaries out there, Yep, to we are involved with these missionaries in global mission.

24:01

Yeah.That’s such a great one.I love that it’s sort of saying, yes, we are all involved in mission and in our next episode we’re going to dig into that a little bit more.So make sure you stick around for that one in the toolbox.We’ll actually have a link to the CMS website as an example.

24:18

I know that they’re not the only ones who do mission.And we want to thank you for all the other mission organisations out there to support missionaries all over the world.This is just an example of how you can be a better partner.But I want to encourage you, if if you do have a global missionary somewhere, send them a text and find out how can we help you better?

24:35

What?What can we do to support you?Just get that conversation going.Well, thank you so much for joining us today.Thanks.Thanks for having.Me.No worries.If you’ve got a topic you want to discover, you want to give us some feedback, just let us know that you actually, you know what, send us a message just so that you can.

24:52

We’re not a global missionary, but you can just send me an email.Resources at reachaustralia.com dot AU IP Hughes chat soon.