“Through the quiet streets of a fishing village that lay at the mouth of a turbulent river, a cry rang out, “Boy Overboard!” Quickly a crowd gathered and anxious eyes looked out over the rushing water to see the figure of the drowning boy. Every anxious mother’s heart cried, “Is it my boy?”
A rope was brought and the strongest swimmer in the village volunteered to rescue the drowning lad. Tying one end of the rope around his waist, he threw the other end into the crowd and plunged into the raging waters. Eagerly everyone watched the swimmer breast the tide with strong, sure, strokes and a cheer went up when he reached the boy and grasped him safely in his powerful arms. “Pull in the rope!” He shouted over the furious waters.
The villagers looked from one to another, “Who is holding the rope” they asked. No one was holding the rope! In the excitement of watching the rescue, the end of the rope had slipped into the water and disappeared. Powerless to help, they watched not one but two precious lives go down because no one had made it their business to, hold the shore end of the rope!” Millions today are left to perish for eternity because there is no one to hold the shore-end of the rope.
On May 30, 1792 William Carey, the “Father of Modern Missions”, preached a sermon on reaching the lost from Isaiah 54:2-3. Following the service, he met with a band of supporting pastors and shared his calling to go serve in India. One pastor suggested that the field of India was so dark and unknown that it would be like going into a deep mine that had never before been explored. Carey looked into their eyes and said, “I will go down if you will hold the rope.” It was as if, while standing at the mouth of the pit, he took an oath from each of them that while they lived they would never let go of the rope.
A cross-cultural missionary’s role in the Great Commission is to go and take the gospel to the other nations. It is everyone else’s role to send and “hold the rope”. Global missions is a partnership of vital importance between the two. No missionary serving on or traveling back and forth to a foreign field can function well without those who hold the rope because this is what keeps them diving deep into the spiritual mines.
If you have not been called to serve in God’s mission cross-culturally, then “hold the rope” for someone who is. You can do that by:
Connecting
Adopt a missionary family. Serving cross-culturally can be challenging, exhausting, and difficult. In the midst of the stress and struggles, many missionaries feel disconnected from friends and family. They often feel forgotten by the church. Establish a relationship with a cross-cultural missionary and let them know you are there to “hold the rope” for the long haul.
Get acquainted. Become knowledgeable about your missionary family; their likes and dislikes, hopes and dreams, as well as their achievements and disappointments. Learn the history of country where they serve. Read about the people and the culture. Watch a documentary. Ask to see photographs or videos of life on the mission field. Study the language your missionary is working so hard to learn.
Communicate often. Maintain a steady flow of news to and from the missionary via text, email, or Skype. Fill them in on the latest in the area of sports, discoveries, human-interest, and special events. Include something from a sermon that made you think of them or a verse that encouraged you. Send them the front page of the local newspaper. Let them know what books are a “must read”. Remember their birthdays, anniversary, and holidays. AND, when you receive a newsletter, actually read it and respond. Believe it or not, it is a tremendous encouragement!
Remember security. Be sure your communication does not endanger missionaries working in countries actively opposed to Christianity. Ask your missionary what words should be stricken from letters or how you should proceed on social media. Believe what they tell you and respect the position they are serving in.
Send care packages. Find out whether they are able to receive mail or packages. For some, this simply is not possible. But for those it is, send some encouragement and some fun. Send things they may miss from home (like chocolate chips, corn meal, or Lawry’s Seasoning Salt) and some things that would bless and encourage them.
Offer your time. Offer to edit, format, print, and mail their newsletters. Offer to keep their address list up to date. If you are a web designer, offer to create a blog for them (if permissible). Offer to assist with financial and legal matters stateside; such as, bank accounts, financial transactions, investments, insurance policies, tax declarations, and inheritance. Offer to pick up and send things like medication and school materials. Whatever area you excel in, find a way to offer your time in service to them.
Visit. Few things are more encouraging than a face-to-face visit – to walk where they walk and experience first hand what they are experiencing. Consider a visit to see and support their ministry firsthand.
Be sensitive. Regular times of rest and debriefing are necessary when serving cross-culturally. Encourage your missionary to take regular downtime.
Supporting
Through prayer. Pray for the missionary. Pray for their strength, endurance, boldness, and renewal. Pray they have a spirit of humility and a willingness to ask God for wisdom. Pray for a spirit of unity as they work together with other partners. Pray that they stand firm under affliction. Pray for their marriages to be strong and healthy. Pray that God’s Word will spread. Pray for the people they serve. Pray that God would move mightily and that they would see His hand as it moves. Encourage them in the Word. Remind them of God’s faithfulness. Pray with the aid of books, such as Operation World (Patrick Johnstone) or Pray through the100 Gateway Cities of the 10/40 Windows (YWAM). Participate in prayer initiatives such as 30 days of Prayer for the Islamic World.
With finances. Give prayerfully and sacrificially from your abundance. Give monthly. Ask God to use your gift to make disciples. When unexpected needs arise for your missionary, consider fundraising for it as a group. A strong partnership between the cross-cultural missionary and the financial supporter recognizes that both give into the ministry and both receive blessing, joy, and reward in return.
Special note: Though raising one’s own support is a Biblical model, it is a very difficult task that often chips away at their self-esteem. If a missionary contacts you for support, treat them with respect. Return their phone calls, answer their letters, give them time to share their vision with you even if you must turn them down. If you do agree to support financially, be faithful. Missionaries have enough to overcome without feeling the pressure of financial uncertainty.
Celebrating
Create interest in missions. Celebrate your missionary by hanging a well-marked world map on the wall, placing mission literature on your coffee table, and giving missionary books to friends and family. Encourage your church to display their missionary’s information and most recent newsletters in a well-traveled hallway.
Meet and eat. Meet your missionary at the airport to welcome them whenever they land stateside. Then take them out for a simple meal so they may share their stories with you. There’s nothing like hearing a story the first time it is told!
Host a party. Celebrate the culture in which your missionary is serving by hosting a theme party. If possible, invite your missionary to join you via Skype. Allow time for questions.
Welcoming
When on leave. When your missionary comes home on leave, help make their trip memorable. If needed, provide them with a car. Secure a time and place for them to rest. Expose them to the congregation. Arrange for them to report to different groups and on special occasions. Listen to them and demonstrate your interest and commitment to their work.
Extend grace to their children. Many hours in the air, a major adjustment in time zones, a change of food, a whirlwind of meetings, strange houses and people, and endless conversations take a huge toll on both the adults and the children.
Upon re-entry. When it comes time for your missionary family to return home, give them gentle, understanding help. Re-entry is a difficult and expensive process for full-time missionaries who have served overseas. The lives of their friends and families have moved on while they were gone causing an estrangement when they return. Do not allow your missionary to slip into isolation. Be patient with them as they re-establish life in the States again.
Be there. Be interested. Don’t check out. Believe me, they see the glaze in your eyes when you do. Ask questions. Appreciate their sense of loss. Offer them quiet times. Understand that they are tired, sad, confused, and wishing they were somewhere else.
More practically, they will need a place to land. Perhaps they will be staying with family, perhaps they own a home, and perhaps they need to rent a place. If they own a home and have had tenants, what condition has the place been left in? Do they need a place o stay while they make living arrangements? Perhaps they could stay with you for a while. Involve yourself in helping them work through these issues before they arrive “home”.
Once a home is located, there is a question of furnishings and adequate supplies for eating, personal care, and cleaning. Consider ways to help stock them with the provisions they will need. Transportation for an interim time is often a need, too. Perhaps you have an extra car you could loan them or know someone else who does.
Much of what the “rope holders” take for granted as a normal part of everyday life has become foreign to a returning missionary. Life evolves quickly, technology progresses, laws change, and fads fade. So it may require some creative thinking on your part, but believe me, your missionary will be ever so grateful that you were there to help them absorb the shock.
As they age. They have much to share and we have much to learn. Utilize their many years of experience by giving them classes to teach, mission research to conduct, or short-term assignments on a foreign field. Help them with their retirement.
It is my hope that every missionary serving cross-culturally will be well cared for and fully supplied. But, it is my greater hope that the dynamic partnership between those diving into the deep and those who are holding the rope will make more disciples than any of us are able to count.
“May God use our ordinary efforts to build an extraordinary partnership between those who send and those who go.”