SIM Nigeria's annual Spiritual Life Conference
Miango Rest Home, Plateau State, Nigeria
January 8, 2006
Serving The Servants
In our weaker moments, one of us will ask the other, "Tell me why we're going to Nigeria again?" And on any given day, the responses range from humorous to deeply spiritual. "Because we believe God is telling us to go," is the stock answer we give, which is true, but there's more to it than that. For us, it's about serving the servants.
We asked ourselves, "What can we do for the missionaries." We used to be the people who prayed for them, sent them monthly support and gave extra when they came to visit. Now, when we look at ourselves in the mirror, we see that we are becoming those people - the ones who need to be prayed for and the ones who need the monthly support to come. We will be the ones who will come back to visit with stories and slideshows. And you will be the ones asking the questions and seeing life in a foreign country through the lens of someone else's camera.
Because you can't be there yourselves, we want to take you with us. We want to be your eyes and ears, and your heartbeat. We know, just as we once were, that you feel deeply about spreading God's message of salvation through Jesus Christ. And you truly care about the third-world places where the spiritual and human needs are often beyond comprehension. That's why we're asking you to be on our team.
First, on our prayer support team. We must have a force of spiritual warriors behind us praying for the various needs that we have and will have. And we need you on our financial support team. No gift is too small nor unappreciated. Just as the proverbial elephant is eaten one bite at a time, so too are sums of money raised dollars at a time. Big or small, do what you can and what God has laid on your heart. There is great satisfaction in giving to worthy causes. Now might be the time to test God and see if He is true.
In the post-World War II era beginning in the mid 1940's there was a large upswing in missionary activity. Back then, they really did pack their belongings in caskets and went oversees for the rest of their lives. By the mid 1980's, the average missionary career was lasting about 13 years. Would you be surprised to learn that by 2005 that average has decreased to less than seven years?
The reasons missionaries give for leaving the field often have to do with educational opportunities for their children and the pastoral care they receive as a family. Being a missionary is hard enough - having a good school for the kids and a strong fellowship of other believers - these are some of the key ingredients that keep missionaries focused and excited about what God is doing in their ministries.
That's why we're so excited and honored to be coming alongside these missionaries. Cindy is an award-winning educator with more than 20 years of experience in public and private schools as well as the university levels. She is an expert in program management, staff development and curriculum writing. She will be teaching and possibly serving in administration at the Hillcrest School (www.hillcrestschool.net) in Jos.
I'll be serving as the primary teaching pastor to the missionary community, and as the chaplain and head of the Bible department at Hillcrest. As a couple, Cindy and I have developed a very strong marriage builders ministry. Through seminar-style teaching and couples counseling, we have helped scores of husbands and wives grow closer to each other, and to God.
Today, more than 1,800 missionaries serve in more than 40 countries around the world with the SIM family (www.sim.org). Along with SIM, there are dozens of denominational mission boards and mission agencies operating right now in Nigeria. Currently, there are more than 120 families serving in Jos, Nigeria. These are the servants we are going to serve.
Forget for a minute that they come from a dozen different countries and as many different mission agencies and denominations - they are medical professionals, language translators, seminary professors, orphanage directors and accompanying spouses who find more ministry than they ever thought possible. They are wonderfully dedicated Christians who have tremendous passion for their place on God's great earth. You don't have to look very far to find opportunities for ministry in Jos, Nigeria.
And they are also parents who care very deeply about their children's welfare and education. They want to be in a place where those needs can be met so they can be about the business of their ministry each day. And they are kids of all ages who need a vibrant school atmosphere to reach their full potential as students. This is why missionary schools like Hillcrest are so vitally important.
And at the end of the day, when you peel back the rugged layers, these missionaries are real people who face real issues and the normal problems of life. Marriage, kids, time, money - the usual suspects. But then add in the separation from family and friends, the lack of comforts and technologies of the "Western" world and the often harsh nature of living in a third-world country as an outsider, you see a group of people as a whole - as a community - that comes together as a local church like no other I have ever seen. Imagine for a minute the interdenominational mixture of a dozen Protestant belief sets seasoned to taste by the multicultural mix of a dozen countries and languages. This is the Hillcrest experience.
We need your prayers and your support to make our vision for ministry a reality. If you have questions or would like to talk with us about coming to speak to your church or group, contact us at Nigeria@ThePointers.org. Thanks for considering being a part of our team.
Jason, for Cindy March 2007
SIM Nigeria's annual Spiritual Life Conference
Miango Rest Home, Plateau State, Nigeria
January 6, 2007
their mission to nigeria
Serving as Missionaries at the Hillcrest School in Jos, Nigeria
Photo by Stuart Carlson
Photo by Stuart Carlson
Click on photos to enlarge
Photo by Jason Pointer
