Tender Care, pt. 3, book review

The Community of Care:

This third and last section discusses who all should be involved in caring for missionaries. It covers the following chapters: Facilitating a Three Way Conversation(between the missionary, sending church, and the mission agency); The Role of the Sending Church; Developing a Barnabas Team in your Church; Understanding the Missions Community; Birth of the 'Mental Health in Missions' Movement; Nurturing a Climate of Grace

Some excerpts:

*it would be wrong to assume that because the mission organization controls much of a cross-cultural worker's direction in ministry, that they will have a natural handle on the pastoral care of their missionaries

*Nurturing a Climate of Grace: "He did not come to condemn the world but to save the world." Jn. 3:17
The hallmark of Jesus' way with people , who were all flawed, was His amazing grace.We have the distinct privilege of being agents of this amazing grace, but not simply in the message we proclaim far and wide to those who haven't heard it. We have the privilege of making that grace real and tangible in the lives of servants who know about it, and talk about it, but may rarely experience it in this sub-culture called missions.

*as caregivers, the only kind of missionaries we will ever find to work with are flawed by weakness, and scarred by sin. How we come among them, how we receive their stories, how we treat their failures is hugely significant. If we are not safe people, full of grace and truth, we will never hear what is besetting these scattered servants of God.

How can WE, as the body of Christ, care for them?
*CARE- emotionally support them by staying connected regularly(this is SO necessary)
*PRAYER-commit to knowing their prayer needs and regularly praying
*SHARE-financially invest
*THERE- GO!! There is NO better way to understand what they face than to go see it yourself

They need: Moral Support, Prayer Support, Financial Support, Communication Support, Logistical Support, and Reentry/Transition Support. Please do not make the mistake of thinking that the only kind of support that they need is financial support. Financial support may be the fiscal means of keeping them on the field, but that's a very, very small part of what they need over all.