Category: He Said/She Said. You Say?

9 Reasons You Won’t Make It to (or Stay on) the Mission Field

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Reading Time: 6 minutes

Editor’s note: GoServeLove.net is geared up to welcome Shane Bennett. He’s speaker and writer for Frontiers, a super-cool organization who describes their aim this way: With love and respect, inviting all Muslim peoples to follow Jesus.

(If you’re interested, consider signing up for Shane’s Muslim Connect, a 300-word weekly email –with 2100 subscribers–helping Christians think about Muslims the way God does and love them like Jesus does.)

Shane explains, “I live to help people who love Jesus connect with people who’ve never heard of him.” read more

Beginning Packing List: East Africa

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Reading Time: 8 minutes

Wondering what to pack to go overseas long-term? It can get tricky. Every country has different items available…or not. (If you know someone available to write a list for another area of the globe, please contact us here at Go. Serve. Love to equip more global workers to go overseas!)

This is shaping up to be a long post, so let’s get to it.

On your first trip over, prioritize items you absolutely cannot get in your host country, or that will be of considerably less quality. I should add “or are really expensive.” Don’t panic if you can’t get them all. Rebuilding a home is a process of slowly accruing and adjusting what you need. (See our post on Worked for Me Wednesdays #WFMW: The Luggage Edition.) read more

What Could I Do with a Business Degree in Overseas Missions?

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Reading Time: 5 minutes
So we might already be tipping our hand a little here: We kind of like debunking myths about global work overseas, and maybe getting people to freak out of their box about what it looks like to go there, serve Him, love them. Maybe you think your degree is sort of wasted when you choose global work–aside from the other intangibles that happen when you go to college, or the work experience you’ve been able to gain because of it. But in case you’re flirting with that idea–or even wholly convinced you got the wrong degree for what you actually ended up wanting to do with your life (only 27% of grads have jobs related to their major)–we might challenge that a bit. Because as my (Janel’s) mom is fond of saying, There are no wasted experiences in God’s economy. We’re guessing God actually knew, and had a considerable hand, in you getting that degree. But wait! There’s more! You might actually be surprised at ways global workers are using their degrees around the world in missions. So today, we’re homing in on a business degree. How can you use that?

Turns out the possibilities are pretty close to endless.

“Society needs the redemptive influence of Christians in the public sector.”

This perspective’s from Amy, who’s served with SEND International in the United States for eight years.

“Business professionals are greatly needed. Sixty-five percent of the world’s population lives in places that are closed to missionaries. But they are open for business. Business people can gain access to these countries and bring disciple-making to the workplace.” read more

Meet an Agency: WorldVenture

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Reading Time: 4 minutes

We’re geared up to bring you a new, ongoing series as a little meet-and-greet with organizations that can help you go there, serve Him, and love them even better. (For more thoughts about why you might join an agency–and a handful of reasons you might not–make sure to check out He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I go overseas with an organization?”, both the pros and the cons.)

Today, say you’ve pulled up a chair for a cup of coffee with a representative from WorldVenture. 

Tell us briefly what your agency specializes in. What are you passionate about?

At WorldVenture, our vision is to see multitudes of disciples compelled by the love of God and willing to risk all so that people are transformed by God, impacting their families, communities, and world. read more

HE SAID/SHE SAID. YOU SAY? “WHAT DO YOU WISH YOU’D KNOWN BEFORE YOU WENT?” PART II

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Reading Time: 3 minutes

Missed Part I? Grab it here!

“I wish I’d known how hard it really is.”

I would have gotten more cross-cultural training, especially focused on the culture to which I was going. I would have taken more time in language learning. But most of all, I needed realistic expectations.

Working in a foreign field is the same as being in a war. I know: I’ve fought in both. And the similarities are striking.

There is not much glorious about warfare. It may look exciting on TV or in the movies, but in the trenches it’s a lot of hard work. And the enemy has ambushes everywhere. Often you can’t tell the enemy from the friendly. And your friends get injured and killed. It hurts. read more

He Said/She Said/You Say? “Should I Go Overseas with an Organization?”

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Reading Time: 7 minutes

Part II: The “NOPE” Side of the Argument (and what not to do either way)

Missed Part I, the “yep” side? Grab it here.

Going overseas independently has its benefits–like autonomy, neutrality from agencies’ agendas, and flexibility. What do you need to know if you’re thinking in this direction? Don’t miss these important thoughts. I chose to go the independent route because I felt that I already had (or was able to find) all of the services of a missions agency from other sources at a fraction of the cost. But there are several advantages for being associated with a missions agency, including the following:

He Said/She Said. You Say? “How can I know if God’s calling/leading me overseas?” Part I

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Reading Time: 5 minutes

I’ve written before that my husband’s and my decision to shuffle our family of six overseas wasn’t perhaps as clear as we would have liked. But when I finally arrived overseas, y’know the funny thing? Everyone’s story and path on how they got overseas was completely different.

None of us had heard an audible voice, to my knowledge. That would have been nice, considering all the times you wonder what in the world you’ve gotten yourself into; all the times you’re second-guessing because the work and the results didn’t look how you thought. Did I hear you right?