Thoughts on a Friday: The DNA We Share

March 1, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time: < 1 minute

This morning I walked into a hotel lobby. Two tables were set up on opposite sides of the walkway. The empty chairs at one table huddled beneath CNN’s scrolling feed. The empty chairs at the other clustered around FOX News.

I thought, This is a picture of America.

These are stratifying, polarizing times. And as you consider going overseas, it becomes imperative that you become aware of your own biases and angles. (Your host country, the further you immerse, will help you.) Your host country will have them as well. And perhaps you, too, will absorb a lesson we seem to learn over and over again interacting with other cultures and at times, blatant racism: read more

“What kind of characteristics do I need as a missionary?”

February 27, 2019November 1, 2021Leave a comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

It might come to mind as you’re taping another box shut, or when you’re about to pass one of those points-of-no-return: Selling your house. Selling your wheels for pennies on the dollar. You might think, Well. If I go over there and bite it big time, this is going to be pretty embarrassing. Not to mention expensive. Do I have the characteristics it takes?”

(If you haven’t thought that? Just ignore those last two paragraphs.)

And here’s the reality: Some global workers come back earlier than they planned. read more

Red Pill? Blue Pill? 4 Irreversible Side Effects of Going Overseas

February 22, 2019February 22, 20191 Comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

We talk a lot over here about what you wish you knew before you went overseas. We’ve called it a rabbit hole. So maybe it’s a little like The Matrix: Red pill? Blue Pill?

So I’ll tell you today what you might want to know: Going overseas will mark you indelibly.

Back when my husband and I were considering adoption in our host country, I wrote, read more

Meet an Agency: Action International

February 19, 2019October 31, 2021Leave a comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

We heart this new, ongoing series–a cup of java with organizations to 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, we’re grabbing a caramel cappuccino with ACTION International. Grab a chair. read more

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

February 15, 2019February 14, 2019Leave a comment

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

Entering into a Cultural “Marriage”: Do I Need to Like the People I Serve?

February 13, 2019February 15, 2019Leave a comment

Reading Time: 6 minutes

Photo credit: Imb.org

Question. How important is it to be physically attracted to the person you want to marry?

Obviously a person can be attracted to other qualities about a person. But then there’s the Song of Solomon, where a husband and wife are exclaiming over the beauty the see in each other’s bodies. read more

#BestoftheBestFridays: Reaching Muslims; Good from ISIS?; Corrupt Countries; Tech in Missions

February 8, 2019April 8, 2024Leave a comment

Reading Time: 3 minutes

Upcoming MISSIONS Events CALENDAR

Missions Catalyst has put together an impressive calendar of upcoming missions events you just might not want to miss. Dealing with discouragement, isolation, fear, or feelings of inadequacy as you head overseas? This could be a great chance to get together with your tribe.

What catches our eye:

taking the Perspectives on World Missions class online
a second-language acquisition course
Creating an Annual Fundraising Plan–a webinar from MissioNexus!–and Support-raising Bootcamp
IMPACT gathering for those hoping to see Jesus among Unreached People Groups (UPG’s) of Southeast Asia (see here for our free printable prayer guide for UPG’s, and here and here or specific posts on the two largest UPG’s…both in Asia)

P.S. Did you know Johnson University offers a totally online Intercultural Studies course?

Building Friendships with Muslims: A $10 DVD Course

COMMA, the Coalition of Ministries to Muslims in North America, put this together–and from the feedback, it sounds like Journey to Jesus: Building Christ-Centered Friendships with Muslims will help you feel equipped and less offensive to those to whom you long to reach out. (Or wish you did.) read more

Open Letter to the Spouse Who Doesn’t Feel as “Called”

February 5, 2019April 26, 2022Leave a comment

Reading Time: 5 minutes

spouse called

Hey.

Every situation is different, I know. But I’ve talked to a few of you. read more

Beginning Packing List: East Africa

February 1, 2019October 31, 2021Leave a comment

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

Meet an Agency: Push the Rock Sports Ministry

January 29, 2019August 15, 2022Leave a comment

Reading Time: 5 minutes

We heart this new, ongoing series–a little cup o’ joe with organizations to 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, we’re grabbing a cinnamon latte with Push the Rock, a sports ministry that also happens to have internships and a gap-year program. Pull up a chair.

TELL US WHAT YOUR AGENCY SPECIALIZES IN. WHAT ARE YOU PASSIONATE ABOUT?

We’re a sports ministry using sports to impact the world for Jesus Christ…one life at a time. We use different kinds of sports to introduce people to Jesus and teach biblical values. read more