Missionaries Must Build Relationships with an Interim Community.

Kevin e. Jesmer                                                                                                           4-26-16

Nurturing Relationships Is A “Must” For Any Missionary – A Series of Essays by Kevin E. Jesmer (2015-2016)

Link to Missionary and Mission Development main page. 

In this series we are investigating the different components of a successful cross cultural missionary endeavor. In the development of a mission, there are not just missionaries. There are other missional entities, which partner in unison, to allow the mission to thrive. God desires for all of them to work together. The important thing is to recognize these different mechanics and nurture working relationships with them as we live as missionaries.

I propose that the most fruitful path is nurturing solid relationships with 17 missional entities, These relationships are…

1. … a sending church
2. … a mission agency
3. … a receiving church
4. … a missionary team
5. … a “person of peace”
6. … an interim community

7….. a networking community

8. … a platform community
9. … “Eyes out” people
10. …. the Vision Casters.

11….  the support team

12…..  the family

13. … the extended family
14. … the secular community
15. …the Word of God

16 ….Jesus Christ, the living God.

17 ….With One’s Self

This paper will define an area of relationship building, the missionary and the interim community. Some of the things learned from the current mission to the Canada will added. There will also be some advice on how to nurture the relationships in these areas. Our own family experience as a house church will be reflected upon.

This part will deal with number six, nurturing relationships with an interim community. Let’s see….

Part 1: What Is An Interim Community?

Our missionaries have clear goals. They want to eventually land in remote community where people do not know the Gospel. They pray for God to reveal a “person of peace” to invite them into a community so that, together, they might minister to the people. The prayer is that a Native founded and Native led ministry may be established.

But what happens if there is no obvious “person of peace”, calling out for missionaries to come into their community? What does the missionary team do? Do they stay in their home church and wait? Do they promote missions from the home church? Maybe. The Lord knows that we definitely need people to do that.  Do they give up on the whole thing, chalking up their cross cultural missionary training as something memorable, adventurous, and granting them some important principles to live by? Maybe they could spend time in a receiving church and serve there, until God shows them the way into a remote community? All of these are possibilities. But there is another option. What about nurturing relationships with an interim community in the region they are praying to live as long-term missionaries?  Such a relationship is necessary for the longevity and the expansion of the mission.

Definition of interim:

These definitions give an idea of what such a community could be like in relation to the mission.

an intervening time; interval; meantime.

http://www.dictionary.com/browse/interim

a period of time between events

http://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/interim

n.

An interval of time between one event, process, or period and another.

adj.

Belonging to, serving during, or taking place during an intermediate interval of time; temporary:

http://www.thefreedictionary.com/interim

An interim community is a community, in the region, where the people are of the same demographic as the people missionaries are praying to come along side with.  There are Christians and even a church, led by the Native people. It is a community where the missionaries may spend time in as they explore ways to send missionaries to more remote communities where Christ is little known.

Some people may not like to see their community considered as an interim community. They may not like to be considered a temporary place for the missionaries. They may want the missionary to make a long term commitment to their community. They may even want the missionary to become a community pastor. But the missionaries, called to the remotest of settings, will resists becoming a pillar leader of any ministry. That does not mean, however, that years, if not decades of fruitful co-working in the interim community will not occur. There will be long term relationships in mission established.

Let’s think more about what an interim community actually is.

An interim community is a place….

1. that has a receiving church. There are Christian’s there. They have a church. The difference between a receiving church in an interim community and a receiving church in a southern platform community, is that the interim community is made up of Native people in a culture that the missionaries are praying for. The receiving church is totally immersed in the Native culture. A receiving church provides mentors and resources and support for the missionaries.

2. that is already Christian. There is already an evangelical church there. They may be eager for the missionaries to come alongside them to promote the Gospel. There are already mature Christians there. The missionary needs to respect that.

3. that is not the final destination of our missionary. It is a place of transition. The prayer of the missionaries is to land, or help others land, in a community where the Christ is not known, or little known. They may even work together with Native believers from the interim community who share in the same vision. In that sense, the interim community can be a platform community.

4. that educates missionaries. There are mature Native Christian leaders living there. They speak the language. They know the region. They are good mentors for the missionaries. They can introduce the missionaries to people. They can be “vision casters” for outreach to the surrounding communities.

5. that can serve as a model church. As Native Christians are established in outlying communities, these new Native church leaders could come and see an example of what a Native-led church might look like in their own community.

6. that could be a regional center of learning. It could be a place where missionaries and Native Christians can come to receive regional specific education.

7. where relationships can be established. God will open many doors through the relationships established in an interim community.

8. where trust can be established. Trust takes time establish. It comes through years of living life with the community members. They missionaries actually should become community members. God can work through trusting relationships.

9. where contacts can be made. Remember, the way to enter into a remote community is through relationships. The beginning of relationships is establishing contacts and following up on those contacts in culturally sensitive ways.  Showing oneself as being a faithful friend is also very important.

10. where networks can grow. The networks in cross cultural missions grow larger each day. An interim community is an excellent place to foster the growth of networks.

11. where missionaries can make their calling sure. Missionaries need time and space to make their calling certain. They need a place to experience the culture. They need to taste what it is like to live there. They need to meet the people. Most of all they need time to pray and listen for the still small voice of God. Is God calling them to his service in this region? An interim community is an excellent place to pray and see what God has in store for the missionary and their family.

Part 2:  Nurturing Relationships With An Interim Community?

Relationships are like a garden. They need our attention. They need to be tended to. They need to nurtured. There nothing different with relationships within an interim community. Missionaries can find many ways nurture these relationships. Here are some suggestions. …

1. Ask what they want. I put this as number one because it is so important. It is not about our vision for their church. God is leading them and guiding their fellowship before the missionary even gets there. Missionaries need to respect what God is doing among them and step into that work of God.

2. Doing the research. Find out affiliated churches or Christian organizations and attend their annual conferences. The conferences most likely would be in other cities. Allow the leaders at the conference to get to know you. This may take several years. When you first go people may be surprised. The next year they will be encourage by your coming again. They will begin to learn of the mission that you are involved in. By the third year of attending, they may have met some of the missionaries on the field. They may begin to understand the connections between, you, the conference “go’er” (networker) and the missionaries in the field. They could begin to a clearer understanding of your mission.

3. Get to know the leaders of the organizations. There are Christian organizations operating in the area. The leaders are the ones who know the people in the community. They are involved in Gospel outreach in the region. They could give insight and even become mentors. In a remote region there may be twenty Christian leaders, working together across denominational lines. They may all know each other to varying degrees.

4. Get to know the Christian leaders in the community. The communities are small. They are made up of several families. Everyone is connected. The Christian families are multigenerational Christians.

5. Learn about the history of the community. When you do you will learn about the family connections. You can also discover the historical connections that one community has with others around it.

6. Always work through relationships. Approach the community as partners. Let them know that you want to enter into life and ministry together for the long term. Long term could mean ten years or more.

7. Find out how people communicate. Always trust the mentors. If a mentor tells you to bring a gift of muffins for the chief and council then bring a gift of muffins. In one community, the way of talking is to go on long rides in a pick up truck and parking at different locations and talking.

8. Show deep respect for what God is already doing in the community. It is a community where there are already Christians. There is already a church. People have gone on before. Respect that. Be ready to learn from the Christians there. Take their advice.

9. Seek out advice from trusted mentors. They know what is going on. They are friends with people in the community. They have had their minds on these communities for decades. They know. Trust them.

10. Demonstrate faithfulness. Communities should never be used, just to get to another. The interim communities are vitally important. They desire faithfulness on the part of the missionaries. They seek partnerships. They want long term relationships.

11. Have vision to establish pastors, Bible teachers, and lecturers from among the Native people. Just because our eyes are focused on the remotest of communities, does not mean that some very important work of God can not be done among the people. Missionaries can help strengthen the church. There may be a Christian school or even a Native (non Christian) school to work in. But when engaging in ministry, be careful not to take any pillar positions in the community, such as the town pastor. Local Christians should step into those positions.

12. Hold out vision for the region. Be ready to communicate that vision to others. There may be one or two people, from the community who share the same vision. They can work together with the missionaries.

13. Always see the community in a positive light. See them with the potential that God sees them with. See their many gifts that God has blessed the community with. Always see their potential and that potential is great. A church’s main Gospel outreach may occur in the summer months. You may be there in the winter, when things slow down. Try to see Christian activity in the community as it progresses over the year.

14. Be ready to accept the community as they are. There are weaknesses in every community and church. But God is at work. They may not have the people or the resources your church has. Their situation calls for them to do more with less. Remember Jesus was born in a manger. Take the plank out of your eye before you judge.

15. Be willing to simply relate to others, even for years. Attend weddings, birthdays, funerals. I have been told to do these things for a year before even engaging in ministry. At the right time God will open up so many doors for ministry that one will stand amazed praying for more workers to be sent.

16. Always see God drawing you to the interim community in order to bless you and strengthen you. You are not the cavalry coming to the rescue. God is their faithful shepherd. The missionaries are called to partner with the Christians in an interim community.

17. Look for ways to bless individual people. Find out if someone has a prayer to reach a certain community with the Gospel. Is there a person who might want some help with practical matters like construction, etc?

Part 3: How I failed to work through and interim community.

Looking back on my experience heading up a single family house church for 14 years, I would say that I did and did not work through an interim community….

I did work through an interim community, in that I spent from 1990-1998 participating in campus ministry in the Chicago-land area. Coming from Canada I learned about America culture and campus life, especially on a suburban community college setting, before embarking on church plant in a nearby farm/college town.

I did not work through a interim community in that I did not take time to learn the specific characteristics of the community. My family just came and set up shop without the studying the community that we were going to spend the next couple decades.

When I operated a house church (1998-2012) I did not care about waiting for a “person of peace” to be invited into a community. I never saw our campus mission, in a small Midwest farming town, as a cross cultural mission, (which it was). We simply found a community and moved there and with a whole lot of commitment and sacrifice, we set up shop. There was no effort to learn the demographics of the community. I felt there was no need to learn anything from the churches that were already there. There was no need to learn the “in’s and out’s” of the community. For example I spent from 1990 to 2015 thinking that my town was a Lutheran town. But I recently found out that it was 5.9% Evangelical and Missouri Synod Lutheran and 18% Catholic. I was so focused on Caucasian, middle class, suburban ministry, ignoring the fact that my town had a very large Hispanic population and a huge international student population. I think you get the point.

We simply moved in started a house church. I would offer our product, 1:1 Bible study and fellowship in our house church setting. People could take it or leave it. I could keep the whole mission going with dogged determination and sacrifice. Why would I ever have to spend time in an interim community situation?  That was to my loss, for I was never able to enter into the campus culture. There was no one to keep the mission going at the end of fourteen years. And when we stopped our house church there was little to no impact in the community.  Our old Bible house is now a patch of grass with a souvenir brick on my shelf.

Things could have been a whole lot different if I took the time to prepare my family and myself to approach the whole house church thing, as a cross cultural mission, gaining insight through spending time in the equivalent of an interim community.

Part 4:  Conclusion

We have seen the importance of the interim community in creating a healthy, reproducible mission.  It is a community that is revealed by God himself. There are so many different points that were discussed. I want to just distill it down to eight key points concern the interim community.

1. Where there are like minded partners in ministry
2. Where there is Indigenous leadership
3. It could be in platform community.
4. Where there are opportunities to serve
5. Where missionaries can build a reputation
6. Where relationships are created.
7. Where missionaries can learn and grow.
8. A place that can serve as a model for future churches.
9. A place where missionaries can find time to pray about God’s

personal calling to the region.