In the coming days, you will probably hear a lot about giving because next week is Giving Tuesday!
It’s a relatively recent holiday, starting in 2012 as a global movement to incorporate a day of giving into our yearly calendar. Here, in the USA, the timing of Giving Tuesday feels particularly apt. The day is sandwiched between two major holidays: Thanksgiving (a day to give thanks for all the blessings in our lives) and Christmas (a day to commemorate the greatest Blessing of all: the birth of our Savior, Jesus Christ).
So let’s quickly dive into the Bible to see what it has to say to us about the act of giving.
Giving Is An Act Of Stewardship
A central belief of Christianity is that every good thing in our lives is a gift from God. This includes the extra money in our bank accounts. There are wonderful things that could be done to help others with that money, but the first step is to acknowledge that because the money came from God, it belongs to God. And because it belongs to God, it is important to think carefully about how best to use it for His purposes.
Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches? And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else’s property, who will give you property of your own? “No one can serve two masters. Either you will hate the one and love the other, or you will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and money.”
In everything I did, I showed you that by this kind of hard work we must help the weak, remembering the words the Lord Jesus himself said: ‘It is more blessed to give than to receive.’”
Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms
Worship is not just about showing up in church on Sunday mornings and singing some hymns. Worship is an attitude (Romans 12:1-2). Worship is a way of life. Worship is about how we love Jesus and how we love others.
Whatever you do (including the act of giving) is absolutely an act of worship if it is done in the name of Jesus Christ.
“But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well.”
Giving to those in need is an act of service, but it is also an act of love. It is declaring that the people you choose to give your money and time to are worthy of God’s blessings. It is a declaration that they are beloved by God. In choosing to give to those who need it most, you are choosing to love.
And love, as Paul once taught us, is the fulfillment of the Law (Romans 13:8).
“A new command I give you: Love one another. As I have loved you, so you must love one another. By this everyone will know that you are my disciples, if you love one another.”
This is how we know what love is: Jesus Christ laid down his life for us. And we ought to lay down our lives for our brothers and sisters. If anyone has material possessions and sees a brother or sister in need but has no pity on them, how can the love of God be in that person? Dear children, let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.
Mission Partners For Christ Is In The Business of Changing Lives
Thanks to the generous donations of supporters, like you, Mission Partners For Christ has managed to do amazing things for people around the world. Here are just a couple of examples of what your generous donations have made possible:
We have partnered with Renew World Outreach to make the gospel more accessible than ever before. Long after we leave a location, our local partners can continue to share the gospel for many years to come via The Jesus Film Equipment. For a long time, accessibility to the Bible has been a major obstacle for many people due to illiteracy and vision problems, but now that obstacle has been overcome – thanks to God! Technology allows evangelists and missionaries to open doors to a whole new population through Jesus film equipment and audio Bibles.
For each location that Mission Partners For Christ serves, we leave behind the equipment necessary for our local missionary partners to continue to share the gospel long after we’re gone. The cost for this equipment starts at $1550.
Here are just a few pictures that capture the our evangelist partners as they share the gospel with the Jesus Film equipment:
Solar Audio Bibles allow African people to hear the Bible in their own languages. Our partner, MegaVoice, supplies us with all the solar audio Bibles we need to equip brand new believers with the Word of God. These are quite amazing inventions and allows people all over the world the ability to learn about God and grow in their faith in a way that simply wasn’t possible for so very long.
Each solar audio Bible starts at $50, and we bring many along with us at each of our medical mission trips. Your generous donations make it possible for us to continue to provide these at out medical outreach clinics.
Here are just a couple of pictures of the solar audio Bibles we take with us on each medical mission trip:
Here’s How You Can Help Today
Today is Giving Tuesday. 100% of the donations raised through this fundraiser go to the mission work; none of your contributions will go to our administrative cost, so you can rest assured that all of your money will go directly towards the work done in the mission field.
What’s more, your donations are tax-deductible!
You can donate directly to Mission Partners For Christ here on the website or through PayPal.
A Final Thought
To all those who make the generous choice to financially support Mission Partners For Christ, we want to take a moment to thank you. From the very bottom of our hearts, we appreciate the gifts you give so selflessly to support our work in medical missions.
It is not an exaggeration to say that lives are saved and changed for the better through the donations that you send; those who support our work financially are just as important as those who physically travel with us into the field.
Sharing about your missions trip is a wonderful way to ignite a flame of inspiration that burns year-round
Whether you are a seasoned medical missions trip volunteer or about to go on your very first medical missions trip, one of the things you might be looking forward to doing once you are home is sharing about your missions trip.
There may be people in your church, workplace, family, peer group, or general community who are unaware of the different ways medical missions teams help or where we go. Some might be people who would be inspired to do more in their communities, homes or even overseas, when they hear about your story of how God moved through what you and your team did together with the people who were served. There are different things you can do to make it easier to share your story once you return home. We hope these three things will inspire you now, during the trip, and afterward.
Keep a journal
Keeping a journal is a brilliant way to have a record of the situations you encountered and how you worked through anything particularly challenging, how God was with you or someone else, and various other things like time spent with new friends or insightful moments and prayers.
The act of writing before, during, and after the trip may serve to collect your thoughts, memories, and ideas into one central place where you can return to again to read and reflect or be inspired. It can serve as a note for future family members to read one day and get a glimpse of what it was like to serve as a medical missions volunteer. What you write in your journal can become a sort of “first draft” of what you will share with people in your church or community.
Some good “before” trip journal posts could be questions or things you would like to notice or learn about while on the trip. During the trip, since you will be focused on serving more, you could jot down more of what you experience. Then after the trip, you could write about what you experienced and possibly also what you learned or what you would like to share with others.
Take lots of good pictures
While you are on your medical missions trip, you may want to take lots of good pictures. If that sounds like you who enjoys having photographs to remember where you have been and who you have met, consider bringing a camera, batteries, charger, or battery pack with travel adapter (if needed).
Though you will be working quite a bit of the time, there will be moments to snap photos of buildings, landscape, animals and plants, and you with your new friends and team members. This is a really fun part of it–all the people! Make sure you’re in some of the photos too. When you take photos, you will want to be mindful of privacy and how the photos will represent everyone involved in a respectful way. Your group leader is able to help you know if there are any other guidelines to observe.
When you have lots of pictures, you will be able to remember the faces of the people you may write back to, the places you have been, and refer to it even years later when you want to pray for them or remember. Sometimes teams or individuals put all the photos together for use in sharing about your missions trip to churches and other groups.
Stay updated on the news of your team and new friends
Another great way to share about your missions trip is to stay updated on news of any changes or breakthroughs for your new friends overseas. When it is not unwise to do so, you can share the updates with loved ones, friends, or other members of your community–particularly those who already have expressed interest. People may hear the updates and praise God or go into prayer for them. They might also be inspired to one day go on a medical missions trip or somehow serve in a new way. You will have a friendship with someone who may also enjoy hearing about you.
Would you like to learn more about Mission Partners for Christ? You are welcome to visit and follow our Facebook page, Mission Partners for Christ, where we share encouraging posts and information. You could also head over to the FAQs page of this blog.
When you take a look at all that is going on in the world, you see there are people who need our help. There are opportunities to use our God-given gifts and the skills we have built. You see ways to make a difference and share about Jesus. Still, if you have never been on a medical missions trip, you may wonder why we go. We would like to share with you four reasons why we go on medical missions trips. These are only four reasons–we believe you can think of many more!
4. We Make A Difference When We Go On Medical Missions Trips
People receive access to much-needed medical care, and they know that they are remembered. Health and courage are bolstered. They get to experience Christ’s love through us! When we speak with wisdom, give with love, and work with hope, what we are sharing is received and processed into something bigger than we may realize. God can move through it in a powerful way. When we go on medical missions trips, we make a difference that reverberates eternally.
3. Not Everyone Has the Same Access to Medical Care
We believe that everyone deserves access to high-quality medical care and the gospel. Mission Partners for Christ provides medication, treatment, screenings, and health education in underserved communities around the world. When we go on medical missions trips, we not only bring hope and treatment for medical issues. We also may be part of an answer to someone’s prayer. Our volunteer medical teams partner with local Christian organizations to provide free preventative care and treatment to their community members. By building on existing relationships, it is our goal to deepen those relationships and create additional ministry opportunities for our partner organizations.
2. Other People Are Inspired to Go On Medical Missions Trips
If you went to church when you were little, then you may have wondered why. As you grew to ask questions or understand what your family or teachers told you, you likely looked at what was being modeled. You saw people going to church, praying, worshiping, singing, shaking hands, listening to the pastor, etc. You saw that it was good. If you never saw this, you might not think it was normal to go to church or *gulp* pray, worship, sing and listen to praise songs, shake hands with people who joined the room with you, listen to a speaker… When other people see or hear about medical missions trips, they get to see love in action, and that there are different ways to use their skills in health care or serving.
1. Jesus
There are many unreached nations or regions of the world that hear about Jesus for the first time. He loves people and cares about everything that concerns or pertains to their lives. For us, it’s part of loving our neighbor as we love ourselves. It honors people and lets the glory of God be seen.
These were just some of the reasons why we go. We bet you can think of more! What are some of yours? You can share them here or on the Mission Partners for Christ Facebook page.
There are many wonderful things about mission trips and we LOVE serving with medical professionals around the world.
However, sometimes people who are new to medical missions have misconceptions about the work we do. This blog post sheds light on three misconceptions and shares what is really true about medical missions!
1. Mission trips fix people.
Mission trips aren’t for fixing people. Sure, spiritual seeds are planted and physical needs are met. But “fixing” is the wrong mindset. Fixing makes it sound like the people on the mission’s trip have the power, and that’s not the case.
We are all created equally and loved equally by God. And any “fixing” comes from Him alone. The people met on these trips aren’t helpless. They may need help in certain areas, but they have dignity and something to offer the world as well. A Savior complex is dangerous. We are to be the hands and feet of Jesus through serving, not fixing.
2. We will hear God’s call when it’s time.
How many times do we sit around and wait to hear God’s call before we act? We think we will hear an audible voice tell us it’s time to go on a mission trip, and we wait around until then. But an audible Word isn’t the only way God speaks to us.
Sometimes it’s a nudge in our heart when we hear a speaker at church. Other times it’s Him bringing you to this blog page to plant the seed in your heart for missions. There are many different ways, so don’t ignore God’s prompting because you are waiting for an audible confirmation that it’s time to go on a mission’s trip. Look for God in the other ways He moves in your life and then spend time in prayer.
3. Everyone should go.
Though we are all to serve in some capacity, serving overseas on a mission’s trip isn’t for everyone. Sometimes people are called to give financially or called to support in prayer. It’s important not to pressure everyone to feel a certain way about missions. We are the body of Christ and each part of the body plays a different yet equally important role. Instead of telling others to join you, ask them how they feel God leading them towards missions and then present the different ways they can help.
What are some additional myths you’ve heard about medical mission work? Reach out below or on our Facebook page and let’s talk about it!
See you in the mission field!
Sheri Postma, RN
Founder & CEO
Mission Partners for Christ
MissionPartnersforChrist.com
Facebook.com/MissionPartnersforChrist
Twitter.com/mission_partner
Access to health care is something many people take advantage of in Western countries. Click To Tweet
We don’t realize that, though health care can always be improved, we are fortunate to have the number of doctors for the number of people that we do.
From an article in World Atlas, this chart shows the countries with the fewest doctors per millions of people. You can see the results below:
The article states, “In Liberia, the worst case presented on this list, there are essentially ten doctors for every million people. As you move down the list, Guinea fares little better at 100 physicians per million people. In contrast, high-income OECD countries like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, boast figures closer to 3,000 doctors per million people.”
Though these countries are some of the poorest in the world, they still deserve quality and accessible healthcare! But because they are some of the poorest in the world, the resources are few. Education and training are harder to attain, and for those who do gain access to training, there are few resources to do their job well and the financial benefits are nowhere near what they would be if they worked in another country. According to the British Medical Journal, “African countries have lost about $2.6 billion dollars training doctors who are now living in western countries. A staggering 25 to 50 percent of African-born doctors are working overseas.” This statistic is devastating to health care in the countries that are losing their trained physicians.
For those doctors who do stay in African countries many serve only those who can afford their services. So there is a service discrepancy where the majority of people in the country are not receiving the care they desperately need. There are major consequences to this discrepancy. There are women who suffer childbirth complications and never receive help. There are men, women, and children who struggle with lifelong disease or pain that could be cured or treated if only they could receive the help they need. There are also many cases of preventable disease that affect those who are unable to get vaccinations or aren’t educated on proper prevention.
When asked about what can be done to improve healthcare in African countries, WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said, “Countries should strengthen the leadership and governance of health sectors to gain the confidence of all stakeholders. Governments should be more innovative in raising revenues from domestic sources and ensuring that all of their populations have access to essential health services. They should also improve the quality of health services and the safety of patient and health workers, and build partnerships with civil society and other partners in order to expand access. Investing in district and community health systems should be a priority that can contribute towards universal health coverage”
Another way to help is by supporting organizations like Mission Partners for Christ in sending trained physicians into places that would otherwise not have access to healthcare. We may not be able to help all, but we can still help many with each and every medical missions trip we take.
You can help support what we do to make a difference:
Have you ever wondered whether God was actually calling you to mission work? And does He call every christian to be a missionary? If you look to the bible, I think the answer is a resounding yes! He may be calling you to serve in another country, or He may be calling you to serve in your own backyard, but the word of God does say that we are to go out into the world, wherever that is, and share the love of Jesus with everyone we meet. Here are 5 inspiring bible verses that confirm God is calling all of us to mission work:
Matthew 28:19-20
“Therefore go and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, and teaching them to obey everything I have commanded you. And surely I am with you always, to the very end of the age.”
Acts 13:47
“For so the Lord has commanded us, saying, ‘I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.’”
Mark 16:15
“He said to them, “Go into all the world and preach the gospel to all creation.'”
Isaiah 6:8
“Then I heard the voice of the Lord saying, ‘Whom shall I send? And who will go for us?’ And I said, ‘Here am I. Send me!’”
1 Chronicles 16:24
“Declare his glory among the nations, his marvelous deeds among all peoples.”
I hope this inspired you and confirmed that you are in fact called to serve in missions. If you’re sitting on the fence about serving, I encourage you to take the leap! You will never regret following God’s call. If you’re looking for places to serve, don’t forget to check out our list of upcoming medical mission trips. We hope to see you there!
Sheri Postma, RN
Founder & CEO
Mission Partners for Christ
MissionPartnersforChrist.com
Facebook.com/MissionPartnersforChrist
Twitter.com/mission_partner
The article states, “In Liberia, the worst case presented on this list, there are essentially ten doctors for every million people. As you move down the list, Guinea fares little better at 100 physicians per million people. In contrast, high-income OECD countries like the United States, Canada, and the United Kingdom, boast figures closer to 3,000 doctors per million people.”
Though these countries are some of the poorest in the world, they still deserve quality and accessible healthcare! But because they are some of the poorest in the world, the resources are few. Education and training are harder to attain, and for those who do gain access to training, there are few resources to do their job well and the financial benefits are nowhere near what they would be if they worked in another country. According to the British Medical Journal, “African countries have lost about $2.6 billion dollars training doctors who are now living in western countries. A staggering 25 to 50 percent of African-born doctors are working overseas.” This statistic is devastating to health care in the countries that are losing their trained physicians.
For those doctors who do stay in African countries many serve only those who can afford their services. So there is a service discrepancy where the majority of people in the country are not receiving the care they desperately need. There are major consequences to this discrepancy. There are women who suffer childbirth complications and never receive help. There are men, women, and children who struggle with lifelong disease or pain that could be cured or treated if only they could receive the help they need. There are also many cases of preventable disease that affect those who are unable to get vaccinations or aren’t educated on proper prevention.
When asked about what can be done to improve healthcare in African countries, WHO’s regional director for Africa, Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, said, “Countries should strengthen the leadership and governance of health sectors to gain the confidence of all stakeholders. Governments should be more innovative in raising revenues from domestic sources and ensuring that all of their populations have access to essential health services. They should also improve the quality of health services and the safety of patient and health workers, and build partnerships with civil society and other partners in order to expand access. Investing in district and community health systems should be a priority that can contribute towards universal health coverage”
Another way to help is by supporting organizations like Mission Partners for Christ in sending trained physicians into places that would otherwise not have access to healthcare. We may not be able to help all, but we can still help many with each and every medical missions trip we take.
You can help support what we do to make a difference:
