At a distance

I get a bit intimidated at the thought of ringing people, and have realised that if I head off to Latin America it'll be increasingly hard to keep up relationships, especially as the makeup of my home church changes over the years. I think the big answer is that if I'm to sincerely believe in and value the body of Christ, then I'll put the work into these relationships.

I've heard of a church that deals with this issue by allocating one missionary to each small/Bible study group (8-12 people). The missionaries get their basic financial support from the church as a whole, but it's the small group's responsibility to give them top-up money, fundraise on their behalf when they need a big chunk of money for something, write them letters, pray for them and look after them when they're back in town.

This seems like a good solution - ongoing, meaningful contact and support with only 8-12 people sounds do-able (even if you haven't yet met them in person). I guess it works best for a big church though, where they have the finances to support a number of missionaries.


H/T Tally