As I look at our list of financial partners, I find it remarkable that this model works for cross-cultural work all over the world.
Money and time are precious to people. They worry and labor and toil to preserve and increase them. Jesus addresses those concerns in Mt 6: “Do not be anxious.”
- “Look at the birds of the air: they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they?”
- “And which of you by being anxious can add a single hour to his span of life?”
Jesus counsels to “seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
Our partners are the most ordinary of people (see the post on Tikvah for thoughts on ‘ordinary’). As I look at the list of 83 individual/family partners, I see:
- A former colleague, now caring for foster kids
- A retired relative in Illinois
- A schoolmate in Australia
- A family from Katie’s home church
- A friend from Jed’s teen years in the Solomon Islands
- A family we have only briefly met, but have other relational connections to
And the list goes on. In the 11 years we’ve been in PNG, these partners have experienced deaths and births and job changes and relocations and… you name it, it’s happened. Each partner has many reasons to have stopped giving. But they’ve chosen to trust God and to seek first the kingdom that God is building. What a miracle! What a marvelous testimony to the transformative work of God in their lives! What a privilege for us to be the bridge between these partners and PNGans.
It feels more like a group of people sharing generously, or a team going on a long journey with an uncertain outcome, but continuing nonetheless.
I started with, “I find it remarkable that this model works.” Oh, it’s isn’t perfect and has its pros and cons like any strategy. But at its heart, it is relational – these partners and their relationships with us, our relationships with PNGans. Those relationships aren’t perfect either; there is much opportunity for iron to sharpen iron (Pro 27:17) as we journey together! But this approach reflects Jesus’ prioritization of relational approaches. The result is a delicate-but-resilient network dedicated to God’s kingdom work.
Praise God for prayer and financial partners! They’ve chosen to trust God with their time and money, and God is using them to make disciples in PNG. “Your kingdom come!”
Pray for us as we engage in these relationships with partners and with PNGans. It is an immense privilege, a solemn responsibility, and hard work.
If you are a partner, I ask you to invite others to this network! If you need ideas for how, we can help.
If you’re not a partner, consider joining. It’s fantastic to be part of what God’s doing in PNG.
This weekend we’re headed to Ohio to connect with a new church there, and we’ll send a newsletter today. Let us know if you want a copy.