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Furlough, or Home Assignment, is a tragically overlooked and undervalued part of the cross-cultural worker's long-term thriving. So often we give in to the urgency of the moment, and grind as though the next year is all that matters. One of the best pieces of advice we could offer any international worker is to think with ten years in mind, asking "what do I need to do now so that I can be thriving ten years from now?" Nothing embodies this ethos better than planning well, setting healthy expectations, and embracing your furlough.
Why Furlough Matters
At the end of Acts 14, after Paul and Barnabas had completed their first missionary journey, they returned to the church in Antioch that had sent them out. Verse 27 says, “And when they arrived and gathered the church together, they declared all that God had done with them, and how he had opened a door of faith to the Gentiles. And they remained no little time with the disciples.” This was essentially the very first home assignment: a time when Paul and Barnabas returned home from their work to report on what God had done amongst the gentiles, were encouraged and refreshed by the community of faith, and intentionally built up and strengthened the local church.
Your home assignment, or furlough, when properly understood and planned for, has the capacity to breathe new life, courage, and conviction into your soul that enables years of fruitful work. On the flip side, many Goers - out of poor expectations (by either dreading it or imagining America will be some new creation utopia) - are disappointed, frustrated, and often worn out by several months away from home, living like nomads, and disoriented by how their friends and churches have changed. Our desire is for you to begin fashioning realistic, biblical expectations for how you will steward your time in the States.
The first step, and perhaps the most important truth I want to embed in your soul is this: do not feel guilty about HMA because it sounds like one long vacation. Whether it’s baggage from encounters with other Goers or just plain mis-information, this is simply not the case. Instead, I want you to view your home assignment as a critical part of your role as a cross-cultural worker. Here are three perspectives I want you to have:
1. Home Assignment is critical for your ministry’s long-term health.
Your home assignment is when you get to re-cast the vision for your ministry in face-to-face settings, invite new people to partner with you financially, or even recruit new workers to the field. You get to report, like Paul did, on all that God has done. If you truly believe that your ministry partners are PART of your work, investing in them is an investment in your ministry. Likely, your partners will come away encouraged in their own walks with the Lord and reinvigorated to pray for the ministry. What an opportunity and a blessing! Additionally, there may be opportunities to obtain key resources and attend training or conferences that will better equip you for your role. Your time on HMA is a season to build into and strengthen your ministry for the long-term.
2. Home Assignment is critical for your long-term health.
You will come to see that living and working outside of your passport country brings unique stressors and challenges that are not just part of your job, but part of life, 24/7. Learning the language, navigating large foreign cities, going without certain conveniences, always feeling conspicuous, not to mention potential safety and security concerns, all take their toll over time. You may have heard the phrase “death by a thousand cuts,” and I don’t mean to sound overly pessimistic, but my point is this: the countless little stresses of cross-cultural life take more of a toll than you will realize. In order for you to be a healthy, long-term minister of the gospel in a foreign context, you need times of rest while on the field, yes, but also extended seasons of renewal outside of your context. One of the goals of your Home Assignment should be just that. Ideally this will happen as your sending church pours into you, cares for you, and helps enable any needed space for retreat, debrief and counseling. Whatever it ends up looking like, carve out a portion of your HMA where nothing is expected of you, and the only agenda is rest and renewal with the Lord and those who fill you up. We want you to leave your Home Assignment replenished, rather than depleted, for your next term of service.
3. Home Assignment is vital for the ongoing renewal and long-term health of your sending church!
The local church needs to hear what God is doing in other places and amongst other peoples, not only to be encouraged, but to be challenged and refined as they consider how God’s global movement impacts their local work. It’s easy to think the West is the locus of God’s work, and you have the privilege of broadening your church’s perspective to see the multi-faceted and surprising ways Christ is receiving the worship of all he’s redeemed.
On top of that, your gifting and role as a Goer can be instrumental in the work of renewal God wants to do! In Ephesians 4, Paul addresses this reality,In Ephesians 4 Paul addresses this reality, saying that God gave variously gifted leaders to the church, “to equip the saints for the work of ministry, for building up the body of Christ, until we all attain to the unity of the faith and of the knowledge of the Son of God.”
He goes on to say,“we are to grow up in every way into him who is the head, into Christ, from whom the whole body, joined and held together by every joint with which it is equipped, when each part is working properly, makes the body grow so that it builds itself up in love.” Every part, from the local pastor to the cross-cultural worker, has a role to play in building one-another up into the fullness of Christ. Just as your church pours into, equips, and makes your ministry healthier, so you get to pour into, equip, and build into the health and missional zeal of your church.
Practical Questions to Ask
Whether you are preparing for your first furlough, or if you have been on the field for many years, it is wise to start thinking through your goals and expectations for furlough well in advance. Use these questions to think through what you hope to accomplish or gain from your furlough time, and begin making plans accordingly.
Regarding MTD
- What is are my MTD goal goals while stateside? How much do I hope to raise in (ex. recurring recurring giving and/or special gifts?)
- Are there MTD supplies I need to order prior to my arrival in the US?
- What advance work can I do to set up appointments? Consider setting aside several evenings per week for the month prior to arrival for setting appointments.
- See Guide for Returning to Full-Time MTD and Returning to Full-Time MTD
Resources
:
- Planning for Home Assignment
- Guide for Returning to MTD on Home Assignment
- Suggested Furlough Timeline
- Funding Your Home Assignment
Tips:
- Begin thinking about MTD and your furlough about 6 months prior. Take those 6 months to "scrub" your Reliant donor data.
- About 1-2 months prior begin planning and making contact to schedule appointments while stateside.
- Consider multiple communication tools, such as Skype, Facebook, Twitter, texting, email, etc. See Using Communications Media in MTD for more details.
- Consider asking existing specific donors to increase their giving.
- Consider asking existing donors for help with transportation and housing.
Personal
- What are my housing and transportation plans?
- Have I scheduled time for relaxation and refreshment?
- Some retreat centers are free to missionaries if you reserve them in advance. See Retreats and Debriefs for more details. This is a great opportunity for your family to get away and do something relaxing for free.
- Are there any specific areas I need to be praying through while on furlough?
- What are my expectations when I come back with family and friends?
- What is realistic?
- Resources
- From the Upstream Collective: "Personal Questions Sent-Ones Should Ask Regularly"
- Retreats and Debriefs
Reliant Office
- Reliant Staff meetings are held virtually on Tuesdays at 9am EST. We love to have missionaries share during those meetings, and understand that might be more feasible when you are in a US time zone. Let the International Liaison know if you would like to share.
- Do I have specific questions for the Reliant office to bring up during my professional furlough debrief?
- Insurance Questions.
- Support goal worksheet questions.
- MTD questions. See Guide See Guide for Returning to Full-Time MTD
- Policy questions
- Reimbursement questions
...
- Are there any areas of concern that I need to discuss with my sending pastor/church?
- What tools or support might I need from my sending church?
- Do I feel I have a good level of support and/or communication from my sending church?
- What other support would I like to see?
- Resources
