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The first step and perhaps the most essential 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 misinformation, this is not the case. Instead, we 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:truths to hold on to.
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Your home assignment is when you 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 genuinely believe that your ministry partners are PART of your work, investing in them is an investment in your ministry. Likely, your partners will be encouraged in their walks with the Lord and reinvigorated to pray for the ministry. What an opportunity and a blessing! Additionally, there may be opportunities to obtain critical 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 |
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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, and constantly 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. To be a healthy, long-term minister of the gospel in a foreign context, you need times of rest while on the field and 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, debriefing, and counseling. Whatever it looks 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. |
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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, 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, you get to pour into, equip, and build into your church's health and missional zeal. |
Practical Questions to Ask
Now let's get practical. Whether preparing for your first furlough or having been on the field for many years, it is wise to start thinking through your goals and expectations for furlough in advance. Use these questions to think through what you hope to accomplish or gain from your furlough time, and begin making plans accordingly.
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