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Page History
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- HMA Prep Workbook
- “Home Assignment” course in LEARN (email us to request access to this course)
- Furlough planning timelineHome Assignment Planning Timeline
This guide is intended to help you flourish in your upcoming furlough Home Assignment by preparing you to prepare for and maximize the opportunities for MTD that your time stateside affords you.
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In addition to refreshing our hearts and minds on our call to both MTD and our ministry, a return to MTD is an opportunity to review the things that God has done over the last few years. What are the effects of your ministry efforts? What stories have moved you? What experiences have challenged you? What important tasks are still undone and people unreached? What needs drive us to seek the power of Jesus to do more? Reflection not only equips us to report to our donors, but stirs a spirit of celebration and gratitude in us that will affect how we re-engage in MTD. More specifically, the stories of all God has done should give us boldness as we approach current and potential ministry partners. Don’t be afraid to share the positive stories of what God has done in and through you. After all, this isn’t the story of what Joe Missionary Goer is doing, but what God is doing, and the invitation to join God in his work is as relevant now as it was when you first embarked on MTD. Boldness in MTD will flow, not from greater confidence in your track-record, but from greater confidence in Christ’s. |
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There are two key questions you must answer before embarking on this season of MTD: 1) How much do I need to raise?, and 2) When do I need it?” We are talking about specific, concrete goals. “As much support as we can get,” is true for nearly any missionaryworker, but infinity makes for poor communication and vision as you lead your partners into the next season of ministry.
Setting a specific date is just as crucial as a specific amount. When do you need it? “Right away! Any time!” These answers may be true, but are just as unhelpful as not communicating a clear dollar amount. A ministry partner needs to know “when?”, if they are to respond with any sort of urgency. Back to Jeff. He’s found that he’ll be able to cut away from full-time ministry responsibilities in mid-April and has most of the summer set aside for MTD. He’s hoping he can meet his goals by the end of June, but isn’t sure. In order to communicate a clear deadline for donors, however, he chooses July 15 as his deadline. This gives an urgent window of time, but leaves enough space so that potential partners don’t delete an old email because they think the date has passed. Jeff writes further, “In order to return to full-time ministry, we need to meet this goal by July 15.” Resources |
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One of the most common mistakes is underestimating the time needed to get momentum going when returning to full-time MTD. The following checklist contains tasks that can be done part-time while you are pulling out of other ministry responsibilities in preparation for your Home Assignment, but may still take several weeks:
Take these into consideration as you review our suggested timeline for Home Assignment preparation. |
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We use the term “partner” frequently around here, but the reality is that partners don’t happen automatically but through relationships of trust. And one of the most significant ways to build trust is through consistent communication. Donors passively sit on the sidelines, and we fear that they will withdraw funding if they see ineffectiveness or something they do not like in the ministry. Partners, on the other hand, have a sense of ownership or stake in the ministry. Even though they are not on the frontlines, they see challenges as problems of their own — ones they want to help solve. A missionary goer who thinks of their ministry team as “donors” may think of them as the opposing team, to be played with good strategy and a fear of loss. However, thinking of them as “partners” puts them on the same team, and each partner becomes a possible ambassador for our funding. To engage and activate our partners’ participation with the full-time MTD push, we need to communicate early, concretely, and regularly through the process:
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Prioritize your ask according to your needs and who you are contacting.
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As the world has turned digital, some of the best MTD tools are digital — and formerly reliable paper letters and normal phone calls aren’t always a best practice. In fact, some will find that with cell phones and universal caller ID, the phone call has become a less obvious option for initial contact with MTD. Since technology use and norms shift rapidly, be sure to get up to speed so you can be most effective in your MTD. Quick Tips
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