I remember as a young person hearing missionaries home on furlough telling stories of revivals, treks into the jungle, translating obscure languages, bringing medical care and the gospel to remote regions of the world. Even though, I knew that my particular calling was to my own country through lay ministry, I still wanted to be a part of the missions work around the world. 

Perhaps you are like me.  God has called you to be a teacher, lawyer, mechanic, stay-at-home mom or dad, computer technician, or whatever.  Yet, you want to be part of the adventure of bringing the gospel to the unreached peoples of the world.

How can you do this? Here are a few ways:

Pray.  Sometimes we treat prayer as some sort of "cop out."  We say, "I'll pray for you," when in fact we mean, "I'll take the easy way out and say a quickie prayer for you if I think about it."  But, truthfully, committed intercessors on the home front are necessary for any ministry.  God has chosen to allow intercessors to partner with him in holding back the powers of darkness which would stop the work of God on the Mission Field.

While God knows the need and we can pray in general, it helps us to feel a greater passion if we are praying intelligently.  That means learning about the needs of missionaries around the world.  Many of our missionaries have web sites and newsletters available which list prayer needs.  You can use these as part of your regular prayer routine.

Encourage. Missionaries living and working half a world away from home can feel isolated.  When the work is hard, and the rewards are few, they can become discouraged.  A letter, a card on their birthday, even an email note of encouragement can provide them with the strength to keep going.  Sometimes, at church, we will collect gifts or supplies for a missionary's family.  They may be things we take for granted, but in a remote region of the world, they can be luxuries.  When you have the opportunity to give gifts or words of encouragement, take advantage of them.

Financial Support. God has chosen to provide support for his workers through his people. A dollar a day - less than a cup of coffee - can produce $365 of financial support for a missionary.  If only 50 people in a church of 100 did this, $18,250 dollars a year could be generated for missions support. All for the price of a cup of coffee.  Your contribution combined with that of hundreds of other people can make miracles possible on the missions field.

No, we can't all book passage to the missions field, but by doing what we can, we can be part of the adventure of going "into all the world."

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