There and Back Again: Netherlands

Based in Rotterdam, Netherlands, (working in an old converted water tower!) Jesus.net is an organization that mainly excels at networking and implementing digital solutions to all sorts of humanitarian projects. The core group is probably only about 15ish people, but the number of other groups they are connected to has to easily bump them up to several thousands of individuals in all kinds of positions. In fact, one of those groups launched 'The Chosen' series, which takes stories out of the Bible and gives them high-production level treatment. It has been generally well received and the rights just got moved to the Jesus.net group.  There is quite a lot that falls under the conference umbrella; it's called Jesus.net, and at the core, it provides networking and resources to non-profits and ministries. All that to say, this group has some momentum and is looking to do a lot of good, so if you have an interest in networking or maybe have something to contribute, it might be worth getting in touch. Click their logo below if you want to explore on your own.

Some of their work include:

• A Miracle Every Day [+334K subscribers] is an encouraging daily message about life-inspired themes like dreams, doubts, struggles and wonders. Started in 2015 in French, currently the series is available in 18 different languages and distributed using the Salesforce platform.

• The Codex: We offer free courses about the basics of Christian faith, plus a wide variety of courses on topics such as prayer, forgiveness, marriage and identity through CODEX, the online interactive learning platform [+109K profiles].

• YouVersion: Yeah, that one.

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My part mainly was to network and gauge the global field on interest in mental health ministry. Make no mistake: Japan is still our focus, both for this mental health care project and ministry as a whole, but that journey has been met with all kinds of hurdles (finances, skills, manpower, and the list goes on) which requires going outside our current bubbles to try and find more people who can meet those needs Japan has. This was the main purpose of going.

I found two things: Mental health, especially depression and anxiety, is widespread and is an epidemic in its own right. But I think many of us were aware of that already, right? What is worse though is that it is hugely impacting our pastors, missionaries, churches, and many non-profits trying to help others. Secondly: There was a huge interest in our small automated mental care program, but not only as a method to meet a need of and reach those who don't know Jesus, but it also became apparent that this tool is just as needed, if not more so, by those doing the reaching out!

In a few places of the world, some of the stigmas around mental health is starting to finally fade away. We can be more open about those kinds of struggles and find help, understanding, and often empathy. But even in those places, there exists another bubble where that stigma lingers, and I think that is often found in Christian circles. Just like we often reply with the perpetual "I'm good, how are you?" when greeted on a Sunday morning, hiding behind that "life must be good because I'm a believer and need to be perfect" mask, we do the same for our mental well-being: fake it. So it doesn't come as a surprise that a way of getting help and recovery for such struggles in a no-risk, no-judgment, and anonymous way would be extremely popular! Japan is no different. This is a culture where people need to be 'put-together’ and personal struggles need to stay in the dark, never seeing the light, until it crushes them.

So hopefully, as our ministry grows and we find the resources and help we need,  these mental care models can be shared with and adapted to any culture or setting that calls for it.

Of course we need to complete it first!

The Grass is Always Bluer

That’s how the saying goes in Japanese anyway.

Since I’ve gotten the chance to connect with more people from back in the US over the last few months, I’ve noticed a theme in many of my friends. Of course many people are itching to get out of the house these days, but there seems to also be a trend of people itching to get out of the country.

There is all of this talk about other countries that are “doing well” despite the pandemic. People can live life there openly, so why not move there to work or even do missions! That’s what I’ve been hearing. Granted, some of these people I’ve talked to have been thinking about missions long before COVID came along, but either way, there is something about this time in life that has people considering the idea of going overseas.

If that’s truly what God is calling someone to do – woohoo! We love hearing about more upcoming missionaries! However, we equally love to hear about those who find fulfillment in where God already has them, and our hope is that those people still find another way to be involved in missions (advocating, mobilizing, etc.). In the end, God has the final say, and if the Spirit is leading you to missions, then you just have to do it regardless of what I or anyone else says. However, for those of you who have a passion yet feel unsure about whether you yourself feel called to go into missions, please indulge me by mulling over some of the things I’ve been thinking about.

Perhaps what this questioning boils down to is God’s calling. People often ask us how we know God’s call. Well… I honestly can’t give a catch-all answer. I think that part of it can be how He works things together in your life. For the two of us, we can find various events in our history where we saw a pattern of God nudging us toward either first world missions or Japan specifically, and we only continued to find affirmation after making the decision to become missionaries. Then I guess I would say another part of it is knowing God’s voice. People, myself included, seem to have a hard time differentiating between something that God has put on the heart vs one’s own desire. To make it more confusing, those things often overlap! For instance, even if we weren’t here as missionaries, I could imagine living in Japan just because we find it awesome. We wanted to come to Japan so badly that at one point we tried to forge our own way of going so we could get there as soon as possible. Though that door did actually open for us, we both knew it in our hearts that it was not the way God wanted us to go. It was a little painful (self-inflicted) to let that opportunity go, but God definitely enriched us as we took the (albeit longer) path He intended for us. I am certainly not an expert in this and have made my fair share of mistakes, but I invite you to ask if you are taking steps toward something God is asking you to do or are you forcing/twisting a desire?

Before arriving in Japan, I remember hearing that it’s important for missionaries to really know and remember their calling. For any other missionaries reading this, you’re probably thinking, how on earth could I forget? I’ve only had to recite it a hundred times. Well, that’s probably a good thing because there are going to be times when we think “what on earth am I doing here?”. Well, you have your answer in your calling. Cling to it! If you’re in the mission field and don’t have a strong sense of your call, I can’t imagine how you’ll endure the rocky places down the road. When you hit a rough patch when you’re in your home country, you can turn to family, friends, and be home. But when times get tough and you’re in a foreign land, as much you may feel accustomed to it, you’ll just never get that same sense of a “safety net”. So it’s best that you hold on tight to the reason that God has brought you there! It’ll be your strongest anchor. For anyone who is thinking about going into the mission field without a strong sense of his/her calling, I advise you to consider this.

I understand if you’re feeling a lack of purpose where you are right now, especially when it’s exacerbated by the feeling of being trapped while the world is shut down. But trust me, not a lot is happening in the mission field right now either. I personally have been feeling increasingly like I can’t find a way to implement any ministry ideas I’ve been thinking about, which could be considered my “job”. But I trust God and His calling in my life. Just because this timing isn’t fantastic, that hasn’t changed the fact that He has asked me to be here. So right now I’ll do whatever things I can, however small or mundane the tasks may seem.

You may hear of these other countries that are “doing well”, but trust me, the grass isn’t greener over there. It’s just blue. It’s not better or worse. It’s simply different.

What may seem like a mundane day-to-day work life to you is so incredibly important to us. If everyone was a missionary or a pastor... well… that just wouldn’t work. Those of us with “clergy titles” can’t function without the mass of people who surround us with support. For some reason pastors and missionaries have tended to get the spotlight over the years, but the reality is that it’s you guys who allow us to focus on ministry without having to worry about much else. If anything, we left you to figure out how to juggle everything else! If you’ve been feeling a lack of purpose lately, I hope you’re encouraged by this thought that all the seemingly “small” things you do to just keep your family and coworkers in Christ afloat have a huge impact and purpose for His kingdom.

Evangelism Vs. Missions: Your Role in Each

“Your mission field is in your own backyard”. How many times have you heard that? While the intentions behind these types of sayings are not wrong, they neglect crucial aspects of what missions really is. 

I have read and heard countless speakers teach on Acts 1:8 about how the disciples were to witness in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth. Many people compare these 4 locations to mean that we are to focus our mission starting in our own neighborhoods, then to the areas surrounding that, then to the world. The question this always causes me to think about is, “Aren’t the disciples from Galilee?” If Jerusalem isn’t there home town, does this teaching even make any sense….?

Now, I am not saying that we shouldn’t share the Gospel with all the people we interact with on any given day in our home town. The point I am trying to make is that I believe that there is a difference between evangelism and missions.

Looking at the words linguistically, evangelism comes from the Greek word euangelion, which means “good news” or “gospel”. The word mission comes from the Latin word missio, which comes down to meaning something along the lines of “send away” (I studied Greek, not Latin, haha). So while an evangelist can be anyone who shares the gospel, a missionary is someone who is specifically sent out from one place to another to do it.

food for thought: can you be a missionary in your own home country by intentionally sharing the Gospel with people of different cultures there (e.g. refugees, foreign-exchange students, etc.)?

John Piper says, “Evangelism is speaking to anyone anywhere the gospel. Missions is doing that by crossing a culture. It usually involves learning a language, learning new cultural things where… they don't have any access to the gospel. So evangelism is speaking the gospel to everyone, especially those in your culture. Missions is realizing there are cultures and linguistic groups that don't have anybody in them to do that.”

So obviously we can all take part in evangelism, but how can everyone be a part of global missions? I don’t expect everyone to be able to go overseas (nonetheless move to another country), so maybe there is more than just one role in missions.

Romans 10:14-15 says, “How then will they call on him in whom they have not believed? And how are they to believe in him of whom they have never heard? And how are they to hear without someone preaching? And how are they to preach unless they are sent?”  So there are those who GO to preach the good news in unreached, cross-cultural places and those who SEND them. That’s where you come in!

unreached people group: a people group without enough indigenous Christians to evangelize to the rest of their nation. They have less than 2% evangelical Christians and less than 5% professing Christians. The Japanese are an unreached people group!

John Piper often talks about the importance of missions for ALL Christians, and here is a short blurb of one of the videos we like. To warn you, this video can come across as a bit in-your-face, but if you are open to being challenged, then please watch!

We do have organizations that are helping to sending us such as TEAM and The GO Fund, but they both emphasize that it is truly the church that should be the one to send their missionaries. One of the best examples can be found in Acts 13. While worshipping in the church of Antioch, the Spirit told the men there to set aside Paul and Barnabas for a certain work He called them to. So after fasting and praying, the men laid their hands on Paul and Barnabas and sent them off! Other instances of individuals and churches that supported Paul’s missions can be found in the New Testament as well, and we are encouraged by them because we have found support in our churches and relationships as well.

So while you may not be able to commit to going on foreign missions, you can still be a part of it by being a supporter. After all, we can’t go unless we are sent! Giving support can come in various forms (see previous post on giving), so if you are not called to go to missions, find your way of sending people out!