4.1 Communicate with your missionary,
showing interest in his/her personal well-being and interest as well as
sharing what God is doing in your life.
4.2 Write a letter of encouragement,
provide counseling, and an open ear
4.3 Keep your missionary informed about
developments in your church by personal letter, phone call, email, mailing of
church bulletin, latest sermon on MP3 or audio-tape, video-clip from your
church outing or celebration, photos, radio ham etc.
4.4 Update missionary on current
developments in your region/ home country (personal letter, excerpts from your
local newspaper, literature)
4.5 Pass on addressed envelopes to church
members to write to your missionary
4.6 Appoint a link person between your
church and your missionary who gives up-to-date information during the church
service & communal prayer, photocopies excerpts from a personal letters or
missionary’s newsletters, presents a PPP, video clip, direct phone call by
mobile during church service to stimulate interest in your missionary
4.7 Put up a mission notice board in
church hall, presenting latest newsletter, photos and new information
4.8 Send small parcel to missionary
(sweets, children’s book, birthday present, audio tape)
4.9 Illustration, formatting and
proof-reading of missionary’s newsletter (often they loose their orthographic
skills)
4.10 Mailing of missionary’s circular
letter and keeping ad-dress data-base up-to-date
4.11 Submit article about your missionary
and the minis-try to local newspapers
4.12 Each house fellowship group (home bile
study) adopts one missionary and stays in touch with him/her
4.13 Church sets up a mission support team
to stay in contact with all their sent missionaries
Field visit (when
appropriate):
5.1 Field visit by pastor, church elders
5.2 Visit of your missionary and help in
household, teach missionary children, offer counseling, technical advice,
computer support, house repairs
5.3 Visit your missionary for an
evangelistic campaign, outreach, music team, sports team, construction
project, cultural evening
5.4 Specialist visits missionary to speak
on relevant topics e.g. agriculture, computers, coping with stress, finances,
alcohol/drug addiction, marriage, hygiene, nutrition, raising children,
creation & evolution
5.5 Encourage church children/young
people to visit your missionary and serve them with their gifts
Practical help:
6.1 Provide storage room for missionary’s
furniture, books, luggage
6.3 Help in computer problems, electronic
media, health needs, schooling options, professional training
6.4 Manage your missionary’s website
6.5 Order and ship medication, spare
parts, books, children’s materials, local newspaper
6.7 Professional colleague updates
missionary on new professional developments, new technologies, equipment;
mails back issues of a professional journal
6.8 Visit elderly relatives of the
missionary
6.9 Participate in family events on
behalf of missionary (e.g. funerals, birthday celebration, wedding of
relatives)
Financial support:
7.1 Personal financial support
7.2 Sponsor missionary through creative
initiatives (bazaar, arts exhibition, church event, sponsored race)
7.3 Christmas project in a local
newspaper, at missionary's former workplace, in a local club engaged in
similar social activities as the missionary
Help during
missionary’s home assignment:
8.1 Prepare missionary for return to home
country (e.g. send articles on current issues in society and church)
8.2 Meet missionary at airport
8.3 Provide practical help on arrival:
info on traffic regulations, current fashion, shopping opportunities,
comparing prices, current e-banking or waste disposal system, public
transportation …
8.4 Provide accommodation, furniture,
household goods, children’s toys, bicycle etc. for home assignment
8.5 Provide a car for missionary on home
assignment
8.6 Invest lots of time and interest to
listen to their stories and try to understand
8.7 Help and understanding during
re-adjustment period when the home country has become so unfamiliar (culture
shock)
8.8 Help missionary children to settle
in: finding their role in school, church groups, sports clubs, hobbies, making
friends
8.9 Provide list of suitable destinations
for family outings
8.10 Provide holiday place, weekend house,
mobile home
8.10 Offer your home to missionary as
holiday place when you are on holiday yourself (house-sitting)
Deputation:
9.1 Invite missionary to your church,
school, youth group, student group, home Bible study, house-party, sports
club, hobby group etc. so that he/she can make new friends and present his/her
ministry
9.2 Introduce your missionary to your
personal friends
9.3 Do evangelistic outreach together
with your missionary (open-air meetings, street evangelism, visits to homes
for asylum-seekers, immigrants in your neighborhood – especially those from
similar background to missionary’s place of service)
9.4 Organize church weekend together with
your missionary
9.5 Offer advice regarding missionary’s
multi-media presentation (home culture has changed in meantime so that
presentation may appear out-of-date; or contain gaps i.e. presumed information
9.6 Arrange interview with local
newspaper, radio or TV station)
9.7 Provide technical equipment (beamer,
screen, etc.)
9.8 Organize visitation plan
Missionary children:
10.1 Your children keep in touch with
missionary children
10.2 Take a missionary child into your
family if schooling / professional training can no longer be provided in
parents' place of service and child wishes to stay in home country
10.3 Keep in touch with missionary children
living in home country without their parents, assisting in legal issues and
crises, giving advice, inviting them for Christmas holidays…
10.4 Missionary children need special
attention even long after their return to their country of origin, as people
often do not understand their life story that includes lots of personal
changes (Third country kinds)
