What’s your favorite event on your church calendar?

When I was living in Chattanooga, Tennessee, our pastor said of all the activities held at our church—and we had a lot going on—the annual missions conference was his #1. Pretty amazing!

That was the time we invited missionaries we supported—or were considering supporting—to spend a week with us, interacting in small groups or in a large assembly. We would hear their stories and rejoice with them as to what God was doing in their lives and through their respective ministries. They lifted our eyes, and hearts, toward Heaven as together we praised the Lord for what He was accomplishing across the globe. “Praise Him for His mighty deeds; Praise Him according to His excellent greatness! (Psalm 150:2)

Our pastor would always say that it was our highest honor to have our missionaries present. One year, I had the privilege to be among them.

In college, as a junior, I committed my life to Christ. The guy who led me to Jesus was at the time involved with the international Christian discipleship ministry called The Navigators (https://www.navigators.org). I took part on campus with The Navs after my conversion.

As a young believer—or better yet as a poor college student barely scraping by—I wanted to donate something, small as it was, to a missionary. So I wrote The Navigators in Colorado Springs and asked who among their missionary staff needed financial support the most. They wrote back and said the top two were a missionary in Finland and a missionary couple in Mexico. I prayed about my decision and sensed God leading me to start with the man serving in Finland but later picked up the Mexico couple as well. I sent what I could each month for several years.

My first job after graduating in 1976 was a general assignment reporter position at the afternoon newspaper in Chattanooga. Three years later I was promoted to church editor. In late 1982, I unexpectedly received a phone call from The Navigators to see if I’d be interested in joining their team as their communications director. My wife and I prayed about that and I told Rod yes. We lived in The Springs from 1983 to 1987.

For U.S. headquarters staff at that time, we were required to raise as much of our salary as we could. I approached all my friends and also our former church back in Chattanooga. They took us on with a pretty sizable amount. So Lynda and I were invited to attend their annual October missions conference as one of the missionary guests. We were treated royally along with the dozen others. That blew me away.

Today, all these decades later, I chair our church’s missions committee in Boone, North Carolina. Our church here holds our missionaries in high esteem, just like the one in Chattanooga, and we look forward to having them with us when they pass through town. We want to visit with them and give the congregation the opportunity to hear all that God is doing in the region of the world where they serve.

I’m sure you’ve discovered that we can’t possibly give to every worthy cause. Our dollars are limited. But I certainly love giving to missions, around the world and closer to home. Those that meet spiritual needs and those that help feed the hungry or support the impoverished or encourage the downtrodden.

What a privilege. Sheer joy.

ACTION STEP: What about you my friend? If you’ve never given to a missionary’s personal monthly support, if given the opportunity, would you pray about it? Maybe you already are. I know it’s a tough economic year for far too many people. Maybe you’re struggling to make ends meet. But would you prayerfully consider raising the amount you already give as God provides? Check with your church and see which missionaries they support and see if you can help out. Or, check in with a Christian ministry that you respect and ask, based on the parts of the world that you gravitate toward, if they need additional missionary support. Let God guide you and see how you can praise Him for His mighty deeds!