I have been posting different articles on characteristics of an effective missionary. There are characteristics that effective missionaries have. They can be in different countries, serve in different ways, sent from different churches, and have different backgrounds that make them each unique, but they still have certain characteristics in common. This post in the series will have several parts, and it is about the future. Effective missionaries prepare for the future, and when I use the word “future”, I am referring to the missionaries departure from the field. We will not be on the field forever. I know that one day I will not be in Argentina. It may be that the Lord direct us to a different ministry, it may be that He take us home to be with Him, it may be that we grow so old we are not able to effectively serve, meaning we would need to return to the states. In our case, we have no plans to leave Argentina, but we know, one way or another, our final day in Argentina will come. That being said, we need to prepare for that day.

So the missionary needs to prepare for the future, for the day when they are no longer serving on the mission field. This includes preparing the ministry, obviously the goal is that the ministry is not dependent on the missionary, that the missionary advances in the power of the Holy Spirit long after the missionary is gone. This also includes preparation for retirement, or for their return to their native country. We will address the preparation of the ministry by the missionary for his departure in an upcoming post, but today I will be focusing on the preparations an effective missionary makes for their return to their homeland.

An effective missionary prepares for his future retirement. This is a controversial view, but I believe it to be a biblical view. I don’t know of a biblical commandment to save for retirement, but I do believe there are biblical principles that point to the wisdom of doing so. The Bible teaches that the wise man prepares for the future.

“There is treasure to be desired and oil in the dwelling of the wise; But a foolish man spendeth it up.” Proverbs 21:20

“⁶  Go to the ant, thou sluggard; Consider her ways, and be wise: ⁷  Which having no guide, overseer, or ruler, ⁸ Provideth her meat in the summer, And gathereth her food in the harvest.” Proverbs 6:6-8

“⁷ For yourselves know how ye ought to follow us: for we behaved not ourselves disorderly among you; ⁸ Neither did we eat any man’s bread for nought; but wrought with labour and travail night and day, that we might not be chargeable to any of you: ⁹ Not because we have not power, but to make ourselves an ensample unto you to follow us.” 2 Thessalonians 3:7-9

An effective missionary will save to prepare for his retirement. Why? The pushback would be that the missionary should trust God, that God will take care of him. I say “Amen!” to that, but God also gives us principles in His Word to live by. We all believe we should take care of our health, we shouldn’t just eat and lay around and say “God will take care of me.” We all change the oil in are cars, we don’t just keep driving them thinking that God will take care of it. There is responsibility on our part to do specific things. God will take care of us? Amen! He has also given us Truth to follow and to put into practice.

So why save for retirement? We are blessed to be supported by wonderful churches across the United States. I have been in a few churches, where they would love to take on a missionary, but they are not able to because they are supporting a retired missionary couple. The couple served God faithfully on the field for years, even decades, and now they are not able to do so, so they returned to the States, but there is a problem, they never saved for retirement, and they have no way of supporting themselves in this stage of their lives. This puts our supporting churches in a difficult situation. I think we would all have a hard time discounting support of a faithful missionary family who needs it now that they have retired, n doing so, they are not able to move forward in world evangelism. Please don’t get me wrong, if a church decides to support a retired missionary, it is a great blessing, but it should be because they want to, not because they feel like they have to. If we as missionaries prepare now for the future, and save up for retirement, if/when that day comes, the churches that have faithfully supported them will not bear the burden of their retirement years. So is it a sin not to save for retirement? Of course not! I don’t think it is a sin to not save for retirement, however I do believe it is something a missionary should do to be effective from the beginning to the end.

As missionaries, we should work hard, prepare for the future, and make responsable decisions that will glorify God and advance the Gospel.

Kid’s Day, a Brother’s Passing, and the Family Conference

Our furlough continues and so does the ministry in Argentina! In August we saw great days and also one sad day. Kid’s Day is a celebrated day each year in August. Faith Baptist Church held an event that brought in kids from the surrounding areas to celebrate Kid’s Day, and during the event they shared the Gospel. We are praying that God continues to work in these kids and that they will be saved soon! The sad day this month was when one of our beloved brothers at Faith Baptist Church passed away. Isaac Leví died at 83 years old. He was a blessing and encouragement to us all and he will be missed. This is the first time the church has experienced the passing of one of her members. Pastor Matías was able to be a blessing to the family in this time of loss.

September is an important month, it is the beginning of Spring and we usually see an increase in visitors and in attendance. We kick this time of year off with our annual Family Conference. It is something the church has come to look forward to. It culminates with “Family Photo Day”, when we take profesional style photos of every family present. It is one of the biggest events at Faith! Pray with us that they see many visitors and people saved!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

Prayer Requests

• Pray for Faith Baptist Church and the Family Conference.

• Pray for Matías as he pastors Faith Baptist Church.

• Pray for the evangelistic outreach of Faith.

• Pray for our furlough travels.

Just like we celebrate Mother’s Day and Father’s Day in the United States, in Argentina we celebrate “Kid’s Day” too! When I was a boy, I can remember when Mother’s Day or Father’s Day was coming up, I would ask my parents about when “Kid’s Day” was. They would say, “Son, every day is Kid’s Day”. Well, in Argentina we actually celebrate Kid’s Day in August. We celebrated Kid’s Day last Sunday. Matías and Javier led a special event and they were able to preach the Gospel to all the children who attended! Please pray that God use the seed that was sown on last Sunday!

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, Ivy, and Isla Henry

Family Spotlight: Glasses for All!

Recently, Leslie and three of our daughters had eye exams, and each of them learned they needed glasses to be able to see clearly. This picture was taken when they all received their pair of glasses. Isla, our youngest, found a pair of “glasses” to fit in. We are thankful that Leslie and the girls are able to see clearly!

This is the seventh post in a series on how to be an effective missionary, and I believe it be a very important one. An effective missionary learns from others. We are so blessed to have men who are “further down the ministry road than we are”. I am thankful form men like my pastor and other mentors who have guided me through the years and given me counsel time and time again. There are also other missionaries who are further along than I am. There are some who are just a few steps further than I am, and others still who are many years, even terms further along than I am. I seek their advice often.

But there is a problem missionaries can have. On deputation, we go from church to church sharing our burden, our desire, and our dreams. We sound like we know what we are doing, we sound like we know all about planting churches in a cross-cultural context, we sound like we have it all together, but none of this is true. We have a lot to learn, but after being in 100+ churches, if we are not careful, we end up being “so wise, that we become fools”. I think of two example in the Bible, Solomon was the wisest man in the world, and he “received instruction” from the lazy man (Proverbs 24:30-34) and from the simple man (Proverbs 7). If the wisest man in the world learned from foolish people, we too can learn from others. The other extreme is the fool whom Solomon wrote about throughout the book of Proverbs. A few lesson we learn about a fool is that he has no desire to learn (Proverbs 18:2), and that he already knows it all (Proverbs 12:15). The wisest man in the world learns from others, while the fool can’t learn from anyone because he already knows everything.

An effective missionary cannot be a fool, he must learn from others, and this means that the missionary purposely humbles himself and seeks the counsel of others. There is always room for improvement. My pastor often says, “We can improve almost everything, but there are only two things we cannot improve, our salvation and the Bible”. This means that everything I do as a missionary can be improved, and God has given me great men to help me do so.

So what does a missionary do to learn from others who are further down the road than he is? He asks others missionaries lots of questions. Learn to ask questions about everything, about evangelism, about where to rent a building, about special events, about how to work with others, about culture shock, about everything! We will never be effective if we don’t learn to learn from other brothers and sisters in Christ! Dear missionary, you are not alone, and you don’t have to go about the ministry alone, seek counsel from others, attempt great things, work hard, learn from others, ask lots of questions and do something great for God! To be effective missionaries, we must learn from others!