Leaving for Argentina

Departure Date: March 24, 2016!

We are finishing up our deputation. We leave this month! We still have a full schedule up to our departure. This month, we will be in Ohio, Louisiana, Mississippi, and our home state Georgia. This month will be busy with meetings in churches, but we will also be busy packing the remainder of our things, as well as getting rid of the things we are not taking with us to Argentina. Lastly this month will include a lot of good byes. We will be saying good bye to friends and family. We have dinners, lunches, and family events scheduled. This month is busier than any month we have had while on deputation. There is definitely an element of sadness that goes along with this month. We believe we are finishing deputation right and finishing deputation strong. We are getting closer to full support. Please pray that God will build the rest of our support before we leave.

Arriving in Argentina

There are hard days and sad good byes ahead, but this month also includes exciting days and “hellos” as well. When we step on the plane, we will have been on deputation for 2 years and one week as to go to Argentina. That dream will finally be realized! Once we arrive, we will have many things to do. We plan to work as hard as possible on the mission field. But before we arrive, we still have most of the month to finish our deputation. Please pray that we finish deputation right.

Serving Together,

Patrick, Leslie, Lily, Piper, and Ivy Henry

One of my favorite things on deputation started at a missions emphasis day at a church we were in. After the service a man came up to me and we started talking. This sort of things happens almost every Sunday morning, Sunday night, and Wednesday night. Meeting people, hearing their stories, learning how God has worked in their lives, it is one of the greatest things about Deputation. This specific encounter however, was different from any of the rest. This small conversation sparked a friendship. I didn’t know I was meeting the man who would be one of the greatest encouragements in my deputation (and I trust on the mission field as well). His name is Bill. Bill and his wife Betty have continued our friendship. I don’t know why, but this couple loves us. I am not deserving of these two! Bill emails me on a regular basis. He reads the blogs I put out as well as any other email updates and he will often comment on them. He has encouraged me along our way. He has even tried to work it out where he and Mrs. Betty could meet us at another church in Pennsylvania (we both live in Georgia) to support us at a church we were presenting in (it didn’t work out, but they tried). They have been incredibly encouraging. Our oldest daughter’s Lily’s birthday was in February. They sent Lily a birthday present to her through the mail. Lily was ecstatic, Leslie and I were both humbled and felt very loved. Over and over they have encouraged us on.

Why is this one of my favorite things? It is not about the attention or the gifts they send our children. It is really about the love and encouragement they give us. We are underserving of this love. They are examples of “senders”. Our hearts are overwhelmed with love at the very thought of them. We suspect that this relationship will continue into our ministry in Argentina. They pray for us and encourage us on. They are really co-laborers with us in the Gospel. Paul talks about how some plant and others water, but God gives the increase in 1 Corinthians 3. In 1 Corinthians 3:9, Paul says, “For we are labourers together with God: ye are God’s husbandry, ye are God’s building.” Paul concludes this subject by saying that he and Apollos were laborers together. One planted, one watered, both worked together. Brother Bill and Mrs. Betty are not missionaries to Argentina, but in how they encourage us, they labor together with us. The relationship we have with Bill and Betty is one of my favorite things we have found through our deputation.

This post continues a series on “My Favorite Things” of deputation. We have loved the opportunities we have had to get to see God moving in the churches we have been in. Here is another of my “favorite things”.

Many churches we are in are not large enough to have a staff. I completely understand that. Some of our favorite experiences has been in smaller churches like this. Other churches have a church staff, whether it consists of the Pastor and one other man, or several men. I remember one church specifically. We walked in the church, and it was like the Pastoral staff were gears working and turning exactly in perfect timing. These men were at the right place at the right time. These men each did what they were “assigned to do” with such precision, and with the other men in mind. They worked as a tight fitting team unlike anything I have seen.

We arrived on Saturday before the conference began and one of the Assistant Pastors greeted us. Upon arrival, he led us to the specific area of the church in which we were to setup our display. As we were setting our things up, another Assistant came in and introduced himself, and asked for our video presentation to have it ready to view the following day during the service. We were ushered to a room in the church where coffee and small snacks were waiting on us. From there we were brought up to an office to meet with Pastor. We were no sooner seated when Pastor came in and began the meeting at the appointed time. This sort of precision continued through the whole day and followed into the next day. I could give more examples of this cohesive staff, but I think you get the idea. What made this staff so different? I don’t think I have the specific answer, but here are a few things I noticed…

• The Pastor and staff loved each other. My wife commented about how much the Pastor loved the staff. They had a relationship that went beyond “getting my part of the job done.” Pastor spoke of each man with such love. He wasn’t building his own name, he was building these men. The Pastor didn’t look at his staff as a means to build his kingdom, but as men he loved and poured in to. The Pastor showed more attention toward the individuals on staff, then on the task at hand.
• The staff respected and loved the Pastor. The staff knew that the Pastor loved them. They respected the Pastor and they believed in the purpose of the church. These guys didn’t work for a boss, they worked for a man they admired, a man they wanted to be like. These men had such loyalty to the Pastor and the vision for world evangelism.
• The Pastor and staff were all clear and onboard with the purpose of the church. The church’s mission is to get the Gospel to the world. It was all over the walls, the bulletin’s, the website, etc. This was not the Pastor’s vision that the staff worked under and followed. It was each man’s vision united together.

I am very sure there is much more to it all. It is hard to examine things when you are there for only a short time, but if you keep your eyes open and look for things, you may be surprised at what you notice. Our goal as missionaries is not just church planting, but training men. I don’t want to “build my own kingdom”, I want to build the men around me to advance the Gospel further. When I think about our months on deputation, this is one of my favorite things.

We are continuing a series of posts on deputation. Deputation is the process of selecting missionaries who will be sent as their substitute or agent to preach the Gospel on the foreign field. It is the process in which independent Baptist Churches send missionaries to the nations around the world. To a family sent out from their church, it is the process in which they travel to like-minded churches to share what God has called them to do, to raise support in order to reach the people God has put on their heart.

The past posts have been an introduction to deputation and the importance of making calls. This post will deal with a few of the things to keep in mind at church you are scheduled to be in. There are a lot of things that need to be considered. Here is bullet list of things to keep in mind…

• Arrive early. If church starts at 6:00 PM, be there at 5:00 PM. What if no one is there? Wait. Be there an hour early, no later than 45 minutes early.
• Dress appropriately. You are not there to make fashion statements. You do not want anything, including your attire, to take away from the message you have come to convey. Dress in a dark suit, white shirt, and a conservative tie. Again, wearing something else is not a sin, you are free to wear whatever you like, but remember why you are there.
• Keep good hygiene. Make sure you hair is brushed and clothes don’t look like they were balled up for a week. Keep a pack of mints, not gum, in your pocket and pop them in often. Bad breath is not the memory you want lingering in people’s minds…or noses.
• Talk to people. You are there early, talk to people. Almost always, this will mean that you will have to go up to people and introduce yourself to people. Ask them about the local area, ask them about their salvation. Just enjoy the people and talk with them.
• Whatever time Pastor allows you, stick to it. If Pastor says 5 minutes, do not go 5 minutes and 1 second. You would do much better to go 4 minutes. You called him, you lined up the meeting, you are the guest, be respectful of what Pastor asks you to do. There is much more to consider about the time you have to share your heart, but that will be for another post.
• Be Grateful. If Pastor only allows you to pray for the offering, be grateful. Remember, he didn’t call you, you called him. If you go in with that in mind, it will help you keep the right attitude.
• Stay Late. When the last “Amen” is said, don’t go packing up your stuff and rushing out the door. Stay around for a while and talk to people. If you rush out, it gives the appearance that you don’t care about them.
• Enjoy it. If you are a preacher, going from church, to church, to church, to church and sharing your heart and preaching should be a dream come true. Enjoy it. Support may result from the meeting or it may not, either way try to enjoy it.

More posts are coming, in the mean time, pick up the Deputation Manual by Austin Gardner and Tony Howeth.