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.

We have been blessed to see a lot of great things on the deputation trail. For this post, I am recalling one of my favorite things.

My family and I arrived at the church on Saturday evening for our scheduled Sunday morning service. Pastor and his wife invited us to dinner for that night. We met them at a local restaurant. We were sitting with Pastor and His wife, giving each other the “cliff notes” of our life stories. In the midst of the dinner, our waitress came up, and Pastor began to talk to her. Our waitress was going through a rough time. I don’t remember all of the details she shared with us, she was a single mom, not making a lot of money, her boyfriend may have been having troubles. I cannot remember it all, but I do remember her telling us that she was going through a really rough time. What happened next was something that I call a part of “my favorite things” of deputation. Pastor empathized with her. He told her all that he used to be and how things changed when he heard the Gospel, believed on Jesus, and was saved. He never judged her, he was not harsh with her. She was not saved, she shared some hard things to share, and he answered with love and compassion. Pastor invited her to church. By the end of it all, she was crying, she knew she had just been loved on by this man. She did not believe on Jesus that night, but she did walk away having been loved.

Almost a year had gone by and I was in the area again and stopped by to say hello to the Pastor. Sitting in his office, I recalled the above story to him and told him how much it meant to me. He didn’t remember it. His answer was, “Lost people act like lost people. We shouldn’t expect lost people to act like saved people. When I was lost, I was a fiend.” Pastor showed great love and compassion with this woman because she was lost, and he remembered who he was before He believed on Jesus.

I have seen a lot of great things on deputation. I have been very blessed on deputation. Watching this Pastor’s compassion on a lost, hurting woman is one of my favorite things I have seen on deputation. We are challenged to show love and compassion to those who are without, remembering what we were before we believed on Jesus.

Deputation really works. As a missionary friend said, “Deputation works as hard as the missionary works.” I agree with that statement. Deputation is not broken, but it does take a lot of work. What does this work entail? Making calls…all day…every day! Well, maybe not every day, you get to be in church on Sundays, but you can call between services.

I know it is monotonous, but it is absolutely necessary. Churches will normally not partner with a missionary if they don’t have them in, and they normally don’t have missionaries in if they have not ever heard of them. Therefore a missionary must call church, after church, after church, after church. Call for 10-12 hours a day (Sundays won’t be 10 hour call days). Call every like-minded church you can find. You must take good records (this deserves more attention, but it will have to be another post). Call the churches that you may know. Call the churches you may have family and friends in. Call churches that may have a relationship with your home church. All of those will run out quick. Very soon, you will be calling churches you are not familiar with, churches that you do not have some sort of “in” with. Call, call, call, and then call some more. The goal of calling churches is to fill you calendar with churches to present you missionary burden in. You should have scheduled meetings for every Sunday morning, Sunday evening, and Wednesday evening. You can also shoot to have some meetings on other nights (for mission conferences, etc.). The goal to calling is sharing your burden with as many churches as you possibly can. Once you have filled your calendar totally full for at least 2 years, then you are done, you don’t have to make any more calls, unless your deputation takes longer than 2 years.

Here are a few questions and answers about calling on deputation…

• Why call churches? To set up meetings where you can share your heart with like-minded churches. To build your support to get to the mission field.
• How many calls should I make? As many as you can within the 10-12 hour span every day. Some churches will not be able to have you in. Some churches will be closed down. Some churches will be endless voicemails. Still make the calls.
• How many meetings should I work toward each day? As many as possible, but 3 meetings a day is a good goal. That being said, if you get 3, don’t quit for the day, shoot for 4, then 5, then 6, and so on.
• What if I have days where I don’t schedule any meetings? First, you will have those days. I have. You most likely will to. The answer is to keep calling. Don’t quit. Be faithful at calling. My mentor consistently reminds me to focus on the process, not the product. In other words, you may have days where you call 12 hours and you don’t schedule one meeting. Focus on making 10-12 hours of calls, not on how many meetings you make. It will all work out.
• What if it seems like every Pastor I talk to is telling me they cannot have me in? Keep calling, churches will schedule you.

Different missionaries on deputation do things differently. The calls must be made, but there are different thoughts as to the “secondary issues” of making calls. Here is my advice for calling.

1. Find somewhere away from home (if possible) where you can go to call every day. Make it your job. Most men have jobs they go to, it is good for you and your family to see you go to work too. If your Pastor allows, you can go to your home church and use an empty office or Sunday School room. There is something about going to work and working.
2. Have a mentor or friend help keep you accountable. It can be your pastor or another missionary. There is something about having to report to someone that may keep you calling when you really would like to stop.
3. Eliminate as many distractions as possible. If you use social network platforms, turn it off and keep it off (maybe use it at lunch and dinner). Help those around you understand that you are working. Try to be somewhere quiet (in my opinion, Starbucks is not the best place to call. Even when you get a Pastor on the phone, it can be hard to hear you over the customers and the baristas. Also Starbucks may be distracting you from making the calls).
4. Keep a good attitude. It is really your choice whether you enjoy making calls. I know it is not fun, but the truth is, other people are working 40-60 hour weeks outside in the freezing cold or the 90 degree heat. I often told myself that while I am inside a room making calls other people are outside digging holes (something I have done and hated). I’ve got a friend who has encouraged me to “enjoy the process”. Making calls is monotonous but it is your choice as to what attitude you have.
5. Don’t lose sight of the goal. The goal is getting to the mission field, to proclaim the Gospel, plant churches, and train men. Deputation is a step toward that goal. You will still have more to do (like learning the language and cultural acquisition).

Many “professions” come with work that must be done before being able to actually do the work of the profession. Doctors and lawyers must go to years of school before they are ever able to perform a surgery or work a case. Policeman must go through training. Truck drivers must first obtain their CDL license before they can get behind the wheel of an 18 wheeler. Teachers must go through years of schooling. Many of these jobs and others require certification in addition to schooling. Most “professions” come with preparatory work. A missionary is much more than a “profession”, it is a calling from the Almighty God. Make your calls all day, every day. Be faithful at it. God will give you the meetings He wants you to have. God will build your support.

Making calls is only one part of deputation. It is really the easiest part of deputation. More posts on deputation how to’s are coming. Check back soon for more.

For more information on deputation, buy the Deputation Manual by Austin Gardner and Tony Howeth. It is the greatest book I know of.