We are 43 days away from moving to Argentina. This move is not for a couple of months or a few years. We are moving down to Argentina to spread the Gospel, plant churches, and train men. With this change in our lives, there are a lot of things on my mind. This post is about our daughters.

We have three girls, Lily (10 years old), Piper (6 years old), and Ivy (4 years old). These girls will grow up (or continue to grow up) in Argentina. We have been asked about our girls occasionally while on deputation. Some people feel pity for our daughters, they will be missing out or are being shorted by being taken away from the United States and being raised in another country. Some may think our daughters would greater benefit from staying here in the States.

I don’t think our daughters will in any way suffer any disservice by growing up in Argentina. These girls will become fluent in Spanish, will learn how to adapt in a foreign culture, will make friends that they would not have met otherwise. They will serve in churches we plant on the mission field. If God does not keep them on the mission field, being able to speak fluently as well as being able to understand both American and Latin American cultures may aid them greatly as adults.

In short, our girls are not being “shorted” at all. They are actually getting a great advantage. I believe our daughters are blessed to grow up in Argentina as a part of a missionary family. This is how we believe, and this is how we present what God is leading our family to do to our daughters. They are excited about moving down to Argentina, about helping plant churches, and about making new friends. We are very blessed to have Lily, Piper, and Ivy. They are incredible girls. I believe God is going to use them mightily. I believe God is using deputation and will use life and experiences in Argentina to mold them into the servants He desires them each to be. A lot is on my mind, my daughters growing up in Argentina is one of the blessings that are on my mind.

We have been on deputation for 23 months to go to Argentina as church planting missionaries. We will be leaving for the field on March 24, 2016. We have seen incredible things on deputation. I have narrowed my favorite things to a list of seven. This post is about the personal soul winning of a pastor.

My family and I arrived at the church early. We set our display up, talked with people, and met Pastor and talked with him. We had prayer time with the church. Pastor gave me the opportunity to present what God is doing in our hearts and to preach a message from the Bible. After the service, he asked us to go out to eat with he and his family. We followed the Pastor, not knowing where we would go eat. We drove to a gas station that had a small sandwich shop inside. Up to this point, the events of the night were not very much out of the ordinary. When we entered the gas station, Pastor introduced me to the owner. He said, “This is_____, I led him to Jesus a few month back. He was a Muslim, now he is a Christian.” Over the course of the meal, Pastor told me the story of how this man believed on Jesus, and how his wife was still lost, but how he was praying for her and hoped to see her believe on Jesus soon. I was so excited to see how Pastor personally went after that man with the Gospel of Jesus. I was looking at the fruit of his ministry.

Being a witness is a privilege for every believer. The message of the Gospel, that man may be forgiven of his sins and become a child of God through Jesus, is the most freeing message the world can hear! The Bible says in 1 Corinthians 15:34, “Awake to righteousness, and sin not; for some have not the knowledge of God: I speak this to your shame.” It is not just the privilege, but also the obligation of every believer to share the Gospel. Jesus gave the Great Commission to the church, and the church is made up of believers. It is our obligation to take the Gospel to the world, and that means we should share the message of the Gospel with those around us!

I was challenged by this Pastor to tell more people about Jesus. It has been one of my favorite things I have seen on deputation.

Deputation is not broken. It works. I know it works. God has used deputation to build our support in two years and one week. 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. Deputation seems to be something of a sore subject for some. I have heard from some men who say things like,  “Deputation is broken”, “Deputation doesn’t work”, or “There has to be a better way to get missionaries to the mission field.” I disagree with these statements. The truth is that deputation works as hard as the missionary does. I have a friend who is a missionary to Peru. He said the only people who complain about deputation are the ones who are not doing the work. Deputation not only works, it is also beneficial. Here are a few of the benefits I see in the deputation process that supports my proposal (deputation works).

• Deputation gets missionaries to the field. This is proven. We have Baptist missionaries in countries around the world that are proclaiming the Gospel, planting churches, and training men. Many of them got to the field through the deputation process.
• Deputation emphasizes the need around the world in local churches. There are churches in other denominations who do not have missionaries in. I have spoken to some Christians who say that they have never had a missionary in their church. They have never even seen a missionary before! This is tragic, because having missionaries in local churches allows followers of Jesus to see the need, it also gives them an opportunity to answer the missionaries plea, in helping get the Gospel to all people! I cannot state that only churches that have missionaries in on a regular basis send out their own missionaries, but I do believe a church that is consistently exposed to missionaries, world evangelism, and the need around the world as a whole and in specific places, will more likely see their own men called to the field.
• Deputation builds the missionary. On deputation, the missionary will be in some 250-300 churches. He and his family will see God move in wonderful ways. God’s moving and providing will build the missionary family’s faith. They will see God move in many churches. The missionary family will build up a network of praying brothers and sisters in Christ from churches around the country. The missionary will see God work in the hearts of believers who respond to God’s call to the mission field. This is no substitution for experience in serving in their own local church, but I do believe it helps the missionary family.

Please understand that I am not saying that deputation is the only way for missionaries to get to the mission field. I do believe deputation to be best way for missionaries to build their support and to effectively reach people, plant churches, and train men.

In the coming weeks, I will be posting on the subject of deputation. It is going to be a “How to” series. In the meantime, I recommend that you read “The Deputation Manual” by Austin Gardner and Tony Howeth. Here is a link.

My family and I have been on deputation going to Argentina as church planting missionaries for 23 months now. We have seen God build our support. As of this post, we are only 47 days away from our departure. We will be leaving for the field on March 24, 2016. With only 47 days left, I have a lot on my mind. My wife and I are taking our girls and moving to another country, where they will grow up. This is not a temporary thing, this is what we are doing with our lives! What goes through your mind when such a drastic change is about to take place? This is a new series of posts in which I will address what is on my mind.

Sorting, Selling, Storing, Giving, Packing.

Yes, packing is on my mind. Leslie and I have been married 11 years. It is amazing all we have accumulated in 11 years of marriage. We have a lot of sorting to do. Some things will be given away, others will be sold, a very small amount will be stored, and other things will be packed to go with us. We have a lot to do and a very limited time to do it. During the next 47 days, we have scheduled meetings with churches to continue to present what God is doing in our hearts. This is a good thing but it takes us away from our home, where we are sorting, selling, storing, giving away, and packing. In fact, as I am typing this post, I am in New York. So we truthfully don’t have 47 complete days to get all of this done. Please don’t get me wrong, I am not complaining at all. This is just one of those things that are on my mind (and on my wife’s mind too!). We will get it done. On March 23, everything will be sorted, sold, stored, given away, and packed. This is just one of the many things that are on our minds as we near the end of our deputation.

More is coming. Check back soon.