Itineration Has Begun!
In this article
Where we've been.
As we've told so many people the main reason we are in the US is to itinerate. In the past few weeks, we had the opportunity to minister in 2 churches in very different parts of our state. Forks Washington was our first service in the rainiest town in North America. Sunnyside, WA, one of the driest towns in the State of Washington, was our second stop. We've spent time with quite a few pastors and ministry teams at area pastors' meetings. We've visited a few churches where we had the opportunity to meet up with pastors and missions teams.
If you'd like to see where we've been and where we'll be you can check out our Google Maps link.
We had great services in both churches, where God moved on the hearts of people. We anticipate having these churches as partners in our missionary endeavor moving forward.
What is itineration?
As we have spoken with people about our plans for this one year of itineration, it's become apparent that many of our friends don't really know what this means. To help you understand what itineration looks like and what we'll be doing over the next year, I'll take a little space here for a simple explanation of itineration.
Itineration, preparing to go.
In the US Assemblies of God, and in many other church and missions organizations around the world, missionaries start their mission endeavor by presenting their ministry in many local churches. We travel from church to church, speaking in services, sharing with small groups, and meeting with pastors and missions leadership teams. Missionaries share both God's vision and plan for the lost as well as their vision and plans for the ministry God has given them, and what they hope to pursue in the place and ministry God has laid on their hearts.
Itineration Impact - Inform, Inspire & Minister
Of primary importance in itineration and the reason to go to so many different churches, is to inform, inspire and to minister to churches. This is a great opportunity for missionaries to invest in the churches of their sending communities. Sometimes that is inspiring the next generation of those who will seek God's call and join in full-time ministry. It may be that the missionary illustrates the need in such a way that church members hear from the Holy Spirit and join in partnership in prayer or giving.
Not every missionary is all that inspirational as an individual but we trust the Holy Spirit to do the work every time we have the opportunity to speak. Our inspiration however is not always emotional. At times we share ministry ideas that inspire the local church to develop new ministries of their own, or possibly we help our local churches see their community in a new way that helps the church expand it's vision for ministry in their own community in addition to ministry as around the world.
As we well know, being a pastor can be challenging and at times discouraging. Missionaries have the opportunity to come in from the outside when the pastor, church staff or ministry leadership needs to be heard, lifted up and or encouraged. It's not a primary role but often it is a function of missionary life. Everywhere we go, we pray that God will use us in ministering to His people or to people who will become His people.
In itineration, any of the above could take place at a given stop along the way. God has called us to be instant in season and out of season, so we need to be ready with whatever ministry God lays before us. This is one aspect that makes itineration an exciting ministry opportunity. We look forward to making this investment in the churches God brings us to. In itinerating, our desire is to bless those who will join us in partnership, even if for just one meeting along the way.
Itineration Is For Building Partnerships
I've mentioned partnerships already and this is the second half of the itineration role, building partnerships. Partnerships are relationships with people and with churches that God uses to enable missionaries to go and do what God has prepared for them to accomplish.
Partners in Finances
Fundraising is important. God is the provider and he has not called people to solitary ministry. God has called the church to minister and support ministry globally. That means God provides for his people who join in partnership in ministry and missions. For this reason, missionaries engage the church to join in the mission and in their mission.
Some churches are ready to jump on board with missionaries as soon as they are ready to go. That's fantastic! We all understand that asking for money is hard and having people think you're talking to them just to ask for money is even harder. We like to think of it that we aren't asking for money. We're just asking people and churches to pursue God for what He would want them to give and how they would benefit from joining us as partners in ministry.
Most pastors and churches want to hear from those they will send out. Many individuals are personally inspired to participate in regular giving and this usually comes out of a time hearing the missionary share about God's work. As the missionary shares, often the Holy Spirit speaks to the hearts of his people to give and to pray. In the end, it is the Holy Spirit that does the work, we don't have to ask for anything.
Itineration Develops Partnership in Prayer
Anyone in ministry needs prayer and one of the great privileges of itineration is to ask for prayer and come away with the expectation that people will pray for us our family and our ministry. So we ask for prayer at every church and in every meeting along the way. We ask for prayer for our ministry, our family, and for Indonesia as a whole.
Wherever we go we give out prayer cards. These are reminders for people to pray for our ministry and needs. We make ours a bit bigger than normal so people can put them out where they'll see them and remember to pray more often.
Our prayer card, front and back.
I remember so many stories of people waking in the night to pray for missionaries and I've had my own experience of having the urge to pray for people, who, as I found out later, were in the midst of significant need. God is faithful. He has called us to be faithful in prayer for those in ministry, especially those we partner with and send out in ministry.
Itineration Develops Partnership in Participation
We are very serious in our desire to see people commit themselves to ministry and partner with us in person. Yes, we hope to find people called by God who will venture out to missions in Indonesia. We hope to find people who know God is calling but have not had a cross-cultural ministry experience and would like to do a ministry internship in IES or who would like to join the campus ministry team in Jogjakarta or would like to take on a ministry role at one of our other international churches around Indonesia or the rest of Asia Pacific. We firmly believe that many are called but don't understand the opportunity God has laid out in front of them. We want to take the opportunity to share the great possibilities that are open today.
We ask that you pray for us in this while we are itinerating. Please pray that we Will share in such a way that God's call is heard by people young and old and that they will be inspired to step out or step up in ministry. I've always felt that the mark of good ministry is the people that go out into ministry. Please pray for those also who may seek to partner with us by participating in ministry in Indonesia. God is the Lord of the harvest and he has called us to ask that He would send out more harvesters.
We Value Partners
We have a great appreciation for the individuals and churches that have already made a commitment to partner with us. Many we have not visited. Some of our partners have never heard our story, yet they have by faith, joined with us in ministry. We appreciate those who have come on board with us as financial partners to enable us to do the mission God has for us to do. It helps with simple things like health insurance and big things like church planting. These financial partnerships are integral to accomplishing what God has called us to do.
In our 11 years of ministry with AGWM we have never itinerated before. We have many who pray for us but few who support us financially. We appreciate both very much. If we had gone about it in the normal way, we would be starting our 3rd itineration cycle. We would already have had a solid giving base here in the US, but God is our provider. He is the one who has provided for 11 years and we believe he will provide for all that we need ahead as well.
Would You Like To Partner With Us?
Again, we appreciate your participation in this ministry God has for us. To find out more about partnering with us in prayer, participation, and giving, please take a look at our giving page.
If you're not sure yet, take a look there and see what you can do to share the burden with us.