In the past few years people have been extremely interested in virtual ministry among groups of people that have limited access to the gospel. Many Virtual missionaries can log on and share the gospel in a different context. This is a great way for believers in the church to take advantage of new technologies to share the message more effectively in closed countries. 

However, most of these individuals crave something more. They have a desire to be, excuse the buzz word term, "missional" with their lives. In my opinion this is where virtual and physical ministry intersect and if done properly can become... Ministry. As believers take what they are doing on the street and continue that same ministry in the online social environment the virtual and physical become one ministry. This intersection has so much potential to reach more people through authentic relationships it is really exciting to see where the future will take us. I personally looking forward seeing this played out in each of your ministries. 

Packing is usually the easy part. The hard part is saying all of the he good byes. These only get harder year after year. This time is extremely difficult on parents and grandparents. Kids are resilient and quickly recover... Most of the time. For the past few months my little kids have made new friends at school and church. We took a risk on this home assignment and found a house close to family. The gamble really paid off, except I didn’t expect saying goodbye to my parents to be this difficult. This is not our first time mind you. We have done this several times over the past eight years of living overseas. When I was in seminary we had a guest missionary come in a teach a class for us while she was on home assignment. She told us that it never gets easier. Each time it only gets harder to say goodbye at the airport.

This last week also causes missionaries to get into a new mode of thinking. For those living in hostile environments for mission personnel, they start turning on switches preparing for re-entry. For me I have started preparing to spiritually pour into myself. Gosh Ty, thats a little selfish don’t you think. Not really, let me explain. Where we serve, we do not attend a local church. We have house church. We do not hear sermons or anything like that. We do walk through scripture together as a group and usually one or two people study the text more than others as they are gifted to do so. For me I study and prepare to invest in my team and the people I lead. So as I prepare to hit the ground running I have started my normal routine of studying and pouring into myself because if missionaries don’t do that on the field they will eventual burn out. And here is a little secret for any missionaries that might be reading this… A lot of missionaries do burn out. So if you are feeling like you are getting close to burnout do two things. First, understand that what you are going through is normal and Second, please tell someone. I would not be on the field today if I would not have made that phone call to a friend.

So to my fellow missionaries preparing to head back to the field, do so with your heads high. Know that people are praying for you. They are praying for your specific people groups by name. They are praying for you to walk in continual obedience. And know that I am praying that for you too.

Investing in people is not a simple task. Its takes time and energy. But it can be done through social interaction, especially through technology. As social media continues to change the way we interact with one another it can also allow us to be strengthened by each other as well. Missionaries love receiving emails, FB messages, and texts that just say, “Hey, I am praying for you today”. Lets be honest for a moment, everyone likes it when someone tells them they are thinking about them. Its kind of a big deal. Take moment right now and let someone know that you are thinking about them.

As I have mentioned before and I agree completely with Leonard Sweet that using social media can be used in discipleship. In my context, new believers need constant interaction. Using social media to send encouraging words and accountability when necessarily will help the new believer grow in his or her relationship with the Lord and with you as his mentor.

The student quickly caught on to the importance of how in some contexts social media is a vital way to disciple, and share life with another believer. I pray that we are using our social media accounts for this purpose.

As a missionary I am thankful for technology that makes it easier to be away from family and friends. We can still see and interact with one another on a regular basis and the cost is relatively small. I am thankful that we can turn around and use some of this same technology to encourage others to share the gospel from America to the nations.

I am also thankful for supportive family. If you know a missionary that has any relative that says something along the lines of, “Are you done with that yet?” or “Well don’t you think its about time for you to come home” Statements like those cause missionaries to pull away from family members. Don’t get me wrong my family would love to have us back in the states. Like I have said before, its not easy. But they want us to be Obedient first.

I am also thankful for coworkers. Other missionaries that partner together to be family in times of need. I cannot remember the number of times that we have called on a coworker for help just like we would a family member close by in the states. I am also thankful for church partners that send out missionaries to the harvest. I am thankful for their partnership, purpose, and passion in fulfilling the great commission.

May the Lord give you peace and comfort this Thanksgiving.

I personally have let some items go. I recognize that I am not the person to change the system, no matter how much it needs to change. As I was having this conversation with another missionary couple they encouraged me to let go of the things I have no control over but at the same time not to give up on the items that I can change. I thought for a few minutes and realized that they were right. I can't just throw in the towel. Not that I really want to, I just need to adjust my attitude accordingly to bring about change in my life and in the lives of those I lead.

A couple of items that have always brought a great deal of comfort in my life is first and foremost is the understanding that God has a plan and is in control of my life, career, and sending organization. All I have to do is maintain my relationship with Him and be obedient to what He asks me to do. It's that simple. I know what your thinking, "Easier said than done." Of course it's easier said than done. If the Christian life was easy everyone would believe, act, and obey as we do. Another comfort I have found in my journey of life is that biblical success is based off of obedience. They only time success is mentioned in the Bible is when someone did exactly what God asked them to do. Knowing that is freeing to someone that is in the middle of a system that needs to change. Don’t get me wrong, the day might come when we will need to make a change in church or sending organization. But that time is not now. I am sure that many of you are approaching those crossroads in your ministry. 

So in the coming months as I prepare for yet another transition in my mission career, I ask you to join me in praying for better, healthier churches, who will send healthy members to the mission field in order to make disciples of all nations.

CBU sends out short term mission teams called ISPs (International Service Projects). These trips also start and end at the Kugel globe located in the Great Commission Plaza. The globe which is a reminder to all those who enter campus to not only pray for the nations but also to prepare for the nations.

I have challenged students not only to use all tools at their disposal to share the gospel but to take everything they learn and apply it to sharing the gospel and making disciples. Students need to be reminded that college, believe it or not, is a season of life that will come to an end. I pray that they will make better decisions than I did in college. I shared with some of them that there will be classes that have absolutely nothing to do with the nations and so they will have to work with the professor to be creative in applying the concepts learned to their Christian walk and the nations.

One such class that I took in seminary had little to do with the nations. It was a church administration class. My desire at the time was not to work in a local church and never work on a local church staff. (I still do not have that desire, but understand a more mature version of Obedience, meaning... wherever He leads, I'll go) However, I knew that missionaries have teams and they require a different set of administrative skills. After sitting and talking with the professor he agreed that it would be a waste of time to do some of the assignments he was requiring. So the two of us came up with assignments that would better prepare future missionaries. 

When I shared that story with some students at CBU they could not believe that we were able to change some assignments to better prepare myself for future service.

When the findings came out it was one of those... Oh ya moments. Last summer the Islamic month of Ramadan was in the middle of two different months. The Online Project, a marketing firm in the Middle East published a report that not only details the peak times for twitter activity across the region but also a run down of country in the region.

So as a mission strategist in social media what am I to do? That's right start getting ready for next year. If there are peak times when Muslims are on Twitter sending messages back and forth to one another, then that is the exact time that we need people actively trying to share the gospel with them. Because we know in advance the suggested times we can create a mini social media strategy and gain partnerships from people in the states to be actively listening and engaging Muslims with the gospel during this specific 30 day time.

A strategy of this nature has three main parts. First, mission strategists need to actively listen to what Muslims are saying during this upcoming Ramadan. Missionaries already have a good idea of the conversation topics that revolve around the Muslim holy month, yet, actively listening implies the constant monitoring of activity and keywords in order to interact with potential seekers during Ramadan. Second, mission personnel need to be ready to interact with these individuals that flood the scene with tweets about how thankful they are for God and all he has done for them this year. This gives missionaries and prepared believers the opportunity to share why they are thankful for God. I have always said, "It is much easier to get into a spiritual conversation with a Muslim, than someone from the West." Third, a group of people need to stand at the ready in the churches all across the world following and praying for this team and the Muslims they interact with on Twitter. Its a simple strategy but like the student mobilizers I have worked with in the past say about the Christian life… "Its Simple, Not Easy".

Please join us in praying for next years Ramadan starting in the last few days of June. If you would like more information, send me an email or message

Other people are just fed up with people (their own friends) posting nothing but crap on walls and in Twitter feeds so it's a waste of time. Therefore, they see no purpose in it. This is so frustrating to me. Now I recognize that I am an innovator. In the mission community we normally have research departments but most do not have a development department to help missionaries develop new ways of sharing the gospel with a UPG or Urban center.

Now please let me try to convince you to keep using Facebook and other social media.

What if the Lord, in all of His awesomeness, brought almost every nation under one roof. Mind you it is a digital roof, but at least its one place. Most believers already have access to this place and all they have to do is look, and they kind find people from almost every nation. Why would you not use such a tool, or venue that has access to over a Billion people. Just in case you missed it thats billion with a B. There are over 56 Million Facebook users in the Middle East alone. By having a Facebook account you potentially have access to Arab Muslims that need to hear the message of the Gospel. By friending, messaging, chatting, sharing, and discipling through the means that we have, Facebook, we are doing and being about the Great Commission.

Please hear me clearly, I am trying to get students, or any believer that has a Facebook account to use it for the glory of God by sharing the gospel with the nations. I am trying to get stay at home, & professional mothers to talk about their faith with mothers in other cultures. But, why? The real question is why not. They taught us in seminary to go where people are to share the gospel. The also told us to use what we have available to spread the seed of the gospel broadly. I just have a hard time finding a better place than on Facebook. Yes, it contains junk that doesn't belong. But if believers would use it for its maximum potential it could be a tool that to change the world.

So Ty, give me one reason to keep my Facebook account. Ok, with a Facebook account you have the opportunity to share the message of the gospel with Millions of people.

I am from the SouthEast. I grew up in a conservative christian home. The rules were established and most of them were based off of scripture and the others from this thing we call wisdom. As I grew up in the church I thought I knew how to do things. Then, I went off to college and then seminary after that and it made realize that we, in the church get it wrong sometimes. In my opinion its not that complicated, apologize, promise not to do it again and move forward. Sometimes its that simple. But not always.

I live overseas and have done so for about the last eight years. We return to the states every so often for rest and renewal. This time, things are a little different for me. From the perspective of a church attender I see this blank look on the faces of church members sitting in the pews. It is as though they are just sitting there with no life. It might be that I have been trained to look for spiritual emptiness or the situation in the American church is much worse than I thought.

While listening to a podcast last week and someone mentioned the phrase "Do they participate in church to check a box of the christian sub culture, or to be more like Jesus?" That is exactly what I had seen over the past couple of months. But the real question remains. How do you change it? In my research I have found this has been a problem in the established church for years and the only way we can change it is by constant and consistent discipleship. This requires something many have heard of but few understand called "Accountability". We are not talking about the time when men come together and talk about their struggles. I am talking about holding members of the church accountable for being what they are... Christ followers. Are they being and acting more like Christ during the week, at home, school and work? Do those in church leadership even ask or do we assume that they are out there doing their thing for JC? Pray for God to open your eyes to the members of your fellowship that need a little more accountability and hold them accountable to be more like Jesus.

Generally Arab people desire relationships with what we call "Westerners" usually referring to people from the UK and the US. They want people in the West to know that not all Arabs are terrorists, or extremists. Yes, some people are Muslim and they do attend the Mosque for prayers. But most want to live in peace if at all possible. When I am asked about the situation in Syria from my Arab friends I usually respond with, "It is a terrible situation in which the only winner is war. I want peace if at all possible." This gives me the chance to talk to them about peace and eternal life. It is much easier to start a spiritual conversation with someone from the Arab world than those in the West because Arabs still use spiritual language in the everyday conversation. For Example: I would say, “Good Morning" or "How are you" to an Arab and he would say back, "Good Morning, Praise the Lord" or he might say, "I am good, thanks to God". This allows you to go one step further and share a reason or two why you are praising God today. Or it allows you to ask them why they are thanking God. Keep the conversation going, keep the focus back on the gospel. I recognize that you can do this in the West it just usually takes a little longer to get there.

For those "Westerners" that live in the Arab world it is your responsibility to be Light among these wonderful people. It is your responsibility to share with them what you believe and how it continues to change your life. It is also your responsibility to show the Arab world that not all Westerners are lost sinners that only care about themselves.

Be Light... Wherever you are.

In America I feel like most parents are terrified of social media. They seem afraid of what their children have access to in the world. It shows me that parents are not preparing their children to be light in a dark world. Parents, if you are not preparing your children in how to act in a lost world, and even a lost social media world then we have pretty much lost the battle at this point. Yes, there are dangers of placing content (pictures, locations, and status updates) out there for anyone to read. Parents and mentors need to be proactive in educating your children and followers in proper social media etiquette.

In the past few months I have started encouraging students to use social media to share their faith with the nations from their social media accounts. This can even mean those that live in the Middle East. My main context is Muslim peoples so I usually train and challenge students to share their faith and look for friends and potential followers in other cultures that speak english. In the Arab world over 50% of Arabs that have a Facebook account mark English as their primary or default language. They do this for three reasons: 1) They speak English 2) They want to speak English or 3) They want you to think they speak English so you will be their friend. As a missionary in that context I want you to friend them and share the gospel with them. If you are interested in more information about this send me an email or a DM on Twitter and I'll hook you up.

I clearly think that social media is not a threat to youth ministry. I see a huge potential for using social media for sharing ones faith in the Facebook & Twitter culture. I also agree with Len Sweet who says that Twitter has the best potential for disciple-making because users follow people they want to hear or learn from but, I will talk more about that in another post later. Youth groups and youth ministers just like any other person in ministry need to use social media to its max potential for Kingdom purposes.

Missionaries that live and minister by themselves have one of the hardest times adjusting and growing on the field. There are a couple (two or three) that I have seen that can make it work. But most young missionaries that leave the West right after college and travel abroad alone to minister, crave being with people. They need someone constantly investing in them. They also need accountability. Someone walking with them on a regular basis in order to be the most effective missionaries for God's Kingdom.

This past week I was able to spend some time with some single missionaries who served overseas for two or more years. As we were encouraging college students to go and spread the gospel among the nations I mentioned the importance of not going to the mission field alone. I encouraged one college freshman to start praying right now for a partner to go and serve with her in another culture. I went as far as to recommend that she not go to the field alone. I told her that I know it sounds harsh, but I am trying to set her up to thrive and not just survive. She walked away truly feeling as though I had her best interest at heart and I wanted to see her have a great experience on the field.

When she left I looked up and could see the Journeyman who served for two years had spent some time alone on the field. She quickly said, I have never heard anyone go as far as recommending that a single not go to the field alone but you are 100% right. It was just too hard. No one should have to go through that. This is one way we can help single missionaries thrive on the field by requiring them to serve with partners. Please join me this week as we pray for churches and mission sending agencies to send out single missionaries two by two.

But recently it got me thinking. How much time do missionaries give their sending churches. Is it 2%? Do missionaries spend the right amount of time communicating and interacting with their sending churches? This is a great question for mission personnel to consider as we serve abroad. I understand that the relationship between sending church and missionary can be anywhere from great… to no relationship at all. In my first three year term I had five main sending churches. Only two communicated with us in those three years. It's sad I know. But it made me think of what missionaries can do to have better communication with sending churches.

So I am challenging all of those I lead and… anyone who happens to read this Blog, to spend two or more percent of their time communicating with their sending church. Dedicating two or more percent to interact, build relationships and community among the ones that pray for you and send you out to minister in the world. In my opinion it's a win, win and mission personnel need to take up this challenge with open arms.

Ty, this is great and all but what does this have to do with social media? Right now we are helping these strategy leaders integrate social media into their strategies. Some can see the potential while others cannot see how Facebook can be used in their strategy plans. That is where we come in to help them. Here are two items that churches can start doing today to partner with mission strategy.

First, church partners can manage social media advocacy for the UPG. Managing a Facebook Page or Twitter account can assist prayer awareness in the states. Trust me, from years of experience on the field, you want as many people praying for your people group as you can find. As missionaries send the church information about the UPG the church members can learn more and know better how to pray. Twitter is know for its Rapid communication style and urgent prayer requests can be sent around the world in a matter of moments. Social media fuels strategy.

Second, partnering church members can also look for people of peace in the social media world. Everyone knows at this point Facebook has over 1 Billion members from almost every nation. Thats 1 Billion potential people who need to hear the gospel. We are focusing on the unengaged and unreached people groups of the Middle East, but the use of social media for the gospel is limitless. I will post more about how churches and college students can share the message of the gospel on Facebook in another series of posts next month. If you can wait that long and want to know now just send me a message.

One pastor told me about the importance of using ads for people in his community asking them to come and join the church for a Sunday morning worship service. This is not a bad idea. You can even create a special Twitter feed for your prayer team so prayer request arrive to the prayer warriors as fast as possible. But, what about the nations?

How can churches in America have an impact on the nations using social media? I know this might be hard to believe, but its pretty simple. One of my favorite quotes from my time living overseas is, "It's Simple, Not Easy". It is simple to take the ways we use social media in the states to share the gospel and use that on a world level in order to make relationships with people of various people groups. Instead of looking for people that you have things in common with look for people that are different. They might be from a different country, have strange customs, or speak another language beside English. As you build a relationship with this new friend tell them about Jesus. It's pretty much that simple.