Words of Affirmation
03/February/2016 Filed in: 5 Love Langauges
In the church we use words to accomplish so much. We use words to share the gospel, disciple new believers, sing praises to God, and pray to our Heavenly Father. We use words all the time. As we continue to look at missionary care we will look today at loving missionaries through Words of Affirmation.
We know that words are important for missionaries too. They proclaim the message of the gospel, which is kind of a big deal in what they do, but for them to receive communication from friends and family and especially from members of their sending church is incredibly important. Missionaries are an extension of the local church. So if you have a missionary sent out from your local body, then you need to provide the same care to them as you would any other member of your congregation, and staff. It will not look the same but the same care needs to be applied to all those sent out.
We often use words to encourage missionaries. “The word encourage means to inspire” says Dr. Chapman. We want to inspire missionaries to continue to fight the good fight. We want to inspire them to be light among the darkness, and to continue to be obedient to what God has asked them to do.
We constantly pray that God will work in and among the unreached people groups of the world. Why then would we not want to share those same words with the ones out on the front lines proclaiming the gospel. Let me share something from personal experience, “Missionaries need to hear from you.” It can be as simple as “Hey just want you to know that I am thinking about you today”. If the missionaries from your church are in less secure areas please say it more like, “Hey I want you to know that this morning I prayed that God would show you the person you need to share the gospel with today.” Use your words to show missionaries how much you love and appreciate them for their obedience. Your Words of Affirmation have more impact than you will ever realize.
Things you can do…
Today: Send a note, email, or text to a missionary you support. Encourage and inspire them.
This week: Find the best way to regularly communicate with a missionary you support.
This month: Skype or FaceTime a missionary you support.
We know that words are important for missionaries too. They proclaim the message of the gospel, which is kind of a big deal in what they do, but for them to receive communication from friends and family and especially from members of their sending church is incredibly important. Missionaries are an extension of the local church. So if you have a missionary sent out from your local body, then you need to provide the same care to them as you would any other member of your congregation, and staff. It will not look the same but the same care needs to be applied to all those sent out.
We often use words to encourage missionaries. “The word encourage means to inspire” says Dr. Chapman. We want to inspire missionaries to continue to fight the good fight. We want to inspire them to be light among the darkness, and to continue to be obedient to what God has asked them to do.
We constantly pray that God will work in and among the unreached people groups of the world. Why then would we not want to share those same words with the ones out on the front lines proclaiming the gospel. Let me share something from personal experience, “Missionaries need to hear from you.” It can be as simple as “Hey just want you to know that I am thinking about you today”. If the missionaries from your church are in less secure areas please say it more like, “Hey I want you to know that this morning I prayed that God would show you the person you need to share the gospel with today.” Use your words to show missionaries how much you love and appreciate them for their obedience. Your Words of Affirmation have more impact than you will ever realize.
Things you can do…
Today: Send a note, email, or text to a missionary you support. Encourage and inspire them.
This week: Find the best way to regularly communicate with a missionary you support.
This month: Skype or FaceTime a missionary you support.
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