A Letter To My "Pre-Deputation" Self...

This is a letter that I recently wrote to my “pre-deputation” self. If you want to read this, then you are more than welcome to. 

Dear Pre-Deputation Self, 

I know that you are excited and nervous about the future of your ministry. It seemed like only yesterday that you got saved and called to preach, but now you are married and have a baby on the way. I know that God has called you to missions and now you are about to begin this process called “Deputation”. You have no idea why they call it that, but you know that is how you are going to get your funding to do what God has called you to do, so you must do it. 

Deputation is going to be something that you have no idea how it works or how to do it the right way. You were not raised in church and you have not seen many missionaries present their burden for their fields before, but you have to learn. This is going to be an interesting few years, some good, some bad, but you must go through with this. 

Let me give you a list of things that you don’t know are coming, but you need to be prepared for: 

#1. You Need Training

Deputation is something that has no strong secular comparison. Mechanics don’t do this. Policemen don’t do this. This is it’s own thing, therefore you need to reach out to those who know what this is and how to do it. The Deputation Manuel by Austin Gardner is going to be the go to book for this! Buy that book and buy it now! Read it! Heed it! Study it! That book will literally save you from the steep learning curve required to thrive on deputation. 

#2. Know This is God’s Will

Every man that stepped out by faith and did something that God put in his heart had well meaning people (and some not so well meaning) question his decision. You know God has called you! You know that God has spoken to you! You know it! Ignore those who would undermine and second guess you. Go forth knowing that you are not the first to be called into missions and most certainly will not be the last. Do it!

#3. Play the Long Game

Realize that this is a process that will most likely take a few years. You will not get your support in 6 months despite what they tell you. There will be times that men will question you about 2 years into the process about why you are not fully supported yet, don’t let them bother you. You will meet men that will tell you about a missionary that they knew that raised 100% of his support in 4 months….but they won’t tell you that it was 1986, he only needed $1,200 a month, was well connected, and had a sending church that supported him 50%. (Most of these stories aren't even true anyways...) . Ignore these stories and never compare yourself to them. If you dwell on these “stories” then you will constantly be discouraged! Just march on for God!  

#4. Ignore the “Big Name” Preachers

I know that you are going to take a copy of the Sword of the Lord to your desk, open it up and start calling all the preachers in the ads…especially the ones with the “BIG CHURCHES”! Don’t do it. Those men are literally bombarded with phone calls because there are hundreds of other missionaries out there doing the same thing right now. Instead look to the small churches. Instead of trying to call those churches in Jonesboro, Hammond, Murfreesboro, and Lexington call the one in Doe Run, Missouri. That pastor will actually talk to you and he will end up being the best friend that you have ever had! Forget those "big name" guys!

#5. Get in the Gym

You have always been an active person, but deputation is a very sedentary life. You will spend much of the next few years either sitting at a desk, sitting in your car, sitting at a restaurant, sitting in a church, or sitting in a hotel room. In addition to that you will always be eating. You will be eating with a preacher, eating in a home, eating at an international dinner, or eating fast food as you travel down the highway. This will take a tremendous toll on your health. You need exercise! 

I know you are busy, but you must take an hour or two every day and get in the gym. Don’t let your body atrophy. Get your blood pumping. Burn off all those pies, casseroles, and lasagnas that they have fed you and don’t let anyone make you think that gym time is wasted time! If you workout you will feel better, preach better, look better, think better, and overall just BE BETTER! You have to fight back against the sedentary lifestyle and the tsunami of calories that you will be asked to consume again and again and again. Make it a priority and you will be better off in the long run. 

#6. Persevere 

You will notice that many successful men in the ministry are not very gifted men, but instead they are men that just never quit. I know that you went to college and were lead to believe that  only those who are super talented are going to be successful in the ministry, but that just isn’t so. Most men that you will meet are not able to wow a crowd with an opera style singing voice, play the piano masterfully, do flower arraignments, or preach eloquent sermons wearing double breasted hand tailored suits. They are just simple men that God called and THEY DIDN’T QUIT! 

It was by perseverance that the snail made it onto the ark. 

"Genius, that power which dazzles mortal eyes, is but perseverance in disguise." - Orison Swett Marden

You will meet many missionaries on the deputation trail that are WAY more talented than you. You will meet many missionaries on the deputation trail that will have support handed to them just because of who their family is. You will meet many missionaries on the deputation trail that know how to do better videos than you, but the problem with them is that deep down inside of them THEY ARE QUITTERS AND YOU ARE NOT! 10 years down the road you will be writing a letter to your “Pre-Deputation” self and they won’t even be in the ministry anymore! They QUIT! Stay at it til’ the stars fall! 

To sum it all up, I want you to know that you will make it and it’s gonna be awesome! The Lord will do amazing things in Kenya, far beyond what you ever dreamed. Go through this thing called “Deputation”and you will be glad that you did. 

See you in 10 years,

Future Self.