Why Some Weep for Missions....and Others Don't....

When I was a sophomore in high school, I joined the football team. I would practice with the team, but because I was much smaller than almost everyone else, I did not play on Friday night. 

I remember dressing for the games and watching from the sidelines. I saw the starters get hit, bleed, and fight the entire season. When they won they shouted, when they lost they wept. 

I remember our team losing a very close game that should have been an easy victory. I sat on the bus with the starting lineup and they we all weeping, but I wasn't. They were emotional wrecks, but I was telling jokes with another backup player.

It was then that I noticed something about myself: I wasn't as concerned with the loss as the starters because I didn't have anything invested in this game. Every person on that bus that had a dirty uniform was crying. Every person with a clean uniform was laughing. 

The same may be true today about foreign missions in the local church. Those who are willing to put themselves on the field and invest themselves in this cause may have a greater passion than those who don't. 

I'm writing this having come fresh off the mission field and having seen over 4,000 saved in 2 weeks. I have skin in this game. I've sacrificed time, money, some health, and much comfort to see and do what I've done. My burden for Kenya and Uganda is greater than it's ever been! 

I'm afraid that many Christians have a burden for missions, but not a significant one. Missions is an afterthought because most people in the pews have little to nothing invested in reaching a foreign people with the gospel. Many see the slide presentations, hear the missionaries talk of their fields, but they personally have little/nothing invested in the mission fields of the world! 

I want to admonish every Christian that would read this: get off the sidelines and get in this game! Quit watching the missionaries do missions and come do some missions yourself! 

Every American Christian should leave America at least once in their life! Coming to the mission field will enlarge your burden for people because it makes it personal. No longer are these just pictures on a screen or a prayer letter, these are REAL PEOPLE, WITH REAL SOULS, THAT ARE REALLY DYING AND GOING TO A REAL HELL!

Come see the work in Kenya. Come feel the need. Come see the multitudes. It will change you forever!

Oswald J Smith said that one of the greatest investments a church could make in it's pastor is to send him away to a foreign mission field. I agree 100%. 

Send your pastor to Kenya to see what God is doing! 

If you want to come see the works in Kenya yourself, contact me. I'd love to help. 

Has the Lord Answered the Prayer for Laborers...and We Missed It?

Recently, I have seen many people sharing a great missionary’s post about the need for laborers on the mission fields of the world. I agree 100% with what this great Missionary is saying. There is so much work to do! I doubt many people have been able to see the enormous need for missions in Africa and other parts of the world like I have; and I agree that there are so few Fundamental Baptist College Graduates that are going into missions today. 

The Lord spoke in Matthew 9:37-38, "Then saith he unto his disciples, The harvest truly is plenteous, but the labourers are few; Pray ye therefore the Lord of the harvest, that he will send forth labourers into his harvest.”

I’m sure that many Christians have prayed this way for years, but some are seeming to imply that either the Lord isn’t answering this prayer or Christians aren’t praying enough for laborers.

So the question remains: Where are these laborers that we have been praying for? 

Could it be that the Lord is actually answering this prayer and has been for many years now? Could it be that we have asked the Lord to raise up laborers to reach the lost with the gospel, but we don’t fully see it?  Could it be that He actually has raised up an army of laborers for His harvest, but we missed it? Could it be that the Lord has answered the prayers of His people, but He did it in a way that we didn’t expect? Could it be that the Lord has answered this prayer by raising up the national pastor? 

Where did the Lord say the laborers had to be American? 

Maybe the Lord has answered an entire generation of Christian’s prayers... 

Maybe the answer to this prayer is pictured below...

Missions Giving is the Deal of a Lifetime

Missions Giving is the Deal of a Lifetime

I recently read the story of how Manhattan Island, the current location of New York City, was purchased. The original myth was that a Dutch settler named Peter Minuit purchased the island for $24 worth of trinkets. After further research it was discovered that these settlers actually purchased the land for "60 guilders," which is equivalent to $950-$1,000 in today's money. 

Today Manhattan is worth about $1,000 a square foot. Many have declared that this was the greatest real estate deal ever made! They got so much for giving so little. 

The same could be said about giving to Missions. By giving our money we are supporting Missionaries to go to places across the world and preach the gospel. Whenever the gospel is preached souls are converted. To put it simply: We can exchange our money to see souls saved.

Jesus spoke about the worth of a human soul in Mark 8:36-37

For what shall it profit a man, if he shall gain the whole world, and lose his own soul? Or what shall a man give in exchange for his soul?

These verses seem to indicate that a single human soul is worth more than all the Manhattans in the world combined. 

Recently a Church in Georgia donated $2,500 to the 2017 IBOM Kenya Youth Camp in Western Kenya. The camp was a great success that resulted in 1881 souls saved. To put it simply: They paid $1.34 for each soul converted. 

Minuit may have conducted the greatest real estate deal of all time, but it wasn't THE greatest deal of all time. That deal belongs to people who give through their local church to missions. 

Are you able to see the value of giving for souls?

Spencer

Reaching Children with the Gospel

Reaching Children with the Gospel

Recently, I have been burdened in my heart for children. The greatest mission field in America is the children.

CLICK HERE to listen to the latest "Vision For Missions" broadcast as we talk about "Reaching Children with the Gospel".

Spencer

Misconceptions About The Independent Fundamental Baptists Caused By Social Media

Social media is something we all use.  If we were honest about it, then we would concede that we may use it a little too much. There are many positive sides to social media use: we can connect with family we rarely see, missionaries in foreign fields, old college friends, and people that we don't personally know but they post interesting and/or funny things. Unfortunately, there are many downsides to it as well. 

A major downside and danger of social media is that it can give a warped perspective of the big picture. Social media is capable of this because it can give a tiny, fringe minority of every faction of people just as loud a voice as as the majority. 

The same is being done with the Independent Fundamental Baptist people. Social media has skewed the perspective of what we actually are and what direction we are going. Let me give you three things I know to be true about Independent Fundamental Baptists that may not be accurately portrayed by social media. 

1. We are not all Lunatics. 

Every group of people in the world has it’s crazies. We are no different. The problem is that it seems that the craziest of us have the largest internet presence. As one comedian said about southern people, “Southern people are not dumb, we just can’t manage to keep the dumbest of us off the TV!” 

The truth is that if you were to search “Independent Fundamental Baptist” on Youtube, you would find very little that accurately portrays what Independent Fundamental Baptists actually are.

2. We are not all going Liberal

There is a lot of diversity in the Independent Fundamental Baptist world. There are many different methods of ministry, styles of preaching, and schools of thought but one thing isn’t true: There is not a mass exodus to the left! 

Sure, there are those who are going modernistic, emergent, and contemporary, and there always will be, but the problem is that those on the far left end of the spectrum have the largest social media presence. Many would misunderstand this and think that there are hoards of young Independent Fundamental Baptists that are going into modernism. This simply isn’t so! 

There is still a vast majority of Independent Fundamental Baptists that still hold to the King James Bible, Soul Winning, Standards, Conservative Music, and Missions. The only reason you forget about this majority is simply because they are mostly silent on social media. 

3. We Generally Get Along Well

Independent Fundamental Baptists disagree amongst themselves about many things, but they overall get along very well. Social media can sometimes portray that there is some giant war in the ranks, but that isn’t so. 

Sometimes we focus on the disagreements between two men and we forget about the other thousand that get along just fine. The problem is that social media causes so much attention to the disagreements of those two men, that we lose perspective of the big picture. 

Next week. Lord willing, I will go to the Nashville area to a meeting and I will hear several men preach that have a very broad range of beliefs. Some of those men even have sharp differences amongst themselves, but they will come and preach together anyways because Independent Fundamental Baptists generally get along very well. 

In conclusion, we must remember that social media is good for so many things, but it also has a downside. The Independent Fundamental Baptists are doing great and still advancing for the cause of Christ. Don’t let any social media platform make you think otherwise. 

Spencer  

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. 

Dull of Hearing

Dear Friends,

I've had this thought on my heart for quite some time now and I wanted to share it with you.

May God speak to your heart!

His for Kenya,

Spencer