Keep that Fire Burning - Continue to Serve Globally

It is the tendency of fire to go out. Just light a campfire and walk away. If you don’t pay attention to it, the fire will die. You have to continually add more wood to it, stoke it, and adjust the coals. If you don’t, what was burning hot will turn cold.

The same is true in the wake of your short-term mission trip. The burning you felt inside from the joy in the face of the nationals you served, the camaraderie of the teammates you served alongside, the answers to prayer you witnessed personally, and the changes you told Jesus you’d make in your life as a result of all you saw and experienced on your short-term mission trip will grow cold and dark if you don’t stoke the embers.  
How do you keep that passion burning? How do you keep the fire of change you were so determined to make while you were on the field glowing? One way is to continue serving globally. You might be thinking, “But, God hasn’t called me to be a vocational missionary!”  Maybe not, but God did take and use you on your short-term mission trip and He can use you once again.

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International Community on your Doorstep

You just returned from experiencing life in another culture and the images will be replaying in your mind for some time. What will you do with these experiences now? On your mission trip you expected to interact with different sights, sounds and smells, but you left that behind when you returned to the US…or did you?

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The Gospel & International Studies: Can We Make the Connection?

By Douglas Shaw, International Students, Inc

Globalization, one of today’s trendiest buzzwords, is nevertheless an amazingly potent force. The world economy has become porous beyond imagination. Existing transnational alliances, treaty organizations, and long-standing boundaries are now fading in significance. The word “Europe” now refers to a single, economic commonwealth. The bottom line? The same global upheavals, which are forcing international business to become so fast-paced and responsive, demand that we “spreaders” of the gospel do the same.

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Are You a Catalyst? ... Mobilizing Your Church

Catalyst is defined by Merriam-Webster as: a substance that enables a chemical reaction to proceed at a usually faster rate or under different conditions (as at a lower temperature) than otherwise possible. You have come home from your short-term mission trip on fire and passionate about the world or at least the ministries you served. But maybe you came home to a church that wasn’t as passionate or engaged. What if God wants to use you as a catalyst to cause a reaction in your church even though they don’t have the same passion?

Just like each individual has been given different skills, gifts, interests, personality and experience, God has also given each local church a unique mix of gifts, interests, skills and passions. This unique mix could also be referred to as their DNA. As a result, God calls and equips each local church to join in different aspects of His mission work.

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