We’re in the process of being appointed with WorldVenture as long-term missionaries to South Africa where we plan to work with Media Village and Beautiful Gate doing faith based media production and compassion medical work.

At this point, I think I might define a few terms from that previous paragraph:

WORLDVENTURE: WorldVenture is a missionary sending agency, which Chris currently works for on staff as a Video Producer and Web Production Manager. It has been sending Christian missionaries around the world since 1943, over 65 years. It’s speciallizes in facilitating the process of getting to a country, supporting with services and management while in the country, evacuating the family if neccisary, and keeping them accountable on how they use donated money while overseas. Kara and I want to work through WorldVenture because we think it will help our family be most healthy and valuable in South Africa.

LONG-TERM MISSIONARY: Long-term missionaries means we’re looking at more than ten years. Of course, life can’t be guaranteed, but unlike a couple years with the Peace Corps or something, we are looking at an indefinite committment. Many of the things we hope to contribute to will take a handful of years to get traction.

MEDIA VILLAGE: Media Village began as a YWAM base running a Discipleship Training School (DTS) and media production courses. Over the last 16 years, it has developed a production branch to it’s ministry outside the YWAM envelop which has produced documentaries, public service announcements, and commercial pieces for non-profits. It has won over 60 Stone Awards, the South African equivilent to an emmy. The majority of their students are from Africa and Asia.Their vision is stated: "Training to sculpt futures by faith, and production to enhance stories told by faith."

BEAUTIFUL GATE: Beautiful Gate also began as a YWAM base and has spun off into its own non-profit. It’s first location is in Cape Town within a predominately black and colored settlement called Cross-roads and Philippi. It works within the community to distribute anti-retroviral medications and other medical aid, business development, and other outreach.

We believe that these partnerships and this calling on our life is at a convergence. All the training, work experience, and investigation is coming together in this move.

Because an endeavor like this can’t and shouldn’t be done alone, we will be connected to a number of organizations. For those that are not familiar with the missionary process or simply want to know more about our specific process below are all the different participants in this venture.

WorldVenture is our sending agency. On paper we will work for WorldVenture like independent employees. So support money will go to WorldVenture and out of that money we will recieve our monthy income, healthy coverage, insurances, ministry expense funds, etc. WorldVenture assists us with in-country logistics and things like end of the year taxes for the U.S. government. As a sending agency it plays a middle role between us and our supporters, in that, they keep us financially accountable on how money is being spent while overseas, which protects the supporter, and on the other side, they supply us with training, counseling, logistic support, networking, medical monitoring, and tax processing to keep us performing our best on the field.

Media Village is the global media ministry with whom we will partner. Though we haven’t drawn up a formal partnership document yet, we expect to participate and contribute to their projects and students. Chris brings a valuable toolchest of media skill to add to the work they are doing. Kara is a discipler and has a big bag of other skills that she can offer. We will seek to work with Media Village to find the best ways to enhance what they are doing and extend the impact of this already powerful ministry.

In addition to what we can contribute to Media Village, we also expect a significant amount of contribution through Media Village. Since Media Village partners with various other ministries, providing media services, we will be able to work with an exciting number of other ministries doing work throughout Africa and Asia.

YWAM is as much of a movement as it is a global organization. YWAM has a decentralized structure that encourages new vision and the exploration of new ways to change lives through training, convey the message of the gospel and care for those in need. They are currently operating in more than 1000 locations in over 150 countries, with a staff of nearly 16,000.

Beautiful Gate is a fantastic community outreach in Cape Town and is one of the cmmunity health groups we might work with. They are an interdenominational Christian organisation providing care and support to vulnerable children and families.

Supporting Churches come along side us to partner with the vision of medical and media work based out of South Africa. As these partnerships grow, we will see how they influence the vision and the work in South Africa.

Supporting Individuals take up the biblical calling for missions by sending us out to do the work. Even Paul and Barnabas received gifts from the churches as they went on their missionary journeys. We will also see how these relationships connect and multiply the work out of South Africa. The globalization of the world has changed what is possible in overseas partnerships.

A good question to ask is "Why go as missionaries?"

For some, being a missionary is a holy calling and should not need to be validated. We understand. After all, missionary work began with Jesus leaving heaven and coming to earth (the greatest cross-cultural effort of all time!), which then Jesus passed as a calling to his disciples who spread out all over the world, as well as, Paul’s three missionary journeys from which most of the New Testament was written.

Not bad alumni for the missionary calling!

Even still, for some it might need validation. Especially with global travel, internet, Skype, etc, why should anyone need to move overseas and live permanently in a culture when there are so many other ways these days to have impact on other cultures. I mean shoot, you can join a South Africa Facebook group and make some friends from here, right?

Well, there is no doubt that the change in the world communication and commerce has an inflence on how missions is done. For example, 100 years ago you couldn’t have imagined the category of short term missions we enjoy. The idea of traveling to another contintent for a few weeks in a summer wasn’t even a dream.

Yet even with new communications and travel possiblities, there is still need for personal presence. Sending money to Africa has it’s place and can do one kind of good. But there is another kind of good that can only be done by showing up, and in many cases not just by showing up once and going, but making a long term commitment to place. Real trust works like this no matter where in the world you are. You don’t trust a person at a bus stop that you see for a few moments, rather you trust the people who are in your life and are committed to you.

In a sense, this is the belly of the missionary issue. There are things that can’t be accomplished at a distance, nor even with a short visit … it takes time to make this kind of difference. This is the conclusion Kara and I have arrived at. The good we hope to do will take time and committment of our family, and we believe it is what God wants for us to do.