\u201cIndividuals deciding to trust in Christ are converted mainly through long-term relationships with Christians. \u2018Relationships are very important in the Spanish society\u2019, explains Christian and Missionary Alliance field director Raymond Ebbert. It\u2019s critical to personalize our communication of the gospel. The effective sharing of the good news is not just a transmission of theological truths. What is much more effective is communication through a previously existing relationship. That takes time, hard work and patience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u00a0Establishing enduring relationships through a \u201cReverse Mission\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n One manner of developing relationships is to bring the mission field \u201chome\u201d literally. By importing the mission field to the homes of Christians, Basques are able to see, hear, and feel the gospel through the committed \u201clove\u201d of their Christian family.<\/p>\n \u00a0The American family as \u201cPioneer Missionary\u201d<\/strong><\/p>\n The home is an embassy where Christ\u2019s ambassadors meet the \u201cmission field\u201d. God willing a relationship that goes beyond the period of time spent with the family will grow through the commitment of the Christian family to maintain it. Internet, phone, letters and future visits are all ways to demonstrate a commitment to continued relationship. As the Ebbert quote above stated, the spread of the good news is more effective through existing relationships and that takes time, hard work and patience.<\/p>\n When the mission field comes home, Basques aren\u2019t the only ones who see more clearly the Kingdom of Christ. The short-term mission family sees Christ at work through the call to host. They continue to see Christ at work as they pray for their new adoptee. The joy of seeing lights go on in the Basque student\u2019s head encourages the family that they are serving as an instrument of God. If that is not enough, the awareness of Basques as an unreached people is made personal and can be a matter of continued prayer.<\/p>\n \u00a0The Church\u2019s role<\/strong><\/p>\n In addition to the family others who are brought into the process grow up in their understanding of reaching the lost. Any people the family brings in as support staff (prayer support, administrative support, etc.) come into contact with the Basques personified by one child. The family\u2019s church can also become a vital part of this short-term ministry through its very different worship, the witness of its fellowship and its commitment to pray for any families serving as short-term missionaries.<\/p>\n \u00a0A challenging but rewarding mission<\/strong><\/p>\n This isn\u2019t an easy mission. A family must care for and demonstrate a committed love to a stranger in only 30 days. A family must live out its imperfect life in front of a stranger. A family must readjust dreams as that stranger begins to live with them. But it is a rewarding mission. If the family truly believes that God has brought this individual from this unreached people group into their home, the Lord can be seen in all that happens.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" \u201cIndividuals deciding to trust in Christ are converted mainly through long-term relationships with Christians. \u2018Relationships are very important in the Spanish society\u2019, explains Christian and Missionary Alliance field director Raymond Ebbert. It\u2019s critical to personalize our communication of the gospel. The effective sharing of the good news is not just a transmission of theological truths. … Continue reading “REVERSE MISSION: Relationships are the key”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":0,"parent":13,"menu_order":3,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":""},"class_list":["post-29","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=29"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/29\/revisions"}],"up":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/13"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/joyministries.net\/blt\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=29"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}