I had the opportunity to serve in New Orleans during the holiday break. While I was there, I began to see the needs of others and how God uses them in a new light. The needs are many and appeared overwhelming as we traveled through the streets of New Orleans, particularly the lower ninth ward.

As I reflected on what we accomplished during our short stay, I began to see that God used those needs to invite us to experience divine moments or divine appointments. Recognizing the significance found in seemingly insignificant tasks or conversations helped me to understand a little more clearly how the power of influence is found in relationships.

No task or assignment was insignificant. It was only insignificant if you failed to experience the moment for its significance - for God's impacting purpose… From the time I arrived to the time I left, God provided me with so many opportunities to reach out - to touch - to impact another person's life. I also recognized that I too was influenced by the humility and genuine love of those who were a part of my team.

I look forward to having the opportunity to serve with Norman, Matt and Mary Alice again. I will never forget the awesome youth group from Austin… They truly experienced God's divine moments and definitely tapped into the power of influence. They made an impact on the lives of many, including my own.

I encourage you to consider taking a short-time mission trip to experience the power of influence…. to experience the divine moments or appointments that God already has planned for you… I promise you will never be the same!

Share This

Happy New Year from all of us at COI! I can't tell you how excited I am about what God has in store for this year! Around here there is a great sense of expectancy and joy for all the great things God will do!

For me, the year started with one of my favorite things: a mission outreach! COI started a base in New Orleans in thought and word days after the hurricane. As I watched the disaster unfold, I knew immediately that we needed to make a way for outreach groups to go to the Gulf Coast.

I won't forget the day I called our Canadian director, Scott Wood to tell him what God was saying to me, to find that he basically already had his bags packed to go. Two weeks after the storm, he made his way to Alabama and Mississippi, and started a base in Bayou LaBatre.

COI was so blessed to mobilize hundreds of willing workers to the area last year. In June, after much planning and a long wait for the city to open, we started in New Orleans as well. I enjoyed my time there last week, and was blessed to see all the fruit of being involved in recovery work.

Read the rest of this entry »

Share This

One of our mission teams this summer did a survey of people in our area. They talked to people and asked them five questions. Here are the results. I have highlighted some of the statistics,

Survey results from 42 individuals. (male and female, young and old)

World events capturing your attention:

Middle East Conflict 86% Abortion 3%

Global Warming 3% Mel Gibson Problem 2%

Pornography 2% Hurricane Katrina 2%

What emotions do you experience when considering the events listed above:

Sadness 30% Fear 19%

Disgust 12% Hopelessness 12%

Upset 8% Anger 8%

Frustration 8% Stupid 3%

*notice no one expressed any positive emotions

What role does God play in the world today?

Not much 48%

Large role 40%

Unsure 12%

What role does God play in your own life?

Not much 37%

Big role 35%

None 28%

*basically 2 of 3 people indicated no real connection with God (very sad)

Is it possibly to know God personally?

Yes 69%

No 31%

* the irony is that 2/3 do not have a connection with God yet over 2/3 thought it was possible to know Him.

My conclusion: People need to understand that God desires to be involved in their lives on a daily basis. They need people to show them that God is real and that He can make a difference and wants to make a difference in their lives.

Thoughts…

Share This

What does it take to arrange a mission trip? Should you do it yourself, or use a mission sending organization?

Let's say you've got a lot of intestinal fortitude and believe you can arrange a mission trip on your own. I hope you've got some money and a lot of time on your hands. Do you have the contacts? Can you make lodging arrangements that don't cost an arm and leg? Can you feed your crew healthy meals without resorting to Micky D's? Do you have missionaries and team leaders in the area that know the local community and the needs of the people? Have you been there? Do you know if the conditions are safe? Where will you find people to help or minister to when you get there? Will you even be allowed to talk about your faith? Will any of the money you spend go to help perpetuate more mission trips? If you can't answer “YES” to all of these questions, I recommend using a missions sending agency.

If you're group is missions-minded you'll want to reach out to a person, a family or organization. Your intent is to share your faith and help in some way. With Christian Outreach International your mission trip prices include lodging and 2 meals per day. It's not 5 stars. We're not talking about tents to sleep in and beans for breakfast either. It is healthy and clean. (Besides, I don't remember anywhere in the bible where Jesus complained about room and board.) On an overseas trip, the price also includes local ministry transportation and interpreters. Yes, you'll have to make and pay for travel arrangements to get to the site. You'd have to do that on a vacation too. Christian Outreach International is a certified travel agency and can help with travel arrangements.

Given the time and expense involved, it is much more economical and productive to use an agency, like Christian Outreach International, to arrange your mission trip. All you'll need to do is set the trip up with C.O.I., then just show up at the location with your ministry supplies. C.O.I. handles everything else.

The members of a group on a mission trip and the lives the group touches are blessed. The rewards are His.

Share This

In short, a Mission Trip is a body of persons sent to reach out to the members of a community in order to propagate faith and/or carry on humanitarian work or an activity.

It might help to think of a Mission Trip as a working vacation. Your group, or individuals assembled into a group, leaves the “comfort of home” to help people, families and community organizations while using this exposure to spread the word of the Lord.

In the case of Mission Trips for Disaster Relief, specific activities may be hard to define in advance. The needs of the community changes dynamically as the situation improves. Groups may be required for food and clothing distribution, debris removal, demolition, and/or rebuilding. Specific activities, at each phase of recovery, are typically governed by the availability of finances and materials. The types of volunteers required ranges from unskilled to skilled tradesman. On this type of Mission Trip propagating faith may be secondary to the humanitarian work.

On a Mission Trip for Outreach, activities such as visiting orphanages, Indian reservations, gypsy camps, or VBS, performing drama's, singing, park ministries, and street evangelism (there are too many opportunities to list here) can be arranged in advance. This type of Mission Trip tends to leverage the strengths of the group to facilitate the propagation of faith. They also provide a rich and rewarding opportunity for ministry.

Special Mission Trips are those with a specific itinerary. Generally these provide opportunities to tour a specific location of cultural or religious significance. Immersion in the Gospel and prayer is common. Special Mission Trips are opportunities for individuals to join together with the purpose of enriching your personal faith and experience.

Now that we've explored the definition and outlined several different types, in my next post we'll dive into what it takes to arrange a Mission Trip.

Share This