(e)mergent Voyageurs

Recently I have been exploring the shift of the church in the West to more missional mindsets and practices.  It is really encouraging, especially in the Canadian context, to see this pattern reveal itself in the Body of Christ.  However, I have also begun to see (and feel) what some of the long term consequences of this shift will look like.

As a missionary with the (so called) "parachurch" organization Youth With A Mission (YWAM) for nearly 15 years, I have been able to serve in (what I an confident is) my vocation through the generous financial and prayer support of family, friends and churches.  However, in the last few years, we have seen a dramatic drop in our support, which we are now realizing is nearing a $10,000 annual drop.  We've been able to make some of this up through renting (though our tenents are missionaries, so we give them a significant break) and my writing (which is not consistent enough to be sustainable).  This has happened as the personal cost of being in ministry has went up.

I started doing some digging and found that one major factor for the drop has been that churches (and people in those churches) are giving more towards their own missional endeavours, thus not giving as much to outside missionaries, organizations and projects.  As many people believe that parachurch organizations exsist only because the church isn't doing all it is called to do, the result is that few feel they have any responsibility for the well being of those groups or individuals.  And so missionaries everywhere are seeing this decline.

Please don't get me wrong.  I am not saying people are selfishly or callously cutting us loose.  I am excited to see churches and Christians owning their missional role in the Body of Christ.  While I might argue that we need to find a way for these too often alienated groups (local vs. para) to work together for a mutually beneficial solution, this does not seem to be happening at this stage.  Again, I do not say this critically, but the power is with the local church and, unless they decide otherwise, this problem is not something to get many people's attention.

On a personal note, the result of this shift has led my wife & I the closest we have ever been to leaving the mission.  We entered into our calling with the assumption (perhaps naive) that the systems and relational supports that launched us into our ministry would always be there.  As adoption is likely to be the only way we will ever have children, and as the cost is so high, we face the possibility that our dream of a family will also be casualty.  So I find myself 30 years old with a high school diploma, few marketable skills, increasing debt and a ministry community who depends on our leadership.  I am tired, confused and, for the first time, genuinely scared.  We are not blaming anyone.  If anyone gets the blame, it is ourselves.

I truly believe that a coming trend that the emerging/missional church will need to respond to is how to honour and care for those people who have been faithful in older systems of missional service that, perhaps, are not longer sustainable given the new shift.  I know it is a real problem already for ourselves and for others in similar situations.

Which leads me to a small announcement: given the overwhelming stress we are under at this time, I am trying to find ways to take the burden off, and as a result will be taking a break from blogging here for an indeterminate period of time.  I hope I will be back soon, but I can't say for sure.  Your continued prayer is needed.