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A
40 Day Journey
In
God’s Training Manual
For
Volunteer Missions
In
Appalachia
You can download the entire 40 Day Journey
by clicking here.
File is in PDF format.
(Right
click on your mouse and then click on "save as.")
All rights reserved.
Southern Baptist
churches and other agencies may personalize
the 40 Day Training Manual
this manual and reproduce it in limited quantities.
All inquiries should be addressed to bbarker@arministry.org.
The Manual is available in
Word upon request.
 Bill
Barker, the Director of A.R.M. has just released online a new
devotional book titled,
Discovering the Kingdom of God: 31 Daily Devotions on the Kingdom of
God. In the foreword, Dr.
Carlisle Driggers, retired State Executive Director for the South
Carolina Baptist Convention writes, "[Bill] has poured himself into
a renewed, careful search of the scriptures, and the results of his
studies are so insightful and inspiring. I am certain every one who
reads the devotionals will be theologically enlightened and
spiritually strengthened." Click here
to read or download Discovering the Kingdom of God.
Click here to
download the file for the Kingdom of God devotions in a
smaller version on 8.5 by 5.5 inch paper. If you
would like the file either in Publisher or in a "ready for
printing format", please contact Bill Barker at
bbarker@arministry.org.
If you have difficulty
downloading the file and would like to have the file emailed or
mailed to you, please contact us at
bbarker@arministry.org
and give us your physical mailing address and telephone number or
call 606-316-4298. The desire of ARM is that you have a
wonderful missions experience, and at the same time see many of the
lost in Appalachia come to faith in Christ and the saved
strengthened in their faith.
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Sample
Days - Click on each day to view the devotional material
Day 1 - Missions Is
Contagious
Day 2 - The Kingdom of
God
Day 3 - You are a
Missionary!
Day 15
- Cultures in Collision
Day 34
- Making a Long-Term Commitment
Day 1
Missions Is Contagious
"The former account I made, O Theophilus, of all that Jesus began both to
do and teach, until the day in which He was taken up, after He through the
Holy Spirit had given commandments to the apostles whom He had chosen" (Acts
1:1-2).
You are about to embark on a journey that could change the direction of your
life. The writer of the Book of Acts was a Gentile medical doctor and
historian named Luke, who set out to research the life of Christ for a man
named Theophilus, a Gentile convert (Luke 1:1-4; Acts 1:1-2). As the early
church moved from being mission minded to being mission active, Luke found
himself going with the church on mission.
This change is first seen in Acts 16:10 where Luke joined with Paul at
Philippi and then stayed there until Paul returned from Jerusalem. The
emphasis in Acts moves from “they” and “he” to “we.” Luke, in researching
the life of Christ and the early church growth movement, finds himself
moving from doctrine to duty, from going to church to doing church, from
researching missions to being on mission.
As you and your team prepare for your mission trip, be forewarned that a
mission trip to Appalachia is contagious. It is something more than the
beautiful mountains and clear flowing streams; it is something more than the
friendly people and smiling children; and, it is something more than the
vast unreached cities, small towns, and rural communities in Appalachia. It
is the act of obedience to Christ who has called us to be on mission for
Him, and that is contagious.
In the Great Commission Jesus commanded every believer to witness (Matthew
28:16-20; Acts 1:8) at home, to our neighbors, to the next city and state –
in fact the Great Commission is all-inclusive. We are to witness to
everyone, and when we do, whether it is in a Backyard Bible Club, painting a
house or church, driving nails while building a new church, or distributing
a box of food to a needy family. We are witnessing and that is contagious.
The Watsons found missions to be contagious. They were a happy Christian
family living in South Carolina. That was until the call from their pastor
explaining that the church was preparing to go to West Virginia to help
build a new church building and they needed an electrician. Mike, who was an
electrician, testifies that until that moment they were so content with life
that it did not take as much religion for them as most Christians; an
occasional Sunday morning worship fix was adequate. Reluctantly Mike and
Phyllis agreed to go and help with the mission project. Something happened
to the Watsons during that week; they caught a “bug” and found that they
could not shake it. Returning home, they discovered that occasional church
no longer filled the void in their life. Soon they were attending every
available activity at church and talking about the next mission trip. Today,
after serving several years as a pastor in West Virginia, Mike is a North
American Mission Board (NAMB) appointed missionary serving as the Director
of Missions for the Upper Ohio Valley Baptist Association in the northern
panhandle of West Virginia.
The Watsons story is repeated many times across Appalachia, as well as
across the mission fields in our world. Mission’s is contagious. There is
something that happens as Christians, in obedience to Christ, move out into
the mission field and begin to serve with the unique gifts God has given
them – whether it is to teach, do drama, or use their hands in servant
evangelism. Something happens when we are part of a team that has the joy of
seeing a lost man or woman, a lost teenager, or a lost boy or girl come to
faith in Christ. Something happens when we repair the home of a widow on a
fixed income and she, with tears streaming down her face, gives praise to
God for answered prayer. Something happens when you paint the face of a
child at a block party and hand them a back-to-school pack and that child
says, “Thank you.” Yes, something happens inside you that will forever
change your life. Mission's is contagious!
Today, as you pray, ask the Father to use you and your team this year in a
special way. If you are brave and daring, ask the Heavenly Father to let you
catch the “mission fever.” Isaiah caught it.
To learn more about how Isaiah caught the contagious missions fever read
Isaiah chapter 6.
Day 2
The Kingdom of God
"To whom He also presented Himself alive after His suffering by many
infallible proofs, being seen by them during forty days and speaking of the
things pertaining to the kingdom of God" (Acts 1:3, NKJV).
Preparing to go on a mission trip can be as exciting as the actual trip
itself. First, there is the discovery stage. Here you sense God is calling
you to be on mission for Him in a particular location. Then you (or your
church) begin to gather information about the missions project and the
people you will be working with. Telephone calls are made, emails exchanged,
a visit made to the location of the receiving church, information is
exchanged, the discovery stage soon gives way to the preparation stage.
As you move into the preparation stage, a sense of excitement grips you and
your team. More and more people get involved. Materials are gathered, team
members recruited, money raised, and the whole church is involved through
prayer and offering words of encouragement. It is in this process of
preparation that you begin your journey through the Book of Acts, preparing
yourself spiritually, for the "mission" God has called you to do. Your
mission is about the kingdom of God.
The Book of Acts starts and ends with the Kingdom of God. It opens with a
description of the ministry of Jesus during the forty days between His
resurrection and His ascension to Heaven as He talked to His apostles “of
things concerning the kingdom of God” (1:3). At the end of Acts, we find the
apostle Paul under house arrest in Rome, receiving visitors and preaching to
them with urgency the Kingdom of God (28:31). In fact, the Kingdom of God is
referred to eight times in Acts.
What is the Kingdom of God? Peter Wagner gives an excellent definition in
his book, Acts of the Holy Spirit. "The kingdom of God is present, first and
foremost, wherever Jesus Christ is acknowledged and served as King. It is
not a geopolitical territory with recognized boundaries. It could not join
the United Nations. It is a kingdom not of this world but nevertheless in
this world. It is essentially a spiritual kingdom; but it also has tangible,
visible manifestations."
He continues, "In another sense, the Kingdom of God is future as well as
present. There will be a day when Jesus "delivers the kingdom to God the
Father, when He puts an end to all rule and all authority and power. For He
must reign till He has put all enemies under His feet. The last enemy that
will be destroyed is death" (1 Corinthians 15:24-26). As long as death is
with us, the future Kingdom has not yet arrived.1 Until that day, we live in
a world where God has called us to advance His Kingdom by proclaiming the
good news of Jesus Christ.
Whether you will be driving nails in a new church building, going door to
door surveying a community, teaching a Bible class, repairing a home, or
passing out food boxes, you are on mission advancing the Kingdom of God.
Your mission trip is all about kingdom business. You will be pointing men
and women, teenagers, boys and girls to Jesus, who offers them a life better
than they ever dreamed of, abundant life (John 10:10). However, keep in
mind, as you advance the Kingdom of God, you will be invading Satan's
kingdom. Every time a lost person is saved, every time you become salt and
light, you extend the Kingdom of God. Therefore, during this time of
preparation be alert to Satan's tactics to keep you from invading his
kingdom (2 Corinthians 4:4; Ephesians 2:2; 1 John 5:19).
The weapons to conduct this spiritual warfare are spiritual, not carnal. In
the Lord's Prayer, Jesus taught His disciples to pray daily, "Your kingdom
come, Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven" (Matthew 6:10). Today,
and everyday in the weeks ahead, let me encourage you to make this your
daily prayer.
Day 3
You are a Missionary!
“You shall be witnesses to Me … (you will tell everyone, everywhere about
Me)” (Acts 1:8)
With tears streaming unashamedly down his cheeks, a middle-aged man came up
to me at the end of a presentation on Appalachian Regional Ministry (ARM).
That evening, in a middle Tennessee church, I had placed a strong emphasis
on the importance of building construction and home repair projects while
doing missions in Appalachia.
I had stated that each man, woman, and teenager who worked in construction
or home repair project was a witness and their witnessing role was just as
important as the preacher who preached, the volunteer who taught a Backyard
Bible Club, or the door-to-door surveyor who witnessed and invited the
community to Christ and extended an invitation to attend the local Southern
Baptist church. The uniqueness of missions is that God takes our abilities,
talents, and spiritual gifts and uses them to His glory. I concluded by
challenging the congregation to take their skills and offer them to God to
be used as a witness.
With an obvious speech impediment, the man explained to me that nine years
earlier he had felt God calling him to the ministry, yet with his speech
impediment he had wondered how he could ever be a witness for Christ. That
evening it had become clear, God had shown him how he could be an effective
witness. He went on to explain that he was a professional house painter and
that evening he saw the value of his witness with a paintbrush. He could do
servant evangelism. He could be a witness.
A church from Asheville, North Carolina had taken on the task of repairing a
church building in North Georgia. The church was in a growing community, but
lacked the funds to repair their facilities. Now a sister church had come to
help and while the men painted and repaired the building the women and youth
had been busy with Backyard Bible Clubs and a community survey. Each evening
revival services were held and the community responded by attending.
In the coalfields of Eastern Kentucky and West Virginia, Southern Baptists
were arriving to repair the homes of flood victims, often in communities
that had no Southern Baptist church. The homes belonged to families on fixed
incomes. Leaking roofs were replaced, sagging porches repaired, damaged
walls restored and the Good News of Jesus was shared and people were
trusting Christ.
In West Virginia and Ohio, teams of builders were constructing new church
buildings for small struggling congregations and for new church starts,
enabling the gospel to be spread throughout Appalachia. Each new church
building stands tall, offering a beacon of light and hope to a lost
community.
Jesus said, “You,” meaning each one of us, “shall be witnesses to Me,” that
is we shall tell His story to everyone. Witnessing for Christ by sharing the
glorious salvation found in Him is the great task of the believer. This is
understandable, for when clearly seen, no greater truth exists in the entire
universe. Men and women can now live forever; they can now be delivered from
sin, death, and hell.
It is interesting that Jesus did not use the word “witness” as a command.
Rather, He implied that it is a natural result of the Holy Spirit within a
person. Jesus says very simply that a Spirit-filled person has power and
becomes a witness for Him throughout the world. This is important, for it
makes power and witnessing trademarks of Christian believers. A genuine
believer possesses both the Spirit and power in his life and becomes by
nature, a witness for the Lord.
Today pray that God will open a door of opportunity for you to be a witness.
Surrender your talents, skills, and abilities to Him and ask Him to use them
as a witness. Looking ahead to the mission trip, ask God to provide
opportunities for you to witness for Him through the power of His Holy
Spirit. Then pray for 13 million persons living in Appalachia who are lost
and in desperate need of salvation. God is calling you to be His witness in
Appalachia.
Day 15
Cultures in Collision
“Now in those days, when the number of the disciples was
multiplying, there arose a complaint against the Hebrews by the
Hellenists, because their widows were neglected in the daily
distribution” (Acts 6:1).
How do we deal with cultural issues? In Acts 6:1, we read the
account of two cultures colliding within the church. The first
culture was the Hebrews, who were Jews born and reared in
Palestine. They spoke Aramaic, the language that had come down
from their ancient Hebrew language. They completely rejected all
Gentile and Greek culture, and used only the Hebrew Bible in its
original Hebrew language. The Hebrews or Palestinian Jews were
so inclusive and closely-knit; they despised all Gentiles and
the Gentile culture. They actually despised and cursed the
Gentiles, believing that God had cursed them for eternity. This
hatred even included the Grecian Jews who had been relocated to
other lands by the Romans.
The second group was the Grecian Jews who were known as the
Hellenists. These Jews had been scattered, deported, and
dispersed all over the world by the Romans. Many of them would
return for the great Feasts of Pentecost and the Passover.
Apparently, some had been converted on the day of Pentecost or
thereafter, and had either delayed their return home or decided
to move back to Jerusalem. The Grecian or Hellenist Jews had
adopted the Greek culture, spoke the Greek language, and used
and read the Greek Bible (the Septuagint).
In all probability, this is what lies at the root of the problem
mentioned here. The Hebrew Jews, having always been taught to
reject and despise anything Grecian, were likely having
difficulty getting rid of all their prejudice. No doubt, God had
worked in their hearts to cleanse them of prejudice, but they
apparently were still hanging on to some feelings against the
Hellenists. Perhaps they felt that the Hellenists were not due
as much attention or as many rights as they were. Whatever the
problem, Luke records for us the account of the two cultures
colliding and how the issues were resolved.
The Appalachian region is an area tied together by certain
economic, political, and sociological factors that fashion the
Appalachian culture. Within that region, there are multiple
subcultures. While most Southern Baptists relate well to larger
cities and the southern portion of Appalachia, many have trouble
relating to the central and northern sections, especially in the
coalfields in Eastern Kentucky or Southern West Virginia where
life has been hard and until recently isolated. If we are not
careful our cultural differences can divide us. Or we can, like
the early church, look for ways to build bridges that will allow
us to effectively do ministry together1. In Acts 6:7 we read,
“Then the word of God spread, and the number of the disciples
multiplied greatly in Jerusalem, and a great many of the priests
were obedient to the faith”.
As you prepare for your mission trip, let me suggest to you some
items to add to your packing list.
Pray God will use these items to enable you to better relate to
the people you will be ministering with.
-
A toothpick - to
remind you to pick out the good qualities in other people
(Matt. 7:1).
-
A rubber band -
to remind you to be flexible; things might not always go the
way you want, but it will work out (Rom. 8:28).
-
A band-aid - to
remind you to heal hurt feelings, yours or someone else's
(Col. 3:12-14).
-
An eraser - To
remind you that everyone makes mistakes, and it's OK
(Gen.50:15-21).
-
Chewing gum - to
remind you to stick with it and you can accomplish anything
(Phil 4:13).
-
A candy kiss -
to remind you that everyone needs a kiss or a hug everyday
(1 John 4:7).
-
A pencil - to
remind you to list your blessings everyday (Eph.1:3).
-
A tea bag - to
remind you to relax daily and go over that list of blessings
(1 Thessalonians 5:18).
Day 34
Making a Long-Term Commitment
“Now the Lord spoke to Paul in the night by a vision, “Do not be afraid, but
speak, and do not keep silent; for I am with you, and no one will attack you
to hurt you; for I have many people in this city.” And he continued there a
year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (Acts 18:9-11).
“And this continued for two years (in Ephesus), so that all who dwelt in
Asia heard the word of the Lord Jesus, both Jews and Greeks” (Acts 19:10).
Paul was anxious to get the message of the Gospel to the ends of the world
as Jesus had commanded. His method was to visit a city, locate the local
synagogue, and using it as a base, teaching the people the Gospel. If a
synagogue was not available, he found an audience and declared the message
of salvation. Never staying long in one place, Paul and his friends carried
the Gospel to a number of strategic cities. However, when Paul got to
Corinth the Lord slowed him down, gave him a word of encouragement, and left
Paul there for eighteen months. Then shortly after that Paul arrived in
Ephesus, where he stayed for two years.
Modern-day volunteer missionaries still follow Paul’s model through
short-term and long-term missions. A short-term mission trip is one day to
six months in duration. A long-term mission trip is one that lasts longer
than six months. Many are also following Paul’s example by entering into
partnerships with the church or association where they are doing missions.
If your church has not entered into a partnership with the place where you
are doing missions; encourage them to do so.
Each year many churches come to Appalachia and participate in mission
opportunities. Some go back to the same area year after year, while others
like a butterfly move from place to place, seldom going back to the same
area they were in the year before. Although both types of churches are
important in missions, the church that makes a long-term commitment to do
missions at the same church year after year has proven to be the more
effective model.
Entering into a long-term partnership1 has many benefits that will enable
you to be more effective in your mission work. In Corinth and Ephesus, Paul
discovered these benefits. The first benefit is relationship building. As
you go back to the same church year after year, you get to know the people
and they get to know you. A bond of trust begins to develop. In Appalachia,
we call this the four-cups of coffee rule.
Year 1: I will share a cup of coffee with you out of obligation for
you are a stranger and the conversation will be superficial.
Year 2: I
will share a cup of coffee with you as a guest, but I am still
not sure about you or why you are here.
Year 3: I
will share a cup of coffee with you as a special guest. The
conversation will still be superficial.
Year 4: I
will share a cup of coffee with you as a friend. The
conversation will move beyond being superficial, maybe.
The second benefit is leadership development. Paul’s time in
both Corinth and Ephesus allowed him the opportunity to train
and develop leaders to do the work of ministry, thus multiplying
himself. A key objective of any long-term partnership must
include leadership development. A third benefit is the
encouragement you are able to give and to receive. In both
cities, Paul encountered individuals who became encouragers to
him as he became an encourager to them. Read Acts 18-19 and note
the mutual encouragement that took place. A fourth benefit is
that a long-term partnership enables you to do year-round
missions. You get to know the needs, the people, and out of that
come opportunities to work together during the year. While there
are many other benefits to a long-term partnership, I trust that
you will seriously consider entering into one with a church,
association, or ministry center in Appalachia.
Today as you pray, pray specifically for the place where you
will be going on your mission trip. Ask the Father to open up
opportunities for you to begin building long-term relationships
with the people you will be serving with in Appalachia.
“I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for
all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership
in the gospel from the first day until now, being confident of
this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to
completion until the day of Christ Jesus” (Philippians 1:3-6 NIV).
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