Hey guys!

Here are three things to spark your inner missional flame:

💥 INSPIRED BY

Art School Dilemma

I once went on a CRU summer trip to New Zealand during my college years. I had contemplated even joining staff because I saw the impact campus ministry had on myself and others.

The trip’s mission was simple: many students from unreached people groups studied abroad in New Zealand. This would function as a third space to try and share Christ with them.

I remember attempting the typical "drive-by evangelism" strategy. The drive-by approach was where you'd intrude upon a stranger, catch them off-guard, and try to quickly share the gospel.

This method fell shortly as quick as it does in America. I guess awkwardness is a universal language.

But CRU had something special in their back pocket: Soularium cards.

Soularium is a bundle of 50 5” X 7” high gloss print cards featuring an assortment of creative photography. We'd lay out these cards all over a table in the commons area at the university and allowed the imagery to do the work itself.

Numerous people were drawn in to inquire what we were doing.

Upon telling them we were Christians from America looking to share Jesus with others, some turned away. But others did not.

Some leaned into the images.

We asked a few open ended questions:

• Which image best represents your life right now?
• Which image best represents where you hope your life will go?
• Which image best represents the greatest issue in the world?
• Which image best represents your greatest problem?

For those who seemed sustained in this dialogue, we would then use the cards to walk through a simple gospel presentation.

While I could not tell you the number of converts or baptisms that came from this, I will say with confidence that the nuance of the arts builds bridges of trust with strangers half a world away.

🛠️ EQUIPPED BY

Daily Missions Trips

For some reason, every time I travel to another country on a “missions trip,” my mind is framed a certain way. I am preparing to rough it. I imagine myself encountering situations which will require flexibility. I ready myself to try different foods, customs, or rituals.

On mission trips, I’ve got little of my possessions with me, mainly the essentials.

In all this preparation, we enter what we might call, “missions trip mode.” That is, the mindset we tell ourselves, “The purpose of the next ten days is to serve, not be served.”

So we live accordingly for those ten days.

But often, when I return home from a trip, I tend to turn off that mode.

But what if I didn’t? What if we lived everyday in “mission trip mode?”

🚀 SENT WITH

Calvin Seerveld