|
Introduction:
In 1961, during my first year of college, my wife and I decided to visit our good friends Victor and Gloria Richards, founders of Vino Nuevo, who were new missionaries at that time, working in the border town of Juarez, Mexico. We had no idea what lay in store for us as we drove our young family of three, to El Paso, Texas. Our first daughter Jennifer was 13 months old at the time. Later that fall, after spending every day and most evenings visiting in hundreds of Mexican homes and participating in dozens of meetings, we had a dream for Mexico and we decided to come back to Kansas City, Kansas, the town of our origins, pack up our belongings and return to Mexico. I tell you this to ask you two questions: Understanding the value of our dreams: Can you imagine the value of that dream? Do you think that we knew the value of that dream?
The correct answer to both of those questions is NO. No, you cannot imagine the value of that dream and neither could we. To illustrate just how much the dream is worth today I need to share some of the developments that have occurred since the dream began. By way of introduction I must tell you that our leadership focus in missions has always been to train native Christians to fill every leadership position possible. Also, we dedicated many resources and time to educating the hundreds of Mexican orphans and abandoned children that we raised in several different vocational skills. Lastly, we spent three years grooming our senior assistant director, Josue Lopez, (See trailer of Emmanuel Ministries video documentary) to take over the mission and to continue the ministry as God would lead him to do. Our first missionary tour there lasted twelve years. During this time we were blessed with outstanding financial success in raising the necessary funds to accomplish the vision we had set out to do. I cannot tell you how many thousands of miles Marilyn and I traveled with our children to reach out to the Christian communities to which we were introduced during our years as full-time missionaries. Later, after our children were old enough to go to school and needed to stay home, I traveled alone, mostly by commercial flight. Then in 1965, four years after starting the mission in Juarez I became a private pilot and began to use a small airplane to reach out to more congregations in the same amount of time. This was so dynamic; that the first year we used a small airplane to do our mission promotions efforts we doubled the mission income. It is a testimony to God's faithfulness and unmerited favor that during those first twelve years we were able to raise over $5,000,000 million in 2004 dollars. More importantly, the native ministry leadership continues at those same levels today. Later we returned in August of 1989 to continue a different work of missions, one of consulting and encouraging those that we had left in leadership positions, such as Josue Lopez, Jose Compean and also many other native Christian leaders in the Juarez, Mexico area. It was during this later period that we were able to assist the men's ministry outreach of Promise Keepers among the Spanish speaking men and Pastors in El Paso, Texas and Juarez, Mexico. Marilyn and I left Mexico as full-time missionaries in April of 1974. It was late. We four adults, Josue & Soledad Lopez, Marilyn and I, surrounded by our five children, had been sitting together in a major truck stop, just off of what is now called the Patriot Free Way, North of El Paso, Texas, for over three hours. We were saying our good-byes, for how long we did not know, but this was the culmination of three years of preparing Josue Lopez to take over the full management and leadership responsibilities of the mission work we had started and worked in together, for so many years. No one wanted to get up and signify the end of our interlude-the memories of the past and the dreams of the future-and offer that last embrace before departing. The inevitable finally came and we loaded our five children into a car, which had been loaned to us. We were making our way back into the American culture, we had left thirteen years previous. We had no idea how much growth would occur, how many new frontiers would be conquered and how many lives would be touched by the efforts that we had put into our dream-only God could know. Does that remind you of something you may have also experienced? Today there are dozens of churches throughout Mexico that have either been founded from the seeds that were sown and that were cultivated by those we left in leadership positions or that have been greatly assisted by the work of those same leaders. There is now a fully functional medical center at the mission, directed by Dr. Jesus Lopez and a fully functional dentist service with two modern suites directed by Dr. Armando and Karen Urive. The local medical team came from the roots of the native leadership, born and educated in Mexico. The young couple who are now in charge of the Dentist ministry are native to Juarez and as you can see, both husband and the wife are doctors of dentistry, educated in some of Mexico's finest schools. Over a thousand short term missionaries, many of whom are complete families come every year and use the mission facilities as a staging area for their short term mission activities in the local and surrounding areas of Juarez, Mexico. This same mission point also has several economic centers that provide work and entrepreneurial training for local individuals in the Torreon, Coahuila area of Mexico, who desire to make a change in their lives from a labor based existence to a capital and more residual income based existence. It is all the more significant when one realizes that Torreon, Coahuila is 600 miles to the south of Juarez. This is a tremendous commitment to the Juarez mission to support and minister to this large and very needy central agricultural area of Mexico. Also, in the Torreon, Coahuila area the mission sponsors farming activities with several independent Christian farmers in the Rio Nazas area of the state of Coahuila, which runs southeast from Torreon, Coahuila. The mission also supports a broom factory located on the ranch La Victoria, about 30 miles east of Torreon, Coahuila. All of these centers of activity are open for short term missionary visits and for evangelization work in the areas impacted by these Christian examples of ministering to the whole man. Native Missionaries rise up from the Children's Home:
A new generation of native missionaries, have come from those who grew up and graduated from the children's home. Jose and Clara Compean, grew up in the mission, later became sweethearts, were married and then studied business in the US. They later used the practical skills that they had learned in the children's home to open a piñata factory in Marin County, California. They were the first to introduce the piñata to the financial district of San Francisco. Later they moved back to Juarez and started another piñata factory for the older children of the mission and for other young people in the area. Today they have one of the largest outreach missions in northern Mexico for young people who have dropped out of the education and productivity cycle, Juventud Con Vision. They reach out to those that are from age sixteen to above twenty two, who need to be revitalized in their visions and dreams. They present to them the gospel, teach them spiritual values and principles, reintroduce them to the education they have missed and they also teach them to be entrepreneurs and give them opportunities to learn businesses and even to start their own businesses. These two mission outreach stations are tremendous examples of the Pauline concept of missions that practice the concept of "tent making," not only to assist in sustaining the missionary effort but more importantly to teach others the value of self support and entrepreneurial skills. Missionary work in third world countries is often reduced to what Hudson Taylor; the famous missionary to China in the 19th Century, said was "Rice Christian evangelism." If you gave them a little rice they would become "Christians." He revolutionized the missionary approach in his day by identifying with the native population in dress, language and lifestyle. He refused to give assistance where it was not absolutely needed, but rather he taught his converts the value of work and of personal responsibility. His testimony greatly influenced our own leadership style and commitment in Mexico. All we did in the beginning was to set the vision, lay the biblical foundations and put the dream in motion. God raised up others to follow and to embrace their unique role in His purposes for them. The reality is that the dream is bigger than we could have ever known. The dream has now become the dream of others who see it even bigger than we did-yet they also will never know just how big the dream really is! The question for us that we must answer at this point is this: What would have happened if we had buried our dream like the servant who received the one talent or he who received the one mina, and had never returned to Mexico? More importantly, the question for you that you must answered at this point is this: What will happen to your dream if you bury it? The basic dream:
RMIC is the acronym for Reformation Ministries International Corporation, founded in the spring of 2004. RMIC is the beginning of another dream that Marilyn and I have. Yet, it is not just a vehicle for our dream but for the dreams of many others. Perhaps those of you who have a dream to be a missionary or to be involved with a dynamic missionary enterprise, will find RMIC to be your vehicle for realizing the success of your dreams. RMIC has mission contacts and outlets for ministry in many parts of Mexico, Central America and even in Hong Kong and Southeast Asia. How big the dream is and what value it represents, we are not given to know? Only God knows. The tent making and Business as Mission:
We have introduced the concept of Paul's testimony of making tents to supply the larger portion of all his needs and those who worked with him. He did not refuse donations for he knew that the worker is worthy of his hire. However, most of his ministry was supplied by the work of his own hands and others who worked with him in the tent making business. We need to introduce you to a similar but strategically different economic reality within the Kingdom. This is the Business as Mission reality or BAM as it is referred to. BAM is similar to and has many overlaps with Tent Making but the big difference is in the strategic application. Tent making can also function as BAM. Let me explain. Jeremiah 29:4-7:
"This is what the Lord Almighty, the God of Israel, says to all those I carried into exile from Jerusalem to Babylon: 'Build houses and settle down; plant gardens and eat what they produce. Marry and have sons and daughters; find wives for your sons and give your daughters in marriage, so that they too may have sons and daughters. Increase in number there; do not decrease. Also seek the peace and prosperity of the city to which I have carried you into exile'"(Jeremiah 29:4-7, NIV). Here we see the Lord telling Israel through Jeremiah to do Business As Mission in Babylon so as to bless Babylon and to bless themselves. Mats Tunehag:
"The BAM concept is holistic in nature, believing that God has the power to transform people and communities; spiritually, economically and socially. The dichotomy between sacred and secular is not Biblical, but this false dichotomy has deeply affected our views on work, business, church and missions. BAM is a part of a wider global movement, recognizing and responding to God's call to take the whole gospel to the whole man in the whole world." Mats Tunehag has been involved in developing the BAM concept globally; nationally, regionally and internationally BAM networks and consultations. Some of his first lessons learned were in Central Asia, where he has been involved since the late 80's. He also initiated and convened a global think tank on BAM under the auspices of the Lausanne-movement. See www.lausanne.org So it is easy to see how that one could have a source of income from an investment or from a privately owned company and not actually be witnessing of their faith and principles through that company. In our concept of both tent making and business as mission we strongly believe in the principle of witnessing to all those that we serve with the integrity and the quality of our service. When we are given the opportunity we are also able to make a personal application of our faith for the benefit of those we serve. I am personally convinced that Paul's own business experience was more than just making money. We in the Christian community have coined the phrase "tent making" to differentiate between someone who was self supported and someone who received donations. In truth, Paul's business was both. Like our own business experience, he received his income from the business but he also testified with his business and it opened many doors in diverse cultures that otherwise would have remained closed. There were also others with whom he shared this same experience. You will recall Lydia, the lady who had a business selling cloth that was dyed purple, a very expensive material in those days. Business as Mission:
At the moment, the accounting industry is our main source of tent making income and BAM activities. To simplify our conversation we will drop the term "tent making" and use only the business as mission or BAM terminology. Through this vehicle, Hatfield & Company, Inc., we have been able to offer many years of ministry to others without charge. Like Paul, we do not refuse donations, as you all can tell from our work here with RMIC. However, we know from experience that the greatest untapped resources for God's work of the Kingdom lay not in donations, but in the concept of "Business as Mission." Thus, one of our priorities is to establish a core group of BAM partners who will work with us in the process of acquiring and building their own residual income and standard business income. It will take a little time for each household that joins with us, to realize the levels of residual income that will provide adequate amounts of both time and money, to pursue the greater goals of our several ministries. The standard business income will be realized through two different approaches. One approach is the core companies that Hatfield & Company, Inc. will establish in the Sacramento Mountains of New Mexico. The other approach is through the standard business model of your choice. Read more on this aspect, more… Not all who become part of our BAM teams will necessarily work directly with us in the same ministry concerns or outlets. However, we know that some will be led to work directly with us and to be a part of the core leadership of all that God will do through RMIC in the future. RMIC's Business as Mission Training Center:
Currently RMIC has property in the Sacramento Mountains in south central New Mexico, USA, where we are making plans for a large missionary training center. This center will be comprised of several different but compatible operations. In addition to the daily need for shelter and sustenance there will be a complete curriculum of bible and character building studies. There will also be theory classes in many different vocational skills. More importantly there will also be real on the job work and training to put the class room work into practice. These jobs will be managed by our own independent companies that will work in conjunction with the training center. The mountain community where this will all take place is high mountain country with four seasons, lush timber and more remote than most other communities in this part of the state. It is ideal for the kind of training center we are putting together. There is a large packed gravel and dirt airstrip, 5,000 feet long and with an elevation of 6,830 feet above sea-level. From this high mountain strip we will train native Mexican men and women to be missionary bush pilots. After they earn their pilots license, part of their training will consist of performing many hours of co-pilot flying duty, to assist in servicing the greater Sacramento Mountain communities. This mountain flying will prepare them for their more difficult challenges as bush pilots in Mexico, serving in the ministry. Small planes are one of the key elements of access to many of Mexico's most rural areas. So, this aspect of our mission outreach is critical to our overall success. Although I am blessed to be a private pilot and certified flight instructor, with some bush pilot experience, I will not personally be in charge of the flight training program. This and many other leadership positions will be filled by others who are seeking to fulfill their goals and dreams. The whole Sacramento Mountain Range is filled with many communities that need skilled labor for new construction, remodeling, maintenance, forestry, logging, small business knowledge and small plane transportation service. Our training center will train dozens, then hundreds and even thousands of young Mexican men and women from mountain villages and rural areas. We will train and employ them in these many needed skilled labor positions. After two to three years when their training at the center is competed, we will return them to their villages with new skills and with new business capital to provide for their new entrepreneurial adventure. The personal and financial mentoring will be carried over into their businesses. There will be ongoing supervision and mentoring for the use of their capital and for assisting each one to assure that they are as successful as possible in their new endeavors. Rejoining their local congregations, family and friends, many will become very key elements in the future spiritual and economic growth of their communities. They will be imaging the whole gospel to the whole man for their world. They will take with them the knowledge, to be leaders, goal setters and visionaries, in Christ's Kingdom and to teach everything they have learned to others within their communities. RMIC will need many individuals to join us and to be a part of this new chapter in missions. We hope and pray that some of you will one day join us in this great undertaking. RMIC is one of your ministry and missionary options, and in this case even to utilize your own BAM Company as part of the team. The expanded dream:
In the expanded level of our dream we take it beyond Mexico and into other nations beginning with Central America and on into South America. The RMIC model could be adapted to most any missionary outreach area in the world. Just how far this dream will be extended and with how many fellow missionaries we will see this dream grow to include-we do not know. There is a great advantage in not knowing how big our dreams are. We are better able to release the future to the Lord's grace and to focus on the day to day steps as we live out the dream. RMIC and Our Personal Business as Mission for this Ministry:
As we have said, our missionary style is one that emulates the Pauline BAM approach to supporting missions and evangelical outreach. This is not the most common method in today's Christian culture but it is certainly a biblical one and in many respects has considerable advantages over the more common method of raising support through donations. It may come as a surprise to many of you that for every dollar available for donation there are over ten dollars available for the profit motive. We already know through the parables of the talents and the minas how important God considers the profit motive to be, albeit He puts it in the correct perspective as secondary to seeking the Kingdom and His righteousness. After which He promises us all those things that others who do not know Him seek first. When we returned to Mexico in the fall of 1989 we went with the complete understanding that we would not seek donations as a means of support. We immediately set about establishing an accounting business from which we could both work and eventually I could become free to devote fulltime to ministry. Thus, you are able to receive this presentation today and we will also be enabled to reach out to thousands more as we encourage men and women of faith and grace across America to revive their goals and dreams which God has given them to fulfill for His good pleasure! Learn more about the businesses that are being developed to work in conjunction with the RMIC's Business as Mission Training Center. See: Business as Mission Ministry defined:
Ministry is often characterized by many Christians to mean: preaching, Sunday school teaching, music and singing, public speaking in Christian outreach programs such as this, and many forms of evangelism, but in fact, ministry is much more than that. Ministry is what you are gifted by God to do. I Corinthians 12; lists of some of the possibilities but it is not a complete list. However, it is clear that Paul is expanding the perception of ministry even for those of his day. Unfortunately, over the last several hundred years, since the Reformation, our ideas of ministry have gradually narrowed to what we most commonly hear described today. One of the most outstanding and cultural revolutions of the Reformation was the understanding that God's elect were intended to be successful in the gifts and callings that they possessed and that they were to excel in their service and business undertakings with each other and their neighbors. It is this fact of reformation history that set the stage for the great progress and work ethic of the western civilization and not the often touted sex revolution, art and music of the renaissance. The Reformation was the moral rebellion that followed the renaissance and gave us the leaders that formed the moral basis for our own great country. Each of you who have goals and dreams that include some kind of gift of ministry, such as we have just described-in the expanded version-are welcome to give consideration to being a part of RMIC. Contact
|
