Tonight will be the first time on our trip to the States that I will be sharing about ministry in China in a local church. As I was gathering my thoughts last night, I rediscovered an article that challenges itinerating missionaries as to the content of their messages.
Here, I want to share my own edited/adapted version of a portion of that article:
Dear Itinerating Missionary,
Please don't just talk about other cultures and give travelogues. Those might excite wanderlust. That isn't supposed to be the focus, right? Talk about the Gospel, and your bringing it to that culture. Even talking about how Christ-less and Gospel-deprived a culture is okay, but... What are you doing specifically to penetrate the culture with the Gospel? What roadblocks have you encountered, and how have you dealt with them? (original article by Dan Phillips of TeamPyro.blogspot.com)
I enjoyed this article and completely agree. Whenever we are sharing, we need to share what the power of the Gospel has accomplished through us on the mission field. People respond to stories that are full of positive God experiences.