What It Really Takes

In one of our classes today, we learned what kind of person it takes to be a tribal church planter. It really put things into perspective for everyone here, and I thought it might be interesting to share with you guys as well (excuse the lame grammar at times... I concentrate on taking notes, so sometimes my grammar suffers as a result :D)

What kind of person does it take to create a tribal church (not that we will be perfect in this, obviously, but we should be growing in each of these areas)?

• Spiritual Qualities
• Humility, compassion, patience, faithfulness, perseverance, dependence on God, longsuffering, commitment, joy of the Lord, love, forgiveness, diligence, wisdom, self-control, peace, kindness, discernment, teachable, willingness, courage, stamina, prayerfulness, generosity, teamwork, loves God’s Word, passion
• Ministry Capabilities
• Be able to read, continue learning, time management, teaching, empathy, physical fitness, able to hear and reproduce sounds you hear (for language study), organization, studying, flexibility, leadership, able to work well with others (on a team), technology skills, be able to feed yourself, cook, cook from scratch, healthy diet, linguistics, weapon safety, health care, ability to laugh (at yourself when you make mistakes), carpentry/plumbing skills, money management, partnership development, self-grooming, cleanliness, navigation skills, hard work, communication skills, traveling skills

Wow, I had never really sat down and thought through all of those things!

Our teachers were saying today, you can't just go into a people group, preach the Gospel, and start a church the next day. It takes a lot of time and effort. Here's a summary of how long the process will probably take:

1. ? years = Trained by Local Church in the United States
2. 4-5 years = Trained by New Tribes Mission (this includes Bible school and MTC training)
3. 1-2 years = Partnership development (connecting with churches and others as a support team)
4. 1-3 years = National Culture and Language Acquisition (learning the language and culture of the country)
5. 3-4 years = Tribal Culture and Language Acquisition (learning the language and culture of the specific tribe that I will be in)
6. 1 year = Evangelism (teaching the people from Creation through Christ; includes Literacy programs)
7. 10 years = Beginning of a Maturing Church (from first converts through Bible translation)
8. Mature New Testament Church

This is a rough estimate; some works are longer and some shorter, depending on how things work. However, God's been teaching me that when I start to think about how much it will "cost", I should to stop and think about those people. If I were in their shoes, wouldn't I want someone to give their life so that I wouldn't have to spend eternity in Hell? God's been really emphasizing to me through the classes that people matter. Nothing else does. Who cares if I "waste my life" out in the jungle somewhere? I'm investing in the only thing that really matters in life, and that is such a cool thing! I am so blessed to have all of you guys back home supporting me through this! I would never be able to go if it weren't for you all sending, and that is such an awesome blessing! I thank you, but I know that the people group that I will be influencing someday will thank you even more!