Issue: Spring 2025
Missionary Life Cycle
If the devil can’t stop you, he will push you!
Learning about burnout, developing a plan to prevent burnout, and encouraging others to set healthy boundaries in ministry
Missionary families rooted in Christ
We need strong missionary families to endure the challenges of spreading the gospel in a foreign culture
Disjointed, disruptive delights of deputation
Trips to visit our support team is a strange part of missionary life that can leave us confused, but hopefully also encouraged
The prodigal daughter
Putting my children’s lives totally in the Lord’s hand causes me to pray and trust in God in new ways!
Strength in losing
After years as a missionary, I was becoming overwhelmed by feelings of loss. I had two choices: burn out or lean into something better.
Returning, not retiring: Discerning God’s unwanted guidance
What happens when God urges us to take a turn in the road that we didn’t see coming?
Unexpected succession
Finding a successor is of vital importance for any minister and particularly for a missionary, but God may provide unexpectedly
Don’t be a know-it-all
Last year, I listened to a podcast where Jonathan and Elizabeth Trotter were interviewed about...
Finding treasures in darkness
We found hope in God as things went from bad to worse for my mom during the covid pandemic
Offering hope in unexpected pregnancies
How does a regular employee at a company come to lead an organization that supports women with unexpected pregnancies?
Member care: the “why” and the “what”
Any number of challenging issues could take missionaries off the field. JEMA’s ministry of member care offers various ways to build resilience and health for those called to proclaim the gospel.
Model of missions: hero or hiryō
Whether conscious or unconscious, our view of the role of a missionary significantly impacts our praxis. Are we hoping for credit as the hero or willing to be forgotten in God’s broader story?
Being like the youngest
A challenge to change how we talk with people might prompt us to consider how we relate to others as missionaries
Show Them Jesus
Jack Klumpenhower (New Growth Press, 2014)Japanese Title: 見せようイエスさまを 福音に生きる子どもたちを育むTranslated by Nozomu Kusunoki (いのちのことば社、 2024) “I...
Our needs change
Missionaries need different kinds of member care as they journey from arrival to retirement
The Sunday school class that changed my life
How a simple report from a faithful missionary inspired a girl to become a missionary herself
Bridging the gap
Some Japanese people are strongly influenced by beliefs in the supernatural, but God is able to open their eyes to see Jesus as we engage with them relationally
