Why Missionaries to America?

I have not been able to post at all this week due to the crazy schedule of putting on a “mini” staff conference. Though the schedule has been hectic for me…it has been an amazing time for us.

Now that I (Joseph) am President, I wanted to cast the Vision with the staff of where I believe we need to be headed the next one, two, three…five years, and then for us to talk as a Team as to HOW we will get there.

We began Monday with “The Big Picture,” then Staff Development on Tuesday, Basic Training yesterday (that was a truly amazing day), and now today we will be discussing Coaching and Friday our need for Funds Development.

Please be praying for us as we develop this important mission.

Please be praying we are open to God leading us as He leads us.

Be praying God gives us the wisdom, courage and discipline we need to take what we have talked about this week and accomplish this great task.

Oh, and through this whole experience, we came up with the concept of the Joshua Stones.

“What are the Joshua Stones?” you ask.

Well, ask me sometime and I will tell you all about them :).

Wanda Parker, Founder/Director of Program Development

“Wanda, you are asking too much of people. This is impossible!”

For the past 14 years I’ve heard those words over and over - from New York to Los Angeles. Yet, research shows us what it takes to make a difference in the lives of families who are dealing with generations of brokenness.

To see transformation happen in the lives of these broken families it takes adults willing to walk through life with them. That means:

• Ministering to the child every day - available 24/7
• Being in the home on a regular basis - often parenting the parent
• Meeting with school teachers a minimum of once a month
• Getting to know every social service provider in the family’s life
• Building an individual resource base of volunteers in the community per each family according to the family’s need
  • Doctors/Dentists/Nutritionists
  • Individuals to work with primary nurturers on career development
  • Family Counselors
  • Carpenters/Plumbers/Electricians
  • Mechanics
  • Food Bank
• A long term commitment

CAN YOU DO THAT?
DOES YOUR CHURCH HAVE STAFF THAT CAN DO THAT?

This is why we need to send missionaries to America.

Welcome! My name is Joseph Parker, and I am the President & CEO of KidTrek. I have created this blog as a discussion forum around topics related to why we need to consider sending missionaries to America.

Being today is Tuesday, September 18, there is a good possibility if you are reading this blog right now it is due to receiving KidTrek’s new e-newsletter, The Walk.

KidTrek of course has a specific and strategic plan in what we believe it looks like to send missionaries to America, but there may be additional reasons you can think of as well. Please join the discussion and let us know what you think.

If you have not yet been there, visit our website at www.kidtrek.org for more information on joining The Walk; or visit www.whymissionaries.com to learn more about Project D67 and how you can get involved.

Please join us in fulfilling God’s Deuteronomy 6 mandate to walk with our children through life, so they may become adults who are not only productive in society, but know him, fear him and love him.

In the past three years or so I have often been asked,

“Is this cost effective?”

Meaning, aren’t you throwing money away by “walking with so few kids through life?

And upon hearing this question, I was not sure if I wanted to cry or scream. Realizing that if a church youth group, or a para-church outreach ministry, has 200 kids in their weekly ministry, but 10 years later only 5-10 of those kids are still “walking” with Christ…is that truly cost effective?

Jesus himself did not spend the majority of his time with the masses…yes, he preached to them and did outreach type things with them…but the majority of his time was spent “mentoring” and “walking through life” with 12 men…more specifically three men (Peter, James and John) who were the ones God used to turn this world updside down.

So who are we to think we can do more, or better, than God himself?

Would it not, in the long run, be more cost effective to invest in a small number of children for a long period of time, seeing these children grow to be Christ-changed, hope-filled, productive adults who multiply themselves to the point they are changing everything around them?

From an investement standpoint, if I were investing in stocks, and I was only getting a 2-5% return on my investments I am not sure I would stick with them. Why is our investements in how we disciple children in youth any different?

What kind of a return are you getting on your investment?

“…When the focus is on youth development, nearly 70% of young people in the most challenging of life’s conditions not only survive, but grow into thriving adults.”
-Resiliency: What We Have Learned, Bonnie Benard

Now that is what I call getting “bang for your buck;” just imagine adding the power of God’s love to that? Wow!!

What does that mean? What does that look like?

Think about it for a moment. Who might be a child’s Primary Nurturer (i.e., mom?…dad?…grandma?…foster parent?)?

What would be some of the things you would expect a Secondary Nurturer to do…verses a Primary Nurturer… in a child’s life?

And why might that be important to be aware of when ministering to and/or discipling “at-risk families?”

I have never done this before, so I am curious what will happen…

As I have spent these past two years working two full time jobs (e.g., LA Conservation Corps’ After School Program during the day, and KidTrek during early mornings, late nights and weekends), I have been moved by one thing:

How can we truly change lives?

In other words, what will it take to truly see our children today become Christ-changed, hope-filled, productive adults…a thought process that led to the development of KidTrek’s new mission statement.

Are drop-in-centers or after school programs enough? What about Evangelism rally’s or Outreach nights?

Through my 12 years of living and working amongst the poor of inner city Los Angeles I have thought about this often as I see kids who were in “programs,” even Christian ministries, desiring to do good with kids through these programs (some of which I contributed to in one way or another), only to see the children grow to be in just as bad a place as if they had never been in a “program” at all.

As I have studied the concept of “resiliency research” for the past two years, I have come to the conclusion there is only one way to do this:

…through the presence of long term, committed, consistent adults.

But again, so what if they become “productive adults,” and yet grow up not knowing Jesus? What have we truly given them if they gain the world but lose their souls? Therefore these adults must be men and women who fear the LORD God Almighty and believe Jesus is the only one who can truly bring these children, and their families, eternal joy and peace.

And because this will be so intense a commitement I have also come to the conclusion that volunteers cannot do this as effectively as adults who are able to make this a full time commitment.

So this Blog will be a commitment to opening a discussion…a forum…as to why should we send missionaries to America?

The great commission in Matthew 28 commands us to “make disciples of all nations,” is not America a nation? And what about Acts 1, where we are told “to be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth”? We are great at being a witness (i.e., sending missionaries out) to the utter ends of the earth, but what about Jerusalem (our cities) and Judea (our states) and Samaria(our nation)?

I know, I know, so you say that is what the church, more specificially church planting, is all about. But by in large, based on my perspective, church planting in America, though it may not be intended to be so, typically just involves a new place for current Christians to move to. So I ask, “Where is the mission field here in America?”

May I suggest it is found, it begins, in Deuteronomy 6, where we are told “Hear O Israel, the Lord your God is One….” then The LORD proceeds to command us to not forget that.

And how do we not forget that? In verse 6, we are told to do it by “walking with our kids” through life in such an intentional, long term, committed manner they will grow up to become Christ-changed, hope-filled productive ADULTS who will turn their community, their state, their country, their world (Matthew 28, Acts 1) upside down through their faith in the Lord Jesus Christ!

KidTrek is preparing this “walk” by hiring, training and sending out missionaries to strategic places around America. Visit www.kidtrek.org for specific details, or visit www.whymissionaries.com to follow this project and how we are pogressing.

Hopefully you now see why KidTrek thinks America needs missionaries, but why do YOU think America needs missionaries?

Please, let me know what you think…I value your thoughts.