EP18: Why Is Missions a Discipleship Issue?

Welcome back to the grace church members podcast.

My name is Shannon Foster and I'm filling in for our host

Chris rivers. With each episode, we try to

address the discipleship issue in the life of Grace Church and

discuss. How to be more fully devoted to

God. In this episode, I was

encouraged by our interview with Robbie, Richard mostly through

the personal and practical examples, he shares about

growing up in a multicultural family and how those experiences

shaped his relationship with God.

And Has view of missions. We also unpacked.

Why missions is important and essential for all believers as

well as some practical ideas to live Mission Ali in our homes,

and neighboring, state or even another country.

Okay, let's listen in this interview.

I had with Chris Scott and Robbie.

Well, Robbie, it's good to see you today and be at the table

with you, man. It's good to be here.

Yeah, it's you've had some transition here at our staff and

I'm interested. We're interested in hearing more

about your role and just some of the Things that you're doing and

how that fits within the Outreach Department.

Yeah. So I guess August stepped into

our Outreach department is particularly with the

international Partnerships, okay?

So it was exciting. I was finishing up at español

pass that on to Brandon Garcia. We still attend their get to

teach two or three times a month still so still big part of what

we're doing but wanted to try to you know, do something else?

Yeah I think Gods made me in a certain way where I like to be

doing anything. So, Derek Nelson, he leads our

research department and he had resize the hey, Robbie, what do

you think about this? So, actually, as I started as I

step into it, I was also helping another organization.

My dad's organization outside of Grace at the same time.

So I've been doing both for the last six months or so.

Okay. And very quickly decided it was

a little bit too much. So yeah.

You know, Focus just on we're doing here at Grace, tell us.

About maybe a few bullet points on what what that entails.

Well Circle back to that at the end but tell us give us a little

preview of what what kind of things you're helping our

church. Yeah, so we have Partners in

different countries all over the world and so when you look at

our partners, we try to identify those who are already doing what

they're doing in their context. Anytime we go anywhere, we're

going to be Outsiders. And there are insiders in

different cultures. Yes, but you can come alongside

them as Outsiders and resource. Equip learn from anyone who's

doing that work. And unfortunately or

fortunately, the majority of the world's resources are focused

where we are, whereas there's a lot of large amount of God's

Church. Particularly where the church

is? Growing Africa, Asia Latin

America. They're under resource and so

and I'm not just talking about economical resources, I'm

talking about everything. So when you think of my

contexts, Spanish-speaking world.

I believe it is the most Spoken language Spanish by Christians

in the world. Maybe manner is more.

But, you know, that's just one country, right?

But the amount of resources that we have in Spanish, are, you

know, it's a small percentage of what we have in English.

And so that's just one of those areas that we, you know, there's

a huge lack of churches. Groin, how do you step in and

help that? And we've gotten to do that.

Actually through Grayson a swing on through Grace Church, as

well, awesome. So you're looking at trying to

leverage some of these. Resources that we already have

into places that need them. The most, and we're Grace

Church, could be strategically partnered with other

organizations, is that? Yeah, that's a, that's a good

summary. So you have different different

types. When you go overseas, there's

this place that have the gospel. This place of the, don't know,

the gospel. And the places that have the

gospel, you don't know how well they've been trained, or what

kind of resources that they've had.

So, when we go in, there are Rule pastors who need basic

theological training and you're saying, okay, overview Old

Testament, overview New Testament, then there's guys who

are in the main cities, you know, these massive cities.

Maybe not so much in Latin America.

Although they're big, you know, 5 million.

Plus you go to Asia and you're talking ten twelve Seventeen,

twenty million people in the city and they have opportunities

to study at seminaries or even come over to the US and studying

go back. So they don't need necessarily

the theological training, they do need Has a tional training

leadership training and we actually can step into that.

A lot of what we do is as great stretch to the step into that.

And then there's another side obviously where there's people

that just need help, you know, there's a lot of need a lot of

poverty, justice issues, refugees immigration.

I mean the list just goes on and on.

So we get to identify where we can best help identify

organizations that we think is are already doing a good job

with that. And Then see how we can partner

in helping them, do what God's called them to do, or the

ministry God's given them to do. Hmm.

So it sounds like you've had lots of experiences.

So, would you share some that have been informative and the

ones that have really shaped your view of missions and

Outreach? Yeah, so I think just Even the

way that I was raised has a big impact on how I see things.

And so, even as I was stepping in this position, I was

thinking. This is the first time I think

I'm on the sending and things. And so I'm having to learn his

steep learning curve for me. So I grew up in a more

Multicultural context is, I was born in India and then but you

know, at three or four moved to the states.

And so we grew up in a time where, you know, is is Dallas

Texas. It's still actually very

Multicultural and but my parents, my dad is from India.

My mom is actually white. People are like that's her my

even they see her still like haired.

And, and so, and at that time, I don't think I mean, very rarely

you'd see couples that were Indian and white.

And and so I grew up in that environment and then when I was

18, actually, I ended up moving to Costa Rica.

It was like a three-month deal, and at the end of that, I

decided I want to come back to the US.

So, Our way to stay there, go to school there, and eventually met

my wife. There.

And so, as soon as we were out of Seminary, we actually moved

to another part of very rural part of the country and God

opened up doors. We planted a church.

It wasn't intentional. It was just a Bible study and

the started growing her family. Also her brother-in-law does

church planting up and down the coast of Costa Rica and so we

got to just experience a lot of that and then also my part of my

childhood. As I grew up, like I mentioned

that my father has a Ministry where he travels quite a bit

that special training. So we would get to go once a

year on the trip with him. And so we got to see a lot, a

lot of the culture shock that comes being exposed to just

different environments, completely different languages,

food all, that it was just very normal part of our green.

So we'd go over. I mean, even just growing up and

downs, run over to my aunt's house and have Whatever,

Crabtree something like that. I think we coming back and we're

having McDonald. Says he does is very, very, it

is very normal for us to switch back and forth between cultures

and then getting to travel quite a bit.

That was that was just part of the experience.

So, I actually a lot of times feel more comfortable outside of

the US or in an uncomfortable environment because of that I

was thinking a couple weeks ago. So I got to be in India.

It was first time I feel like 12 years and I was thinking, Place

where I look the most, like, the people around me is the way I'm

the farthest, right? Culturally?

From sure the culture where I feel most comfortable, which is

probably Hispanic culture, like, I still sound like a foreigner

to them, probably in, some, in some sense and then, we the

culture. I actually grew up in, I look

probably the most different, so, I mean, it's just a way that I

think, as a kid, it affected me quite a bit.

Now, looking back. It's a huge blessing and you are

a man without a country for sure.

And just because a lot of us have not had the same kind of

international travel experience, just take off a few places that

you've been able to seeing and that people might be like, oh

really? Wow, that's great.

So just think about some of my so Ethiopia as very, very close

to my heart. I was there for about six weeks.

When I was about 17 years old friend and I went over and it

was a really great experience, and we were Eastern Ethiopia, so

close to Somalia. Okay.

Not that time. Is early 2000s, they're still

coming out of whatever you would call that kind of government at

that time. Yeah.

Are not government non-government so that area East

East Africa is very close. Not long.

Well, now it's a bit probably about 10 years ago.

I got to go to Myanmar, which is Burma my grandfather was

actually burn me. He was from Myanmar and so I got

to go back and be a part of that.

So that was really interesting. Yeah to see all that, and that's

more of a Just area and then different parts of India.

But particularly there's a Northeast where you have Nepali

of Bhutan, you have China and then you have India.

So the Indian they're actually look Chinese.

And it was amazing experience. We flew out to this place so you

have to get a visa to go into this other state in India so

it's called imphal. And so even my dad who's very

Indian, he looked like a foreigner on the plane when we

went in there and then we drove like 10 hours up in the

mountains and you You go out there and you're like what in

the world are you going to be doing?

Yeah and they were 40,000 youth from all the churches in the

area. Oh my gosh.

And they get together once every five years and have like a

singing competition between the different churches, so you get

up on the stage and their seats are these.

There's it's like a wooden plank on metal to be and there's just

rows 40,000 kids like that and then they mean it was it was

amazing, amazing worship. I just remember there was this

little girl, she's probably four and a half feet tall.

And she built it out is in English.

This once I was like, man, this is amazing, amazing voice and

everything. So and then the South America

Central America, right been the spend a lot of time there.

So, Costa, Rica obviously my wife's from there and very, very

close to our hearts. That's awesome.

So taking a step back, when we think about this

insider-outsider language, a lot of us.

Do you feel like, Outsiders, particularly just some of the

stories you just told, and I think that works against us when

we really Necked on a, on a heart level. 2 Y is missions

important and I think that's just an interesting question.

It seems like a nice thing for some people to go do, but is it

essential for all believers? And if so why help us

understand? Yeah so when you look at

scriptures, God is a God who what we would call he has his

mission so he is he's Redeeming a people for himself and he's

restoring creation. So you have all of the

scriptures, look at the first two chapters.

You have the last two chapters, those worlds, perfect.

In those four chapters and between them, and in our time,

everything is a mess. Yeah.

And so he's, that's what he's doing during that time.

He's restoring creation and redeeming a people.

And so you can see from the very beginning, you know, you have

the fall Genesis chapter 3 that is a global that's that's

Genesis 3 · chapter mention

Universal. That is all of creation that is

all of humankind. Kind is include that.

So the solution needs to be Global and Universal.

And so you start to see that he begins, you know, working

through Noah redeems, that poor, he rescues that family from from

the flood and then you get to Genesis chapter 12, where he

Genesis 12 · chapter mention

calls Abraham, and literally in the call, he says, I'm going to

make you a great nation, but he says, you will be a blessing to

all the other nations. And so, from the beginning,

especially in the Old Testament, you see that he's dead?

Cited to work through a people, but is through this people who

eventually becomes Israel, he is bringing people.

The rest of the nation is to himself.

Yeah. So physics language don't know

if I say it, right, but centripetal force, centrifugal

force get is tending towards the center.

That's what you see in the Old Testament.

You have Israel in the in the promise and you have the temple,

you have the most high, holy Place High, he said that yeah

most holy place, the most holy place and then You're bringing

them all into, you know, you bring the nation's into this

people that God has created, right?

You see all the prophets, and even during that time though,

the profits, they're calling Israel to repentance but they

also including the other nations there, right?

In the Psalms Psalm 67 face, you know, make his face shine down

upon us so that his Nation or the nations would know his ways

so that they his salvation would be known.

That makes the the Earth and And so they fail though, and he

sends his son and we see this throughout, you know, all of the

New Testament, especially the word sent.

And that's where our word, eventually missionary comes

from, or missions comes from is sent, but you see, he sends his

son and then the, the force kind of changes from centripetal to

centrifugal this is going outward going to Paris and so

you have these, you know, throughout the gospels Jesus

saying, hey I'm going to send you.

You will see in John, John 21. I think as, as he has sent me,

I'm going to send you. And then, obviously the what?

We know, as the Great Commission.

Matthew 28, you know, all authority has been given to me

therefore, go and make disciples of all Nations teaching

baptizing. And then he says, I'll be with

you throughout that age. So his authority is the

foundation for us going. We are sent as his disciple

makers and then He says, no and I'm going to be with you during

this time and then you see that all played out what that looks

like in a local church through Paul's Epistles and then

obviously Revelation is the end of that mission.

And we see how God finally restores his creation and how he

redeemed his people. So missions and itself.

That is we are a sip people they exist because there are people

who are not part of God's. People, right?

So, missions exist, because lost people like this.

And when you look at the amount of people in the world right

now, eight billion people, I think even when I was growing up

in the, you know, late 80s, 90s was a four or five billion.

There's now eight billion people, right?

I don't have all the stats on on how many people never get to

hear the gospel, but that's why we, if we see, if we say that

this is an exclusive truth, right?

I am the way, the truth. And life said, So Jesus, I am

the light of the world where he's making these exclusive

claims. If we say that we believe that

then we have to say, Okay, this person that does not believe it

is not going to have the opportunity or access that Jesus

provides to the father and so that that should be our, yeah,

our motivation. So, for God, so loved the world,

the world that he gave his only son.

And so part of the expression of God's love for the world is

using us as believers. Set one's out to share that

message to the world. Yeah.

So you have you have God's Mission but he's doing in the

world and then you have what we call missions.

And there's a lot of baggage with Mission.

So you can go back and look, you know, when the missions movement

started William Carey late 1700s throughout the 1800s, we have

all these romantic stories of people who go and give their

lives and, you know, they travel with their coffins and very few

people write would do that. But then you also have you know

our context right now short-term missions and missions trips

which there's a huge range of what we actually do on those

trips. But you know, a lot of times

there are not particularly helpful and they cost a lot of

money and you know, not not what we would call maybe effective.

Why do you say that in what they're doing?

Well, for example, say that we are going to go help a church

and they need to help Something build a wall around the church

or something like that. So we spend you know, okay.

It's let's say a thousand dollars a ticket $300 in

country, 1,300 bucks, 25 people to go down.

I don't know what that is. That's like a lot of money.

Yeah, thirty-five thousand dollars to go build a wall

around the church that you're probably paid the local guy, you

know? Yeah, 500 bucks. 150 bucks and

they get it done. But on the other hand, I would

say that there is a cost to our deceased discipleship and going.

So this is so When we talk about short-term missions, we're

looking at the how we are discipling our people when we

go, because when we go, that's when you get put into situations

that you're not going to get to anywhere.

May be here. When you have to go into a house

that smells funny. They offer you Rice and Beans

Coffee. There's a fly party in the car

and, you know, floating the coffee and then they're speaking

a different language to you. And then you have to whatever

share the gospel. And they could easily say, no,

they can say yes. I mean you don't get that

experience. Most of the time here, maybe

maybe working with refugees or immigrants, you create that

relationship here but that's that's not gonna happen.

But overall, short-term missions has got a bad rap because of

certain certain things that we've done in the past but a lot

of people think, okay, it's missions is just going doing

something for a little bit and then coming back.

And so there's a lot of baggage with the word missions though.

It still comes from the idea of being sent to accomplish the

task. So it's is that missions

actually comes from the Latin word.

The Greek word is Apostolic switch is to send or in this

where you get your Apostles from.

So that is, you know, that's it's going, I would say going to

a different culture. And for me, I like to give

priority to the preaching of the Gospel.

We are not just the church, is not just another NGO.

It's not just a another relief organization.

If we do not speak the gospel, if we do, not preach the gospel,

then, You know, there's plenty of relations that can do that,

right? And so that's Mission.

So you have God's Mission, you have missions and then you have

it's a good word I think is living on Mission or living on

Mission alive. And that's what we do.

We try to do all day every day, right?

Where we are trying to participate in God's Mission

wherever we're at and I think we can do that here.

We do that overseas. That's just how it's as

Christians that should be our guiding framework for how we

live. And I take a little bit of

comfort. In the disciples when they're

trying to figure all this out, right?

And they're even sitting with the Risen Jesus.

So imagine what that was like, you know, watching him be

crucified and then seeing him rise from the dead and then he

sitting with them and they're still trying to figure out this

great plan of God. And so the question in Acts

Acts 1 · chapter mention

chapter 1, they ask is, hey, when are you going to, you know,

restore Israel and overthrow Rome?

And so they're very much thinking about their present

situation. Ian and he's like, hey that's

none of your business, right? But here's what I have for you,

you know, and you're going to go and you're going to be my

Witnesses by the power of the Holy Spirit, Jerusalem, Judea,

Samaria ends of the Earth. So I take a lot of comfort that

even the disciples who were sitting with the Risen Jesus.

We're still trying to figure out what God's plan is for this

world and they were caught up in our own, then their own

circumstances. And I do feel like that as the

American church, we get caught up in our own circumstances.

And gods like, hey, don't, don't worry about that.

Here's what I have for you. You know, I've given you power

to go on this Mission. So, what would you say, pastoral

E2, if the if there's someone in our church, that's not really

engaged in missional thinking, missional, living not so much

going overseas. But just in the way that they

think about, being sent as you just described missions, what

are they missing out on Robbie? Yeah.

So I think think it's Matthew 6:33, seek the kingdom of God,

Matthew 6:33

above all else live righteously, he'll add everything else on the

you. So the idea of seeking that's,

that's It becomes our highest desire within our hearts is the

kingdom of God. And so even as we go, whether

it's here or elsewhere, what we're trying to do is we're not

we're not trying to just go and and say, Hey you people need to

accept Jesus as your lord, and I think that's been one of the

faults you go. Where the church is going?

Where the, where the church is? Growing Africa, Asia Latin

America, you go here and you find that there's been a My

scene of the Gospel to the point of if you accept Jesus, then

your life gets better or something like that.

Instead of its being like a call to Arms.

Hey, come with us and seek the kingdom of God and live

righteously here and all that other stuff will be taken care

of, right? And so I think we got to move

off of the, I need to convert this.

This person or feel that pressure that we put on

ourselves. We've got to convert these

people and it's more like, hey, no, come be a part of what God

is doing in the world and what be a part of his kingdom.

So, as we seek the kingdom of God, we invite others to seek

the kingdom of God with us. So, there should be a natural

overflow of what we're doing in our devotion to God.

Like, if we're, if we're pursuing.

God, heart soul, mind, strength, and loving our neighbor.

Then this missional aspect is just it's it would be hard not

to do it. Is that fair to say?

Yeah, yeah. I mean, this it should be.

That should be our realm of natural living.

This one comes. What comes out of it.

Yeah. What is the benefit?

You have experienced in being part of being sent in this way

that we, that we need to know that are important for us to

know. so, I think the the biggest one for me is that when

you are in these different situations, different contexts

you can't control them and so you really have to depend on God

in them. So we are very used to living in

a bubble and I mean all of us of being able to Know what's going

on like, literally we know what's going on.

We know how to work within the system, so like when we move

back up or when I moved to the US, brought my wife up here, she

had never worked with insurance because we don't use that down

there. There's, there's the things that

you have to deal with that, you would never have thought of

like, I mean, turn on the internet.

Well, I mean, we're not that far behind but there's things that

seem so normal for us, right? The ease of going to the store,

right? Going to the DMV, and it

literally takes only like an hour and a half, instead of a

whole day, and having to go back, like, all that stuff or

buying buying a 10 days worth of groceries.

Yeah. But I'd be able to put it in the

fridge, and right, you don't have to worry about power going

out. Probably it's just life.

Here is very easy and so you get put in these situations, but I

will say, I can at least, I, I really enjoy after about two

days first day when you're doing, Could shower is like this

is really weird by the third day, you're like oh this is

completely normal but we did. Yeah this is what you do and and

so that kind of that type of thing, you get to see God's his

sustenance, how he provides, how he's just forming and shaping

you. So that's a big deal as far as

being sent. So like when you go on a

short-term trip that is when I would hope that most of your

hearts are open to listening what God is doing in your in

your room. In your life.

Hmm. I think there's a, he matures

you. I think you're with a team.

So you have to work with others and I think it's just like it a

catalyst experience, or incubator experience, right?

And one of the saddest parts of the short-term side of things,

when you come back and it's so easy to fall back into previous

habits. So that's, I mean, it's just,

it's just part of the travel. Yeah, that's good.

Robbie. As you think about, you know,

missions there is some complicated history.

What are some of the downsides? What are some of the things that

have defined Mission admissions in a negative light over the

years? Yeah.

So I think probably the three big ones are, you know, the

critique of colonialism. And I mean it's for real.

A lot of missionaries were sent by Nations and, you know, they

brought certain things from their countries and to

politically into these other countries.

Or as they brought civilization, those are with an air quotes as

civilization to these countries and, you know, it would

devastatingly effect and and obviously going back, there's

always probably ungodly motives sure in what we do and so that

can be one waste of resources is another one and then frankly the

wrong, a lot of wrong people have been sent a lot of people

who don't need to be say, let me know.

Churches that low. We won't hire this person, but

we'll send them to another country.

Practically, I do ministry their Muslim up over there.

I mean it you get you get you get into these places and people

who are probably not don't have the highest levels of emotional

intelligence or cultural a tapped ability.

Yeah. And so you start to see even a

lot of times you go to these countries and you know, there's

there's a area where the missionaries live and that's

looks different and it's manicured Lawns, and the houses

are different. And And you know, they all have

people who work for them in their house.

And and I mean it's cheaper. There probably actually much

less than to have someone doing all that.

But no one else that they're serving has that and so it can

come with certain negative connotations and then the

mentality a lot of times that people go over there with can be

very demeaning for rival hook holes and because of that I

think I mean it creates all kinds of dependency and But as

well just churches that aren't healthy.

So thinking about this going all the way back to this theological

Foundation you light of, what does it mean to love Brothers

and Sisters in Christ? That just look differently live

in a different place because different language.

Like if you don't, you got to have that in order to Be an

Effective messenger of being a sent one.

Yeah. So you invite people over to

your house for dinner, you say, hey, let me come at 6:00, the

come at 8:30 and between six and eight thirty year.

Let your You're upset, what are these people doing?

And that in itself that that mindset, what are these people

doing? This is your that's demeaning

them and their culture for them is completely something

completely normal. And is actually probably, it

doesn't even cross their own that they are being

disrespectful. But we, as from American culture

were thinking, oh, that's so disrespectful.

Yeah. Well, you know, and we start

thinking down about. Yeah, so that that over time for

those frustrations over time, they build up and they can, they

can affect us. Yet, is to Circle back on the

idea of help and what? As of Grace Church, / can

provide in a mission opportunity.

Can you unpack that again? Yes.

Oh If you talk about the church, I think I said this in a sermon

recently, but every Community either has a local church that

is serving the community or they need a local church to serve the

community. And so if we're going to help a

local church that is serving their Community, it needs to be

healthy. But the local church is not

going to be healthy unless the pastor is healthy.

And so that's why we focus so much on possible training.

However, as most of us know, just Consuming.

Information. Biblical information that

doesn't determine the health of your soul as a pastor event.

It will give you a lot of information you can teach from

the Bible but if you don't have the spiritual health Dynamic

within you then you can't really produce Health within your

church. So you see that a lot.

You see that with a lot because even if there are say seminary

in the city or something like that, very few of those seminars

and I'd probably say a lot of us a few of the simulators here in

The u.s. really develop that that side of how do I lead

myself. How do I leave my family?

How do I lead? And, and a, although it's the

church, but there's an organizational, administrative

aspect to the church. And so, I think that we because

it's one of our strengths here at Grace Church, we can go.

Yes, we can teach overview of Old Testament, can teach the

gospel of, Mark, whatever it is, we can teach all that, but we

can also bring some of our expertise that Have here whether

it's through our gender studies, whether it's through, some of

the, you know, leadership values.

Whatever it is that we are trying to, to do.

We could probably obviously there has to be

contextualization and and translation, but we can probably

bring that to leaders and Pastors in their churches.

So that they can also strengthen that other side of what their

leadership really is. And we've been able to see that

even within Grace Church in espanol, you know, my wife does

all that stuff for as are and In Spanish, and it's getting a lot

of traction over places, we're in places where we haven't even

been. It's just, you know, it's good

material. That feels the need that they

are feeling right now. I know that I have grown and

been humbled as a Christian because of the opportunities at

church has given me to go whether it is just in somewhere

in this state or somewhere in the city or even out of the

country. And so I wonder What are two to

three, practical things that our church members can do to become

Global Christians. So, I think, first and most

basic is just general awareness of what's going on in the world.

I don't like watching the news, but I do get like a weekly

summary email of what's going on more globally, more than more

than here in the US. There's a guy whose name is

Justin Long. We can put it somewhere in the

notes. You can subscribe to his email

and he And of curates Articles from all over the world about

what's going on in the world and then gives it a missions meant

to it as it's pretty helpful. I think also, it's probably one

of the better courses. There's a course called

perspectives and it's given in a bunch of different churches,

probably a here and there you can just go to his perspectives

dot organ and look that up but it's a it's a long course

that'll that'll walk you through the scriptures and I think we

would agree with most of what they say but and I think it's

good and it would move people towards serving in different

cultures. I think obviously going on the

short-term trip with us. I think That's a given and we

want to try to help facilitate that we do, have our partners

and when we talk with our partners, we let them know.

Part of their responsibility is helping us disciple.

Our people as we go over there and that's something new for

most of them there. They're not used to that kind of

that level of partnership. And we, that's one of the

reasons we want to partner with them.

There's plenty of places to get involved here even in other

cultures. So I always invite you want to

go experience something different, go to Greece, and

espanol, you experience something.

Being different and welcoming and it won't be completely

Forum. But it'll, you know, you have to

sit there and a service that has other other language because you

have, how many countries the last count representing?

It was like 18 or 19 different countries.

It's pretty amazing. It's, it's pretty cool.

And then Refugee Ministries we have Laura Hornby.

With I face, she's joined with them, and they there with all

immigrants, but she's also worked with World relief, and

refuge, Families, that they're bringing in, and I think we have

some of those families at front porch, housing.

So you can always go and serve with them.

And, you know, something that's very helpful to just go have

some tea or coffee and just sit and listen to their experiences.

It's it's pretty amazing. You learn a lot and then I think

if you know you as you're doing this and God begins to lead you

and prompt you towards something.

Hey, maybe it's something more long-term and I think that's

also something that we shouldn't ignore even.

In whatever, no matter what the cost is for us over here.

I think it's something to explore and we want to help.

We don't have a defined process here in Grace yet.

That's one of the things I would like to do is come up with a

defined process but we would love to help you.

And so that I mean that just starts going to your campus.

Pastor, you're responsible pastor and asking him about it,

but I think there's there's plenty of opportunities for us

to figure out what God has given us to do as a Ministry and not

everybody's going to go but you can You can pray for people who

go you can connect with missionaries you can support

missionaries financially. That's that's such a huge need

and God really does multiply what we give for those people

have for it as far as work as well as Mission.

So the word that comes to my mind is just being curious.

You know if we're curious about what is God doing in this world?

You know, and we go to the scriptures and we see what this

is outlined for us. This was his plan all the Time.

And then as that, Curiosity grows, you know, there's one

thing about being sent and being a global Christian.

But then by nature of living here, even living here in the

upstate, the Nations have come to us like you said, all over

the all over the place. There are folks from different

cultures and are we curious about where they're from and how

God has worked in their lives and just taking the time to

share a cup of coffee, share a meal and but I think it begins

from From a place of being being curious and seeing the world as

God sees the world. Yeah, there's a fine balance

curiosity and then getting overwhelmed by everything that's

gonna happen, good word. So you can like right now in

Sudan, there's a huge War. It's broken out here and you I

read it. I'm like, man, I can't, I can't

do anything about that and there's plenty of Christians

there, right now. Hunter is El Salvador.

Guatemala is It doesn't get much news but it's almost like a war

zone just because of the gangs and that kind of stuff.

And so millions of people not Millions, but thousands of

people are trying to get well millions are probably trying to

flee. Thousands are trying to come to

the u.s. and that brings a whole lot of others.

Right? You know issues with it.

So it's hard to not get overwhelmed but I think what you

said about you not trusting God he's doing things, he's moving

people. So people come here to the US

and for the first time going to hear about Jesus.

Well so God brought them through Probably what we can't even

imagine for them to get to hear about Jesus and what he does.

So it's just, it's amazing. Yeah, I think, you know, in the

past it's been the West to the rest as far as missions go.

And we really, you know, anyone to anywhere at any time is kind

of what we need to be thinking about.

So no it's great. Well Robbie thanks so much for

sharing. It's been great.

It's been time with you. Appreciate all the things that

you've shared. Yeah, great to be here with you

guys. Yeah.

Thanks man. Okay, as we wrap up today's

episode, I want to thank you for joining us.

We realize that listening to a podcast episode can be an

individual experience which we believe is only enhanced by

talking through it and applying it to life.

And this is something that we believe lots of people don't

naturally seek out or have built into their lives.

So we want to encourage you to share this episode with someone

else and ask them to share with you any takeaways.

They receive from listening. Be prepared to do the same and

approach their feedback with a posture to learn and apply this

Is the great way to move towards this discipleship issue.

Also Robbie mentioned that if you are interested in serving

long-term cross-culturally he would love to meet personally

with you and we are providing is email in the show notes.

So if you want to reach out to him have questions or want

access to additional resources, be sure to check out the podcast

page located in the show notes. Thanks for joining us today and

we look forward to joining you on the next episode.