RTIM Review: Issue 2

RTIM REVIEW

A LOOK INTO THE LORD’S WORK AT REACHING & TEACHING

QUARTER 2 | 2022

Practicum Update, Short-Term Updates, Long-Term Worker Profiles, Resources, Upcoming Events & more inside!

ISSUE 2

A LETTER FROM OUR PRESIDENT It’s been a busy few months at Reaching & Teaching for our team. As I reflect on the highlights of the last quarter, I can’t help but thank the Lord for our team’s time at the last T4G conference. The week was full of encouraging conversations with our friends and kicked off with an evening with our staff and sending church partners. In May, I was able to visit the Gabriels in Ireland while spending some time with the Irish Baptist Association in Moira, before meeting up with our friends from the Pillar Network in Edinburgh, Scotland for their inaugural international conference. In June, I watched a number of our recent appointees graduate from Radius International before moving to the Southern Baptist Convention in Anaheim and the Radius Missiology Conference in Charlotte. There was a lot of good food and fellowship with the Reaching & Teaching family.

At our April board meeting, 16 new units were appointed to join our global team.

These new colleagues will head out to 9 different countries to make mature disciples, establish healthy churches, and train local leaders in the years ahead and each one of them represents the sweet partnership we share with like-minded sending churches to see healthy churches established and strengthened around the world. Some of these units are heading to share the gospel to a language group that, as far as we can discern, has never heard the gospel. Others are heading out With thanks,

RYAN ROBERTSON

to learn a language so that they can work alongside local believers to see existing churches strengthened in their regions. All of them share the theological convictions that allow our teammates around the world to collaborate in meaningful ways using the same definitions of maturity and health in the local church.

The desire to see churches strengthened globally has been a vital part of who Reaching & Teaching is from the very beginning. Included in this report is an article from AJ Gibson, our Regional Leader for Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa, on how missionaries are servants of the gospel and the church. When AJ speaks, the entire Reaching & Teaching team listens, so I would encourage you to take a few minutes to read his article.

Also included in this issue is an article from our friend, Eric Mullis, who served over 14 years in Thailand with the International Mission Board. Eric’s article is a sobering reminder of the threat that exists in different contexts and why we must not rush through the tasks of evangelism and discipleship. We expect every missionary serving overseas with Reaching & Teaching to take the time necessary to gain language and culture fluency in their contexts and Eric’s article is a great example of why this matters.

I’m thankful for the Short-Term Update from Burkina Faso. I was able to personally participate in 2 of the 9 trainings in

Burkina Faso and it’s a joy to see these pastors graduate. I’m particularly thankful for the work of Ryan Powell, our Training Facilitator in West Africa, for overcoming the logistical complexities as Burkina Faso handled both the Covid-19 pandemic and recent political unrest. Please be in prayer for the brothers you see in the pictures as they minister in a very difficult part of the world.

I encourage you get to meet the Behars and Wrights, two incredible families serving in Japan and Argentina, respectively. They set a tremendous standard for what healthy, church-centric missiology looks like and I’m thankful for how the Lord is using them overseas.

Finally, there’s a brief update on our Practicum. We’ve recently seen 22 young individuals head overseas to a variety of locations to serve alongside Reaching & Teaching’s global team.

Friends, thank you for your continued partnership with Reaching & Teaching.

Please know how thankful we are for you. There is much work to be done in the months and years ahead and it is a privilege to labor beside you to make much of our King and His Bride.

BLOG HIGHLIGHTS

THE MISSIONARY AS A SERVANT OF THE CHURCH May 4, 2022 | AJ Gibson

“Let us return and visit the brothers in every city where we proclaimed the word of the Lord, and see how they are” (Acts 15:36).

That’s how Paul describes his plan for his second great missionary excursion from Antioch. Perhaps it isn’t how we would expect a pioneer church planter like Paul to describe the next phase of his missionary career. Why would Paul, ever-ambitious to preach the gospel where Christ has not been named (Rom. 15:20), plan a trip to visit existing churches?

The answer is simple. Despite his call to preach and plant churches among the unreached, Paul understood his role as a missionary and apostle to include ongoing ministry to already-existing churches. Luke’s report describes the encouraging results of Paul’s labors during those visits: the churches scattered throughout Syria, Cilicia, and Galatia were “strengthened in the faith” and “increased in numbers daily” (Acts 16:5; cf. 15:41).

PAUL’S STEWARDSHIP AS A SERVANT OF THE GOSPEL . . .

In Colossians 1:23, Paul describes himself as a “servant,” a diákonos, of the gospel. As a servant of the gospel, he had been

called to preach the gospel to “all creation under heaven” (cf.

Eph. 3:7–8). This task, Paul explains, is a stewardship (oikonomia) from God (Eph. 3:2, 9) that relentlessly drives him to preach Christ’s gospel to the unreached: “For necessity is laid upon me.

Woe to me if I do not preach the gospel” (1 Cor. 9:16–17)! . . . AND OF THE CHURCH Paul’s role as a servant (diákonos) of the gospel with a divinely given commission (oikonomia) is fundamental to his apostolic and missionary identity. It is significant, then, that Paul uses this same terminology to describe his relationship to the church.

Now I rejoice in my sufferings for your sake, and in my flesh I am filling up what is lacking in Christ’s afflictions for the sake of his body, that is, the church, of which I became a minister(diákonos) according to the stewardship(oikonomia) from God that was given to me for you. (Col. 1:24–25a) Paul sees himself as a servant of the church with a divinely given stewardship on its behalf. This insight helps us to understand Paul’s ministry.

While he often speaks of his apostolic suffering for the gospel

(2 Cor 1:5ff; 2 Tim. 3:11), here he speaks to the Colossians of his suffering “for your sake” and “for the sake of [Christ’s] body” (v. 24). Likewise, while he speaks elsewhere of the “struggle” (agonízomai, agón) he faces while preaching the gospel (Phil.

1:30; 2 Thess. 2:2; 2 Tim. 4:7), here he recounts his struggle for the churches of Colossae and Laodicea (1:29, 2:1). Paul says that preaching the gospel among the unreached requires intense toil and labor (kopiáo; 1 Cor. 15:10; Gal. 4:11), and so does his ministry in the church (Col. 1:29). And just as he depends on Christ’s powerful work in him to proclaim the gospel to the nations (Eph. 3:7; 1 Cor. 15:10), he also depends on that same powerful work to fulfill his stewardship for the church (Col. 1:29).

So what’s this stewardship Paul has been given for the church?

What’s the goal of his missionary “struggle” and “labor” on behalf of congregations in Colossae and Laodicea? Paul’s answer is simple. He fully proclaims the word of God (v. 25) to bring God’s people to full, Christlike maturity (1:28). He teaches and admonishes them, proclaiming Christ to them so that “their hearts may be encouraged, being knit together in love, to reach all the riches of full assurance of understanding and the knowledge of God’s mystery, which is Christ” (Col. 2:2).

This divinely given task is reflected throughout Paul’s ministry.

ANXIETY FOR THE CHURCHES Paul’s comments to the Colossians demonstrate his missionary heart for the church. In his view, he doesn’t stop being a missionary when he visits or writes to an established congregation. He sees the health of the churches and the deep discipleship their members and leaders as part of his apostolic and missionary calling. The churches, like the unreached, are on the forefront of his mind and occupy a significant portion of his time and energy. In fact, the well-being of the churches is such a constant preoccupation for Paul that in 2 Corinthians he lists “the daily pressure of my anxiety for all the churches” (11:28) as part of his apostolic sufferings— along with shipwrecks, beatings, and imprisonments.

How did this “anxiety” for the churches affect Paul’s ministry?

Acts and Paul’s letters reveal that as Paul planned his missionary trips over the years, the needs of the churches, not just the needs of the unreached, dictated his itinerary and missionary strategy.

Consequently, Acts recounts that the churches of Galatia, Asia, Macedonia, and Achaia received two to three pastoral visits each from Paul.

Besides return visits, he writes pastoral letters that are “substitutes for his presence,” through which he conducts his pastoral work.

[1] Furthermore, the pastoral prayers sprinkled throughout these letters corroborate his claim that he prays for them constantly— night and day (Col. 1:9; 1 Thess. 3:10).

Elsewhere, Paul comments about his anxiety and tireless pastoral labor for the churches. For example, he fears for the Thessalonians (1 Thess. 3:5) and desires to visit them to “supply what is lacking in your faith” (v. 10). When he can’t visit them, he sends a member of his church planting team “to establish and exhort you in your faith” (v. 2).

We see the same concern and care for the Corinthians. His initial 18 months in their city were followed by years of pastoral followup which included multiple letters and return visits to present the Corinthians as a “pure virgin to Christ” (2 Cor. 11:2). Sometimes, Paul’s anxiety for a church took precedence over his ambition to preach Christ to those who had not heard. During his third journey, his concern for the church at Corinth drew him away from fruitful evangelistic work in Troas, “even though a door was opened for me in the Lord” (2 Cor. 2:12).[2] Paul likewise dedicated significant time and energy to strengthening the churches in Galatia for whom he was “in the anguish of childbirth until Christ is formed in you” (Gal. 4:19). It was this love and concern for the Galatian churches that led him to return to them on each of his major missionary journeys in Acts.

In short, Paul’s missionary ministry was as pastoral as it was pioneer. It was as dedicated to building up and strengthening existing churches as it was to planting new ones.

A LEGACY OF SERVING THE CHURCH As we can see, Paul’s concern for the reached—the churches scattered throughout the Mediterranean basin—meant that his ministry over the years oscillated between planting new churches and strengthening these existing ones. Sometimes those were churches that he had planted; sometimes they weren’t.

For example, after a decade of evangelism and church planting in Cilicia, he was recruited by Barnabas to help shepherd the burgeoning Gentile church in Antioch. For at least a year, Paul and Barnabas served together as teachers in Antioch (Acts 11:26) before being sent out by the church on a missionary journey (Acts 13:13).

Clearly, Paul didn’t see his investment in FBC of Antioch as a deviation from his missionary calling. On the contrary, that investment paid rich dividends as that congregation became the home base for his missionary travels. When the missionary works to strengthen the global church, he develops new ministry partners and new gospel launching points.

We see the same dynamic near the end of Paul’s ministry when he tells the well-established church in Rome that he is “eager to preach the gospel” and “to impart some spiritual gift” to them (Rom. 1:9–15). So, yes, he desires to reap a harvest among the nations, but he tells those Roman believers that he desires to reap a harvest among them as well (1:13).

Was this a deviation from Paul’s course to take the gospel to unreached Spain (15:20-21)? Was he breaking his own rule not to build on another man’s foundation? Not at all. Not only was strengthening the Roman churches a worthy ministry investment in itself, consistent with his goal to “present everyone mature in Christ” (Col. 1:28), it was also a part of his strategy to reach the unreached of Spain (Rom. 15:24). Paul wanted Rome to become the new Antioch for his foray farther west. He wanted the church in Rome, strengthened by his letter and his personal ministry, to partner with him as he pushed westward into pioneer territory.[3]

Perhaps the most striking example of Paul’s willingness to invest in well-established churches is his ministry to the church in Jerusalem. Before traveling toward Rome and Spain, Paul went east to Jerusalem to deliver the offering he had collected from the Gentile churches in Achaia and Macedonia. The goal of this trip was to promote the unity of the church and tangibly demonstrate the solidarity that exists in the gospel between Jewish and Gentile believers.

At first glance, this seems like a massive deviation from his plan to evangelize Spain. But this “ministry for the saints” in Judea (2 Cor. 9:1) was a worthy investment. Yes, he had “fulfilled the ministry of the gospel of Christ” from Jerusalem to Illyricum (Rom. 15:19), but that didn’t mean serving the church there was off the missionary table.

gospel or has been engaged that we can paint them green on a UPG map and assume there’s no more missionary work there to be done.

It’s a mistake to assume that Paul saw work among existing churches as outside the bounds of his missionary calling. And it’s a mistake to establish any metric or endgame for the missionary task other than building healthy churches with well-discipled members and well-trained, reproducing leaders.

Regardless of a missionary’s specific ministry focus, he is always a servant of the church.

[1] James W. Thompson, Pastoral Ministry According to Paul (Grand Rapids: Baker Academic, 2006), 31.

A COMMITMENT TO THE LONG GAME Paul loved the church. Whether that meant following up with churches he’d planted or investing in churches planted by others, his ministry demonstrates a legacy of tireless labor to bring God’s people to full maturity in Christ. Whether it meant deep discipleship (Col. 1:28) or ensuring that churches had trained, reproducing leadership (2 Tim. 2:2), he was committed to the long game outlined in the Great Commission.

It’s sometimes assumed that Paul would kind of swoop into an area, make some converts, gather them quickly into a new church, and then move on to virgin territory as soon as possible. One author characterized Paul as “always pressing on to find new fields to conquer, leaving the new converts to fend for themselves after the minimum of instruction.”[4] But that’s not the case. As Paul Bowers rebuts, “Insofar as the pattern of Paul’s plans and movements is available to us, there is no restless rushing from one new opening to another but rather a methodical progress concerned both with initiating work in new areas and at the same time with bringing the emergent groups in those areas to stable maturity.”[5] CONCLUSION

[2] See Elliot Clark, Mission Affirmed (Wheaton: Crossway, 2022), 14.

[3] In fact, the monumental book of Romans is, in large part, a call for the fractured churches of Rome to unite around Paul and his gospel so they could help him on his mission to Spain. Investment in already-established churches is a wise and crucial strategy for reaching the unreached (see Rom. 15:24).

[4] Michael Green, Evangelism in the Early Church (London: Hodder and Stoughton, 1970) 169. Quoted in Paul Bowers, “Fulfilling the Gospel: The scope of the Pauline Mission,” Journal of the Evangelical Theological Society 30 (1987): 190.

[5] Bowers, 189-90.

It’s a mistake to reduce missions to reaching the unreached. It’s a mistake to assume that when a group or region has access to the

AJ GIBSON AJ Gibson and his wife, Ruth, have served as missionaries since 2004. They joined Reaching and Teaching in early 2015 and AJ serves as Reaching & Teaching’s Regional Leader for Latin America and Sub-Saharan Africa. He also travels and teaches throughout Mexico and South America. The Gibsons now live in south Texas and AJ serves as an elder in his local church. They have two adult sons (Jonathan and Christian) and three children still at home (Katelyn, Hudson, and Sofia).

HOW THE PROSPERITY GOSPEL SYNCRETIZES WITH BUDDHISM April 26, 2022 | Eric Mullis

Prosperity theology is common among many churches in the Buddhist world, particularly in Asia. Sadly, the prosperity gospel has infiltrated, syncretized, and influenced various churches, networks, and denominations. I’ve seen first-hand the influence of prosperity theology and how it undermines true faith, weakens the church, and stifles biblical missions.

Missionaries need to be aware of how elements of the Buddhist worldview contribute to this dynamic. Put simply, Buddhism and the prosperity gospel are natural bedfellows. To understand this, we need to understand how they overlap, which in turn will help us both to speak into these syncretistic issues with wisdom, and to proclaim the gospel with effectiveness.

SHARED BELIEFS ON PROSPERITY Many in the West wouldn’t readily associate Buddhism with a desire for prosperity.

As commonly understood, Buddhism is about living an ascetic life, free of attachments to worldly things. However, recent scholars like Johan Everskog and Bhikkhu Basnagoda Rahula have pointed

“

Buddhism and the prosperity gospel are natural bedfellows. To understand this, we need to understand how they overlap, which in turn will help us both to speak into these syncretistic issues with wisdom, and to proclaim the gospel with effectiveness.

out that some of the Buddha’s teachings actually encourage the pursuit of prosperity for lay Buddhists. They argue the Buddha taught that material wealth and prosperity, something believed to bring happiness, can and should be desired. Some Buddhists agree, and so they instinctively see religion through the lens of health and prosperity.

While I lived in Thailand, I noticed how “Prosperity Buddhism”

gained popularity. One of Thailand’s most popular temples, Wat Dhammakaya, is a hub for the movement. Their ideology mirrors prosperity preachers who promise health and wealth to anyone who gives money and does good deeds. This temple is one of the largest in the world; it cost more than 1 billion dollars (USD) to build, can hold close to 150,000 people, and is home to over 3000 monks. Clearly, the Wat Dhammakaya shows that this sect of Buddhism carries significant influence.

Buddhists who adhere to this prosperity framework assume that all religions exist to provide success, wealth, and good fortune.

Left unchallenged, this assumption makes Buddhism easily syncretized with the prosperity gospel.

A SHARED CONNECTION WITH THE CONCEPT OF KARMA The prosperity gospel teaches that if one gives financially and does right things for God, then he will return the favor through financial gains, health, or other blessings. In other words, if you do good toward God, then he will do good toward you.

All forms of Buddhism certainly don’t adhere to “prosperity” teachings as described above; nonetheless, they all do share the idea that right actions bring blessings and rewards. You can control your destiny through “good deeds.” Think of the popular sow-a-seed prosperity preacher. “Give me $10 and the Lord will return to you with $100.”

escape pain, anxiety, and hardship.

During my early years in Thailand, I lived close to a city called Nakhorn Si Thammarat. This city was famous for a particular temple that had “magical” amulets. These amulets promised special blessings and deliverance from suffering. They sold for upwards of $30,000. In 2007, a stampede broke out at the temple when the new amulets were released. Dozens were injured and a woman was killed as people fought over who would get first choice of these prized amulets. Clearly, some of the Thai people would do anything to gain some sort of advantage over the spiritual world. Amulets like these are in high demand all throughout Thailand because the people are doing everything they can to eliminate suffering and gain blessing.

Buddhists primarily see religion as a pathway to overcoming temporal suffering. Because of this, it comes as no surprise that they would readily accept the “Christian” version of the prosperity gospel.

UNDERSTANDING SYNCRETISM HELPS BUILD HEALTHY CHURCHES For the sake of their evangelizing and discipling, missionaries must be mindful of how Buddhism and the prosperity gospel intersect. If they don’t, then it will be difficult to avoid syncretism, and to plant healthy, indigenous churches that can endure for generations.

This reciprocity/transactional framework is surprisingly similar to Buddhism’s doctrine of karma. After all, the logic of Karma is based on the same transactional worldview—your gifts and good deeds lead to blessings and good fortune.

Karma is foundational to the worldview of the Thai people. Possibly the most popular saying in the country is Bhikkhu Basnagoda Rahula (Tam Dee Dai Dee), which translates “do good, receive good.” Left unchallenged, Buddhists will easily import their foundational beliefs about Karma into their understanding of the gospel and the Christian faith. This is precisely how syncretism occurs.

A COMMON EMPHASIS ON OVERCOMING PERSONAL HARDSHIP AND SUFFERING The prosperity gospel and Buddhism also share a common emphasis on achieving freedom and relief from suffering. Their remedies may be difficult, but their burden is the same: suffering is bad, and we ought to escape it. Of course, in order to emphasize this, prosperity gospel preachers have to manipulate Scripture and claim that God means for his people to be free from temporal suffering.

Buddhism offers a more straightforward path to the same error.

The Four Noble Truths function as the foundation for Buddhist doctrine and practice. These state that all of life is suffering and the goal of life is right living through the eightfold path in order to

ERIC MULLIS Eric Mullis (PhD, Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary) served for 14 years in Thailand as a church planter in both rural and urban contexts. He most recently served as the team leader/ strategist for the Bangkok City Team with the International Mission Board. He currently lives in Charlotte, NC and works with the Baptist State Convention of North Carolina.

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SHORT-TERM UPDATE BURKINA FASO Ryan Powell

Where in the world will you see a young child working in a garden just 20 yards from saltwater crocodiles? What country requires a government issued GPS if you want to leave the capital? Where in Africa has there been nine military coups since 1952? If you guessed Burkina Faso, you would be correct.

Burkina Faso is a landlocked country with almost 20 million inhabitants. There are 59 different languages spoken in this beautiful yet complex country.

Islam is the primary religion in Burkina Faso. Evangelical Christianity may be considered the third largest religion due to the influence of African Traditional Religion. Burkina Faso largely makes the news because of its involutivity.

Terror attacks are common making it a very difficult place for foreigners and national pastors seeking to advance the gospel. In 2018, RTIM partnered with a missionary in Burkina Faso serving with the International Missions Board.

The goal was to teach nine modules over a period of three years to national pastors throughout the country. It is with great pleasure that we announce the completion of these modules and the tremendous blessing it was to fortify roughly 30 pastors in the truths of the Scriptures despite many trials.

In partnership with stateside churches, 17 pastors and church leaders from the United States committed to at least one week of teaching in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou. These stateside pastors and church leaders invested their time and energy to create lessons that were applicable in a cross-cultural setting. They traveled many hours in

the air and were diligent to keep up with strict visa constraints. During the teaching, two translators were used to communicate the two primary languages in Burkina FasoFrench and Mòoré.

The national pastors in attendance traveled from miles away, through multiple military checkpoints, and by primitive means to receive a theological education that simply does not exist in this country. Copious notes were taken during the training as they eagerly anticipated returning to their local ministries to put their training into practice. Deep friendships were created as national leaders spent the evenings together discussing ministry challenges over a meal.

We lived in a different world when this teaching site was opened in 2018. In 2020, the global pandemic severely delayed the progress in this country. Teaching modules were put on hold as travel restrictions made it almost impossible to travel to West Africa. Furthermore, a military coup in Ouagadougou this year delayed the teaching for several months. The final three modules were taught by RTIM staff equipped to navigate uncertain environments and challenging circumstances. The commitment of the national pastors to receive training from RTIM was amazing. Despite almost a year of delays, political unrest, and their own ministry challenges the majority in attendance in 2018 graduated in 2020 after attending all nine modules.

Praise the Lord for the work he is doing in Burkina Faso! Many of these pastors have now returned to areas in this country where no foreigner is able to go. They are ministering in primitive contexts, dangerous circumstances, and amid continual changes.

Please remember these pastors in your

prayers. We at RTIM are grateful to the Lord for the opportunity to invest in these leaders. We hope to continue many more gospel partnerships in this country as the Lord permits.

RYAN POWELL

Training Facilitator - West Africa Ryan was a missionary in Paris, France for 10 years. His cross-cultural experiences include church planting, church revitalization, campus ministry, teaching English, and international church membership. He obtained a doctorate in educational ministry with an emphasis on global missions from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary.

Discover more about our short-term ministry at rtim.org

MEET SOME OF OUR LONG-TERM WORKERS

THE BEHAR FAMILY JAPAN

We are the Behar family: Sam, Summer, Benjamin (12), Bethany (10), Jonathan (9), and Ellie (6). Sam is a 2014 graduate of The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. We joined Reaching and Teaching in its fledgling days in 2014, in hopes of coming to Japan right away.

In the Lord’s wisdom and providence, we first found an opportunity to serve in Peru where many Japanese-descent people live. We were in Lima for around two years, during which time the Lord grew us in ways that prepared us for service in Japan. In 2020, just before the pandemic swept the world, we moved to Japan. We are now beginning our third year here.

It may be surprising, but we are still learning Japanese. It is one of the hardest languages for native English

speakers. Ministry during language learning, and a pandemic to boot, is not easy, and we have found opportunities to be limited.

However, now that the country is opening up again, and we have had time to acquire quite a bit of language, we have had more opportunities. Sam preaches weekly at our local church, and sometimes he preaches at other churches. Our focus during language learning is to acclimate to the culture well and develop good friendships, thus laying a foundation for sharing the gospel well and for future ministry. We plan to base our ministry out of the local church and the network of churches in the area. Our hope is that through the faithful proclamation of the gospel coupled with outreach efforts, Christ will grow his church here.

Many people ask us why we chose to come to Japan. We ask ourselves, “How could we

not come to Japan?” According to the Joshua Project, only 0.3% of Japanese people claim to be evangelical, despite there having been a Christian presence here since the mid-1500s. How could we, who have been graciously brought into the kingdom of light, ignore one of the most spiritually dark places on earth?

William Gurnall, 17th century pastor and author of The Christian in Complete Armour, once reflected, “O if once our hearts were but filled with zeal for God, and compassion to our people’s souls, we would up and be doing, though we could but lay a brick a day, and God would be with us.” The work in Japan is slow, and longevity and long-suffering, we think, are vital to fruitful ministry here. We often feel as though we are laying one brick at a time, but so we are and we trust that God is with us.

WRIGHTS

CÓRDOBA, ARGENTINA We are the Wright family (Jason, Kami, Kayden, Carley, and Brielle) and we have been serving in Córdoba, Argentina for over 5 years. We have three children from ages 7 to 12. Our youngest was just over one year old when we arrived on the mission field so she is definitely more Argentine than the rest of us. Before moving to the mission field we lived in Texas where Jason served as a pastor. In 2013, we helped plant Redeemer Church of Abilene and from the beginning prayed that the Lord would allow us to be a missionary sending church. Little did we know God’s plan was for us to be the first missionary family sent out

by Redeemer. As our sending church, Redeemer continues to play an important role in our lives and ministry and we are so thankful for them.

Córdoba is the second largest city in Argentina and serves as a central hub for the interior of the country. There are an estimated 250,000 college students in our city of about 1.5 million, which represents a huge evangelistic field and potential missionary force. Though the gospel arrived in Argentina many years ago, there is a great need for more churches to be planted, believers to be discipled, and pastors to be trained.

What’s more, Argentina, along with other Latin American countries, represents the next generation of missionaries that will be sent to reach the still unreached places of the world.

Here in Córdoba, we are members of Iglesia Crecer which was planted about 25 years ago. Since then it has planted several other churches throughout the country. Over the last couple of years we have helped form an association of like-minded churches across Argentina.

The association exists to encourage pastors and churches, provide training and leadership development, and to cooperate together for the planting of churches and sending out of missionaries.

We recently held a pastors’ retreat and more than 25 churches were represented and several others have joined since then.

of Argentina and we are praying and planning for several others who will be sent out over the next couple of years.

In addition to serving churches within the association, Jason serves as the director of Seminario Carey, a Bible institute that provides theological training for Spanish speaking pastors and leaders from all over the world. In other and more remote parts of Argentina we work to provide theological training for pastors and leaders who otherwise would not have access to such training. Time and time again we have been amazed at the hunger there is for biblical teaching and training and grieved by the lack of access or other obstacles that make it difficult for the training to take place.

In addition to mentoring women in the internship program, Kami homeschools our three kids. She recently started a homeschooling co-op to help minister to and encourage other homeschooling families in our area. Living and raising a family in another country has its challenges, but God has been very kind to us. We consider it a joy and privilege to serve here and to raise our kids in another culture. Please pray for perseverance for us both as parents and as missionaries. Pray for Argentina, that faithful leaders will continue to be raised up and sent out and that healthy churches will be planted. We believe there is an awakening happening in Argentina and pray that God will allow us to be faithful stewards and servants.

We also help facilitate a two-year internship program for Argentines who feel called to church planting or missions. Some of our former interns have already been sent out by our church to serve in remote places

THE PRACTICUM Did you know that Reaching & Teaching offers the Practicum? This is a 6-week summer opportunity for 18-25-year-olds to spend time with Reaching & Teaching missionaries, in order to learn from them and do life and ministry alongside of them. The goal is that these students would be an encouragement to our teams on the ground, would grow in their love for the church-centric missions, and would be able to better discern whether to pursue long-term work overseas.

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It is my prayer that the Practicum will cultivate hearts in our students for glorifying God among the nations which will last a lifetime.

Reaching & Teaching had the joy of launching 22 young adults to spend their summer with a team in 1 of 8 different locations. The students met in Atlanta for a two-day Orientation at the beginning of June prior to flying to their host team.

They spent their time learning about Reaching & Teaching’s core missiological and theological convictions, engaging with their teammates, and preparing for their time on the field both spiritually and practically. The Reaching & Teaching staff observed in these students a maturity, like-mindedness, and love for the local church and sent them off with eager anticipation of what the Lord would do.

prepare the students for the field. The young believers participating in the Practicum were also such a blessing to us on the staff as we quickly realized that God had blessed our missionary hosts on the field with an outstanding, mature, and motivated group hungry to pour themselves into ministry in their host cultures.

Jimmy Winfrey serves as our Practicum Coordinator, overseeing the logistics of the program and serving as a mentor to the students. He commented, “The RTIM Practicum is near and dear to my heart because I know how much my own summer serving on the field in Mexico City solidified my desire to serve in missions long-term. It is my prayer that the Practicum will cultivate hearts in our students for glorifying God among the nations which will last a lifetime.

As these students finish their final weeks overseas, pray with us that God would grow in them a deep dependence on him, a love for the church and for the lost, and clarity in how they can leverage their gifts for the sake of the Kingdom. In addition, pray that our teams and those they serve alongside would continue to be faithful in their labors, seeing fruit in the months and years to come.

Our orientation in Atlanta was such an encouraging experience for everyone involved. The students expressed such gratitude to all the RTIM staff who worked so hard over the last year to

By God’s grace, halfway through the Practicum now, we are receiving many prayer requests from the students to ask God for wisdom regarding the possibility of serving in the field long-term as career missionaries as a result of the edifying experiences they have been blessed with.”

Discover more about our Practicum opportunities at rtim.org

HAVE YOU HEARD?

Preview Day

DISCOVER REACHING & TEACHING Whether you desire to move overseas as a career missionary or are looking for ways to mobilize your church towards global missions, our Preview Day is a great place to learn more about the heart and opportunities of Reaching & Teaching. We would love to have you join us!

Register to attend at rtim.org

Why You Should Come Here’s what you can expect from the day: Discover Reaching & Teaching’s DNA Connect with like-minded Christians Expand your missions horizons Take the first steps Learn how you can partner with us

Upcoming Dates: July 11, 2022 / January 2, 2023 Louisville, KY Third Ave Baptist Church November 4, 2022 Washington, DC Capitol Hill Baptist Church February 10, 2023 Goodyear, AZ Redeeming Grace Church * All Preview Days are $50 per person

The Path to Being a Pastor A Guide for the Aspiring

By Bobby Jamieson

Check out recent blog post by Chris Phillips on how this book is essential not only for aspiring pastors but also aspiring missionaries.

Read our full Review on the RTIM Blog!

UNITE ‘22 PRE-CONFERENCE Reaching & Teaching will be hosting a new pre-conference event at Unite 2022 exploring how we can better partner with those serving overseas. For an additional cost of just $20, international pastors and those looking to partner in the US are encouraged to attend our pre-conference on Monday, October 3rd at Southeastern Seminary. This event will feature panel discussions, breakouts, dedicated times for networking with international pastors, and more. Breakfast and lunch are included in the ticket price. Registration for this event is an add-on feature during Unite 2022 registration at Eventbrite.

Monday, October 3rd

Find more information

9:00am - 4:00pm

and register at

Southeastern Seminary

thepillarnetwork.com

120 South Wingate Street Wake Forest, NC

rtim.org