As of the beginning of May I have *officially* become a full-time missionary. In less than 50 days I will find myself at the Vancouver airport waiting for my plane to take off and whisk me off to the next chapter in my life. This is something that, in one form or another, has been 16 year in the making, and I cannot help but chime in with, well anyone who has known me for any length of time, and say "Finally!"
Taking this step is something that I find both exciting and frightening: I am very excited and happy to actually begin to see my dreams come true. Yet there are days when it hits me "I am leaving the best job I have ever had, selling everything I own to move to the other side of the world, to do a job with no guaranteed income, no guarantee of success, and no back up plan. Am I crazy?" (Yes absolutely!)
Some may be asking: Why Full-time Ministry?
Well...I don't really have a choice. I firmly believe that God guides my path, now by this I do not mean "I was predestined to be a missionary and have no choice in the matter." Of course I have a choice. I have free choice in every aspect of my life. If I decided that I wanted to go drive heavy equipment in Ft McMurray, I could. If I decided that my life's purpose is best fulfilled by being a freeloading bum on some beach in California, I could. However, I believe that the God who created me has a perfect purpose for me (and every person reading this), and I believe that this purpose is best fulfilled in full time ministry. For as long as I can remember, I have been happiest at church and doing Christian volunteer work (short-term mission trips, leading youth groups, assisting in church services and ministries). And since my early teens I have felt called of God to work in the church (this occurred both through words spoken to me by trusted pastors and just an internal sense purpose). I have worked in many other jobs and business, and found fulfilling aspects of each, but nothing has granted the satisfaction and fulfillment I find in working with the church. I do not believe I will feel fulfilled working at any other career.
So...Why International Missions?
I mean certainly there are plenty of church positions available to me here in Canada? Well, yes there probably are, but again it comes down to where I feel lead by God to be and opportunities presented before me. Missions have long been an important part of my life, ever since my parents started taking us down to Mexico to minister at an orphanage in the Baja. (Well, probably even before that, I have always loved hearing the stores of the great missionaries.) And now there is a great opportunity set before me to move to Thailand and work with an international missions organization, so I am going to take it.
Why this organization?
I could go into great detail and a very long history about the organization I have chosen to work with, but all that information is available from their webpage, and I really do not see the point in restating what others have already said well...so why don't you go and check out their website:
www.wmcontinuum.com
Feel free to take as much time to check out their website and come back, I will wait.
If you want a abridge version, here it is: World Mission Continuum (previously known as "Aid and Development World Mission") is an international missions organization from Alberta. Started by some amazing people in Alberta around 1980, Al and Terry were requested to go to Southeast Asia to establish an orphanage. From this one orphanage the ministry has grown into bible colleges and churches, orphanages, practical ministries and more; not only in Thailand but in many of the surrounding countries. There has been amazing growth over the last 30+ years, and the growth continues to explode in the region. It is a very exciting place to begin my missions.
I have known of Pastor Al and Terry's ministry in Thailand since my mid-teens when they used to come and speak at my church. I loved to hear his stories, but did not think much about going to Thailand. I was already planning on going to the Victory Bible College in Calgary, and did not think much about making the move into international mission. I mean I thought it would be something nice to do eventually, but it was more my mother who thought it was what I was going to do for the rest of my life. In my fourth year of college I moved to Lethbridge to intern at The Gate, a Victory Church where I meet some of Pastor Al's children. I also took a few trips with The Gate to Thailand and began to develop a relationship with Al and Terry, it did not take long for me to see that God is doing great things through their ministry and I would love nothing more than to be used by God alongside this vibrant couple. Now, years later, the door has been opened for me to actually do just that. There is an opportunity here for me and I am taking it.
What Will I be Doing?
I am not fully sure. There are so many places that I can plug in with this ministry, and thanks to my God-given gifts and abilities, I seem to have endless choices of what I could be doing. Much of my first year will be spent learning how best I can assist the ministry. The leadership does have somethings they would like me to be doing right from the get go. When I first arrive I will be assisting with the "7-weeks in Asia" mission trip, where we will bring youths from North America (mostly Canadian) into Thailand and take them on a life changing mission trip. This year we will be taking them to India, Cambodia, and the jungles of Northern Thailand. After the youth go home I will get ready for the bible college students. It is very likely that I will be helping the students with the English as well as helping with mentoring and discipleship. And that is as far as I know.
How is the cost covered?
As with anything in this world there is costs: housing, food, and travel just to name a few. The cost of living in Thailand is lower than the cost of living in Canada, but it is still a cost. However, unlike my time in Canada where I can work a regular job to cover my expenses, this is not an option for me in Thailand. I will not be receiving pay from those I will be ministering to in Thailand. Instead my friends, family, and anyone else so inclined, can make donations to World Missions Continuum on my behalf, which will be my "Salary" This is what is known as "Faith Based" missions. Because the organization I am working with does not have a large financial backing each missionary is responsible for raising their own support. While this can make it hard on the missionary, it has also proven to be effective.
I write all this to say: I firmly believe in the vision and mission of Pastor Al and the Victory Asia team. I believe that God is leading me to partner with this ministry, not just financially as I have been doing, but also by being there practically. However, for me to see this come to reality I am in need of financial partners to help me cover costs. If you are interested in partnering, please let me know and I can get you the information required.
Thank You for taking the time to read this,
Tyler
"A Boy Wonder"