by Andrew Sharp

It’s time to pay the monthly bills. Pick up a pen, grab the checkbook, and cross them off the list. At the same time, send off a few donations to various good causes. Then get back to life until next month’s bills come due.

Sound like fun? Hopefully not. Sound familiar? Maybe. Most of us have probably approached giving as a duty at some point. When that happens, it’s time to sit back and evaluate how and why we give.
As the missions agency for Conservative Mennonite Conference, Rosedale Mennonite Missions is supported for the most part by donors. We recently talked to a few of them about why and how they contribute. We hope their stories (told anonymously) will inspire you to think about giving in a fresh way, to ponder why you give, and to approach it creatively as more than a duty.

Gifts of Time
Missions work is in itself a gift of time, so we could include countless stories of mission workers. But many others, not called to overseas missions, have given time to RMM. Recently during the renovation of the Rosedale International Center, hundreds of volunteers—individuals and church groups—spent thousands of hours helping the contractors. One of them was a semi-retired painter who traveled to Columbus and gave seven months of his life working with another volunteer to paint the interior of the 33,000-square-foot building. Together they rolled and brushed hundreds of gallons of paint in dorms, hallways and classrooms. They also helped supervise volunteer groups who were painting. “I guess you’d call it a challenge. I like challenges in my life,” he said. He pointed to his experience as a time of spiritual growth and making new friendships.

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Help Launch the next century of missions at RMM!

Missions offerings started small in CMC. In 1915, five years after the conference was founded, the fledgling conference was still exploring ways to go about missions. Although outreach was emphasized from the beginning, a formal missions agency was years away. So that year the offering was designated for “charitable purposes,” and came to a grand total of $44.

A few years later, there was an offering of $440 toward paying for a children’s home and establishing a new missions fund. Many years later, in 2010, our goal for Missions Day Offering is a little higher yet—$440,000.

If this figure seems high, it’s because it is nearly double the usual offering. In 2008, the Missions Day Offering came to $267,000, and in 2009 it was $237,500. But as we approach the next century of CMC missions, we are expanding, and that growth comes with a price tag.

Part of that price tag is paying for new programs and initiatives at the Rosedale International Center (RIC), our new training facility. We are excited about expanding REACH, bringing in more groups for City Challenge, and offering more training for missions workers.

Our goal for this year’s Missions Day Offering is to celebrate CMC’s 100th anniversary with a one-time landmark offering of $440,000 that will serve as a springboard for the next century. About half of the goal ($240,000) would go toward RMM’s general fund as usual. And anything we receive over that amount would go toward the new training and programs at the RIC.

Things have changed a lot since 1910. CMC has commissioned RMM as an agency with a clear vision for international church planting. That vision has been backed by a generous increase in support from the conference. That offering of $44 in 1915 would be about $950 in today’s value. The $440 donated in 1919 would be worth about $5,500. Today, we are blessed every year with offerings in the hundreds of thousands. We are grateful.

Click Here to Give to the Offering

Posted by RMM Blog Administrator at 11:59 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

From an RMM Worker

I am sure most of you have been seeing and hearing disquieting news about Thailand the last few days. I wanted to write and let you know that I have been far from any demonstrations or danger, and am perfectly safe. My mission team is located in a province just south of Bangkok. Therefore, we have been spared most of the problems, although we are also under a state of emergency and a curfew for the next few days. The curfew was put in place as a measure to keep people safe and to try to prevent further looting and arson attempts. I have not heard anything new today from Bangkok, so it appears that most of the Red Shirt demonstrators that were behind this destruction have finally been caught or given up. I know most of you probably have questions about the political views that have sparked all these problems. I will not attempt to go into that because it is a very complicated issue. The main point is that there are very deep political divisions and incredible dissatisfaction among Thai people. Some of the main points of contention are corruption in the government, inequality between social/economic classes, and desires for democracy vs. allegiance to the monarchy. The current Prime Minister and Parliament have a plan to try to bring stability back to Thailand and then have new elections later this year. None of us are certain if they will be allowed to follow this plan or if more protests and unrest will be coming in the near future. My prayer is that God will use this situation to call Thai people to himself. That their eyes will be opened to their need for God in the midst of their distress and confusion. I pray also for wisdom to know how to respond and bring hope. Most of my friends and neighbors are embarrassed that Thai people have become so hateful and violent. They are searching for answers, and I pray that God will give me words of life and assurance for them.

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From an account from the Zambia REACH team

God’s power can overwhelm demons, heal the sick, and transform lives in a moment. Many times it’s not that dramatic; it’s the quiet transformation of the everyday. But some members of the Zambia REACH team recently got the privilege of a front row seat for the more dramatic display of that power.

It started when two members of the team went to breakfast with a missionary couple. This couple was part of a team that was reaching out to some remote tribes, and they invited the REACHers to go along to a new village where a people called the Tonga lived. They were friendly to outsiders, but under a lot of superstition and spiritual darkness.

The two team members accepted the invitation and set out with two of the missionaries, Bob and Joe, and a local Christian named Friday. It wasn’t an easy trip. “There’s a definite reason this tribe (and hundreds of tribes like them) are unreached,” one of the team members said. “The roads were pretty horrible.” Bob told them it costs about $500-$700 for each trip.

When they finally got to the village, they introduced themselves to the headman, and asked permission to stay. He granted permission, so they set up their tents and waited for sunset when the people came in from the fields. Then they started a service and Friday, who knew the language, presented the gospel.

Sometimes mission workers see only a few people follow God in many years of work, but this night it wasn’t that way. The people’s hearts were ready—15 of them committed to Jesus, and several sick people came for prayer. But there were spiritual forces that were not going to give up without a fight.

Right after they started praying for one of the women who had made a commitment, a demon manifested itself in her by shaking her violently for about a minute. They kept rebuking it in Jesus’ name and commanding it to leave, and after it shook her for a little it left and she was back in her right mind.

Another woman was also gripped by a demon. She shook, stiffened up, and made bird noises, but that demon was driven out also. “That was really awesome to see God working his power in those people,” one of the REACHers said, “even in those who weren’t possessed but were definitely in need of Jesus.” One man who they thought had cancer told them that he was now ready to die if that’s what God wanted.

Before they left, they had another service the next night and more people believed in Jesus. “To see the genuine desire the villagers had to get to know God—amazing,” one of the team said.

It sounds like a story out of the book of Acts, but it happened in 2010. The same God who shook the Roman world of that time reached into an African village and transformed it, and he let the REACHers be a part.

Posted by RMM Blog Administrator at 07:47 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

by Andrew Sharp

The first official event in the Rosedale International Center was RMM’s fifth biennial prayer conference. Richard andJewel Showalter led a weekend of worship and prayer focusing on God’s glory. The theme: the earth is saturated with God’s glory, but not everyone recognizes it. In a sinful world, the clearest revelation of God’s glory is accompanied by suffering love. From their experiences around the world, Richard and Jewel shared many stories of people opening their eyes to the glory of God. The weekend culminated with a prayer service asking God to reveal his glory to the world’s nations who don’t yet see it.

Between sessions there were a variety of workshops and opportunities for prayer. Topics included teaching on various ways to pray—listening prayer, prayer journeys, prayers of confession and repentance, and more. Groups also went out into Columbus to pray in different sites and areas. These included a mosque, a city market, the downtown business community, a gay community, and many others.

Posted by RMM Blog Administrator at 07:52 AM | Permalink | Comments (1)