We were recently invited by the Evangelical Church of Cuba to run the first tentmaking course there. As they did not have the money to pay for our travel and fees, we made the decision to cover these costs out of our own pocket. We trusted that the Lord was opening up this new opportunity to expand His kingdom through Christian professionals going abroad to work, with the intention of making disciples.

32 people came to the training and some 22 of them are ready to go abroad.

A tentmaker’s life, work, and ministry balance is a tricky one. Being in a strange culture takes its toll, and dealing with co-workers from many nations while trying to find downtime is an ever-present challenge.

Add to this the many interactions, welcome or not, with locals and their agendas, and avoidance of people can easily become commonplace.

The most frequent interruption is someone wanting to practice their English skills, who views the tentmaker as a free lesson or perhaps as an opportunity to make a new friend to take these lessons even deeper. It starts innocently enough with common greetings and questions. What is your name? Where are you from? Why are you here? What do you believe? These are the most common questions heard by tentmakers.

How will your church respond?

Imagine one of your church members announcing that they are going to begin their journey toward becoming missionaries!

What would you think after hearing just that one sentence?

– Good luck trying to find the money

– Our church can’t afford you

– Here comes a pitch for donations