expat – a person taking up residency in another country.  

Being with other expats brings much joy.  This joy gives a sense of normalcy, community, security, and familiarity. But in the midst of the host nation culture  it can become an obstacle to ministry. It may remove you from opportunities to learn and interact with local people. This as you well know, is the reason you have come.

The more expats you get to know, the more invitations you will receive to special occasions.  Their birthdays, anniversaries, and holiday celebrations start eating away at your non-work time.  One day you realize (I hope) that almost all your free time is now spent away from local people.

Spending time with people from cultures similar to your own easily becomes your safe haven. It lets you escape the realities  and challenges of being with local people.  It takes you away from people of your host nation and coworkers from other nations.  But these are the very people who do not have access to the Gospel in their homelands.

Most tentmakers go abroad without taking any targeted training that would help them avoid pitfalls and learn to see the opportunities for sharing their faith in restricted countries. There are excellent classroom courses in an increasing number of countries (as reported in last months Tentmaking Today), but in reality, professional people struggle with getting time off to attend these intensive class room courses.

A fair question is, would people watch these classroom lectures online in a sound bite world? I am confident that tentmakers who find themselves overwhelmed and discouraged in the field, will seek out these videos.

Here are some highlights on videos available right now.

The irony is that tentmakers do not need to raise support as they are fully supported by their jobs and businesses. However, the people who mobilize, equip and mentor these tentmakers are fully dependent on donations.

If you have ever been helped or encouraged by these teams or by reading the free Tentmaking Today, would you consider making a donation?

Go to their websites or contact them directly.

www.intent.org/give 
www.tentinternational.org

By Ari Rocklin