Returned tentmakers into mentors

When tentmakers return home they go through what is commonly known as “return culture shock”. Adjusting to life as it used to be seems easy enough, but the surprise is that they have changed as they have seen and experienced another culture and been impacted by it.

I often hear how hard it was to adjust to no one asking them about their faith anymore. As tentmakers, they always had people around them asking about God or what they believe. At home, hardly anyone asks about faith matters.

The home church has changed while they were abroad, some friends have left, new people have come, perhaps the pastor that sent them is now gone as well. Finding their place at the church they earnestly missed is challenging. Some find it impossible to adjust and thus change churches. Continue reading →

I received a phone call from a returned tentmaker couple saying their time abroad had been a total failure. They did not see anyone become a follower of Jesus and in their situation it had been nearly impossible to make relationships with local people.

They had come to the conclusion that tentmaking as mission does not work.

We agreed to meet together so I could hear their full story. Continue reading →

We were getting the tentmaking booth ready for the missions conference when a couple stopped by to chat. They had questions about tentmaking and wanted to know more, so we invited them to attend the tentmaker track the next day.

Jerry and Sonya were very interested when they were told about an upcoming tentmaking course the following week, but they explained that since both of them were working, it would be impossible to get time off work on such short notice. Continue reading →

“Mission agency to cut 600 to 800 Missionaries“

Western missions funding has been declining for the past 25 years & the pace is accelerating!

When we were first married, we immediately met with our missions coordinator, who was delighted that a young couple was committed to going abroad. However, as the years rolled by it became evident that our departure was not going to happen any time soon. Indeed, the mission was pulling people off the field due to lack of finances. The missions coordinator told us to simply go abroad and find jobs, and that is how we became the accidental tentmakers. Continue reading →