In November twenty years ago, a very hesitant former tentmaker was asked to make a presentation at a missions event in Kangasala, Finland. With a few projector overheads in the bag, he drove in the dark Nordic fall on snow-covered roads in a borrowed car.

Retired Missionaries Convention

As he pulled into the event parking lot, he saw a huge banner which said Retired Missionaries Convention. This must be a joke, he thought. These people were traditional missionaries to their core, and a much younger man was about to make a presentation to them about using one’s profession to go as a missionary, without the need for raising money or for missions school before leaving. They’ll eat me alive! He thought.

Some 80 missionary heroes and statesmen had gathered this night and watched carefully as the young man walked up to the podium with his overheads. As he looked over the audience, it seemed that there was not a single welcoming expression anywhere. The pressure increased. For a moment he thought of how cruel it was for the promoters to invite him to this event. If this was a joke, then it was a really bad one.

Though his command of the Finnish language was acceptable for a coffee table conversation, speaking in front of a large group was a challenge. During the drive up, he had practiced using some of the more complicated words. The list of countries which were a part of the presentation included United Arab Emirates, which in Finnish was a very challenging name: Yhdistyneet Arabiemiraatit. As he rattled off the names of countries where opportunities existed for tentmakers it became obvious that he would not be able to say the full name of the UAE in Finnish. In a panic, he said Dubai instead, which rolled off the tongue much more easily.

The Mobilizer

After the presentation microphones were set up so that the missionary statesmen could offer their best advice to this new missions mobilizer. Much to the presenter’s surprise, there were only encouraging words, which included valuable advice that would impact his ministry for the next twenty years. One resounding piece of advice from a lady missionary still holds true: “Whenever you stand up to speak about tentmaking as mission, begin from the Bible, using Acts 18:3.”

There was a time for coffee at the end of the session, during which a young lady asked to speak with the presenter. She told of her 17-year-old journey toward becoming a tentmaker and how difficult it was for a single woman to be sent to the Arab world. On her way to the event she had told God that unless the presenter said the word Dubai, she would take it as a sign that she should give up on becoming a tentmaker.

The Result

In a vision years before, she had seen men in white gowns in an Arab country and knew this was where God was leading her. On that night, the presenter stumbled with his words and said the word Dubai not once, but six different times. Each time she heard that, it was like God was hitting her on the head to say: This is where I am sending you. The following year, she found herself in the country of her calling as a tentmaker.

Since that shaky beginning, and through a 20-year journey as a tentmaker mobilizer, the mobilizer has seen hundreds if not thousands leaving for the unreached areas where the name of Jesus is not yet known. The things he has experienced and the stories of the people that have come into his life could fill a book.

By Ari Rocklin