Justification by Faith

The Message of Missions in One Verse (Galatians 2:16)
Our message is the Person of Jesus Christ - who He is and what He did on our behalf. The Good News is that salvation is by faith apart from works.
Psalm 107:2

Reason #7 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #7 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip is the bonus benefit of getting to know and minister to missionary families.

The primary reason for a GDMMissions Field Team Trip is evangelism. To accomplish this we work with missionaries and national pastors to organize evangelism opportunities and take the Gospel to others. Fellowship with national believers is a cross-cultural blessing for the team. Often, we find that we can also minister to missionaries and their children as we spend time together.

#7 – Get to Know and Minister to Missionary Families

A priceless benefit of a GDMMissions field team trip is getting to know missionary families in their home setting. You don’t get to know missionaries as well when they visit your church for a few hours, show pictures of their mission field, then leave for their next church presentation. When you spend a week working side-by-side with a family you get a better glimpse of what it means to be a full-time missionary. If you live for one week with a missionary family and help them in their daily service for the Lord you form lasting bonds of friendship with them. You gain an appreciation for the passion they have to see souls saved. You also have occasions to encourage them in some of the difficulties of life on the mission field. As you see them pour out their lives in service to the Lord maybe, just maybe, you will be led by God to give your live for full-time service too.

Item of Prayer: That God would use you in the lives of missionaries during a short-term field team trip; that you would learn more about what it means to serve full time on the mission field.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #6 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #6 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip recognizes that God wants all of us to use our talents and spiritual gifts to the utmost.

The context of the Apostle Paul’s teaching on spiritual gifts in Romans 12 and I Corinthians 12 is the local church but these verses apply, I believe, to the Body of Christ universally as well. In a short-term ministry to another body of believers we should be open to use our humanly-developed skills and talents as well as our spiritual gifts to edify and build up the Body of Christ.

#6 – Use Your Talents and Spiritual Gifts
As servants (literally bondslaves) of Jesus Christ, God calls us to go forth and serve Him. Romans 12:1-2 exhorts us to begin by offering our bodies as a “living sacrifice.” Certainly God can use you regardless of your career specialty, physical training, or spiritual gifts. Field team trips with GDMMissions use talents and spiritual gifts in servants of any age or background. But if you have training and abilities in health care these demonstrate compassion for others and thereby open an opportunity to share the Gospel. Don’t think that all you can do for the Lord is simple labor (although there are plenty of those opportunities for everyone on a field team!) or that you will be relegated to make-work activity because a team is so large. A GDMMissions field team trip “stretches” you to apply talents and gifts that maybe you didn’t even realize you had. Our teams are usually small (fewer than ten people) so everyone is assigned multiple responsibilities for health care and evangelistic ministry. During our trip we also have opportunities to minister spiritually to one another every day.

It doesn’t matter what your talents or gifts are when you serve on a field team. What matters is your selflessness and faithfulness. Our team goal on a trip is for you to use your physical talents and spiritual fruits as you spend time laboring in His harvest field.

Item of Prayer: That God would develop in you a spirit of selflessness service (characterized by Romans 12:1-2) and a willingness to offer all you are to Him; that you would be willing to offer your physical talents and abilities, whatever they are, for God to use as He desires and for His glory.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #5 For Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #5 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip places an emphasis on fellowshipping with like-minded believers.

“That which we have seen and heard declare we unto you, that ye also may have fellowship with us: and truly our fellowship is with the Father, and with his Son Jesus Christ.” 1 John 1:3

#5 – Fellowship With Like-minded Believers

GDMMissions works with missionaries and national believers who share our doctrine and goals for ministry. Not only do we agree doctrinally, but we find that whatever the culture we share the same general practices from God’s Word of conservative music for worship, modesty of dress, separation from the world, and a desire to share Christ with others. We enjoy wonderful fellowship with national believers specifically because their worship and evangelism approaches are in harmony with ours. When you take a missions trip with GDMMissions you will make lasting friendships with other believers who may speak another language and have very little materially but who have a great reverence for God’s Word and a desire to honor Him in their lives. The evangelistic zeal of many national believers can sometimes be convicting. Biblically knowledgeable, motivated, dedicated servants will challenge us to be better servants too. When you go on a missions trip with a desire to be a blessing to others you often end up being blessed yourself!

Item of Prayer: That you would choose a mission organization that emphasizes participation with like-minded churches and individuals; look for those groups who value national believers as their partners in God’s ministry; look for a mission that only fellowships with organizations and churches with whom you can agree doctrinally.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Teamwork in Dental and Medical Evangelism: Partnership in the Dominican Republic

The Apostle Paul was not a one-man evangelism campaign. Wherever he traveled throughout the Roman Empire he relied on faithful men like Titus who he called his “fellowhelper” (II Corinthians 8:23) or Timothy his “workfellow.” (Romans 16:21) Sometimes his team included a mighty preacher like Apollos (Acts 18:24-28) but mostly it was made of men and women working in the background like Marcus or Aristarchus who were simply called “fellowlabourers.” (Philemon 1:24) Prominent evangelists, preachers, and pastors worked beside servants and labourers as an extended missionary team took the Gospel to the far ends of the Roman Empire. They were followers of Jesus Christ who shared a love for the Lord and a zeal to see souls saved.

Such is the case when GDMMissions takes the Gospel to a foreign country as part of a dental and medical evangelism team. Our core team of dental and medical professionals is reinforced by those of us with minor skills that God can use to form a unique team with a mission – to provide health care services that draw people out to hear the Word of God, some for the first time.

In the Dominican Republic in June (2010) our team of six from the U.S. was joined by national believers who complemented our skills to make us an effective witness for the Lord. Here are a few examples of team members we worked with who we lovingly call our “fellowhelpers” and “fellowlabourers.”

Pastor Hector Amparo and Family
Almost every day in the Dominican Republic we were joined by Pastor Hector Amparo and his family. (In photo L-R, Jaasiel, Pastor, Pura, Jocabed) They helped us in many ways during our time there. (I had met Pastor Amparo at a Fundamental Baptist conference in Puerto Rico the previous year and he was my contact in setting up the agenda of our 11-day trip to the island.) On our first day in the town of Bayaguana Pastor Amparo presented the Gospel to a number of people who waited to see the dentist. He then sat with 12-year old Armando who accepted Christ as his Savior. We rejoiced with the boy’s mother (a believer) who had brought him to have his teeth checked but it ended us that his heart was transformed by God! Pura (Pastor Amparo’s wife) and their daughter Jaasiel took on the job of patient organization and bringing order out of chaos to get the clinic started. Daughter Jocabed (a sophomore at Calvary Baptist Bible College in Puerto Rico) helped translate for Dr. Mitchell. By the end our days of clinics the Amparo family had become an indispensable part of the dental evangelism team. Their generous hospitality and willingness to do anything needed in the clinics was capped by kind gifts for each team member on the day before we left. Their help for us will be remembered as a refreshing island breeze.

Sulenny
We met Sulenny at our first dental clinic and she immediately attached herself to the team to augment our dental ministry. Sulenny (L in photo with Cuppy who sterilized instruments) is a student at the University in Santo Domingo with two years remaining for her dentist degree. She had heard about our ministry through the pastor of her church in the city and showed up to clean teeth. Her desire was to help in any way with the dental clinic. What stood out was her willingness to serve every day under difficult clinic conditions of extreme heat, noise, and the general hubbub of pressing crowds of patients. She was able to catch a bus from the city to meet us each morning at most of our clinics. Her cheerful disposition was a constant encouragement to us all. She would clean up her workspace and turn to the registrar, smile, and quietly say, “I’m ready for my next patient.” This continued all day, every day, and it was a blessing to have her as our “fellowhelper." When she graduates she wants to conduct dental evangelism clinics in local towns and villages through her local church.

Anna Luiza
We don’t appreciate how much little things mean until we face inconveniences in our lives. We don’t expect to get “American food” when we go to a foreign country. We know it’s going to be hot and that the mosquito population has been eagerly awaiting our arrival. But Anna Luiza (Center in photo in white shirt) arrived from one of our host churches in Santo Domingo to the camp where we were staying in San Pedro and informed us she would be there for most days to cook for us. We enjoyed some wonderful meals of traditional chicken and rice and beans (the Dominican national dish,) plantains, yucca, and fruit. Don’t get me wrong – the food was wonderful but when a few of our less-hardy team members began to suffer from “culinary shock” we asked Anna Luiza if she could cook oatmeal for us. She broke into a smile and said, “Ah, Si!” For dinner that night she made a huge pot of cinnamon oatmeal and it was just what we needed to recalibrate our stomachs and taste buds. We told her how much we loved it and she made it again for breakfast! It was great! Anna Luiza cooked other flavorful things for us during our stay but the cinnamon oatmeal and strong Dominican coffee for breakfast started our day just right. Anna Luiza joined us also at several clinics to register patients and witness to women about her Lord. Of course, it wasn’t the oatmeal and coffee that impressed us as much as this cheerful servant of the Lord who was willing to cook for us and join us in God’s evangelism program.



Euclides and Benoni
Two men worked as part of a larger evangelism team when we ministered in the country town of Quisqueya in conjunction with a local evangelism mission called Jesus Came, Lives, And Is Coming (initials MJV3 in Spanish.) On our first Saturday in the Dominican Republic we were joined by two dentists, five doctors, two pharmacists, and a large number of believers from churches in Santo Domingo. Out of this group several men and women were assigned the task of teaching the Bible to groups of adults and making sure everyone from the town who came to the dental and medical clinic heard a clear presentation of the Gospel. Euclides is a computer engineer and Benoni is head of Immigration at the Santo Domingo Airport (and a Colonel in the Dominican Armed Forces.) Both spent hours talking to groups with their Bibles open and sharing that God loves them and sent His Son to die for their sins. A number came to saving faith in Christ that day. These men, and others like them, were part of a bigger team for one day of evangelism as hundreds heard the Good News of salvation.

Our team of six individuals from the U.S. was complete in so far as God put us together from four churches in New England to go to the Dominican Republic with the Gospel. GDMMissions’ theme verse states our purpose: “that we might be fellowhelpers to the truth.” (3 John 8) In this short epistle the Apostle John exhorts his well-beloved Gaius to meet the needs of “the brethren, and…strangers” as they carried the Gospel forward and thereby participated with them in their ministry for the Truth. We rejoice that we were joined in our ministry by faithful brethren in the Dominican Republic and that we could have a part with them in sharing the Truth.

Reason #4 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #4 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip places an emphasis on the experience being spiritually profitable for the individuals participating.

#4 – Grow Spiritually
Every GDMMissions trip is structured for spiritual growth. It’s been said by others that: “It is not so much what God does with you but what God does in you.” Even “veterans” of many GDMMissions trips relate how they continue to grown spiritually as team members interact with each other and with national believers and missionaries.
Sometimes we become so focused on getting things done and ministering to others that we forget how important it is for God’s Holy Spirit to be freely working in our own lives. In fact, the spiritual health and growth of team members is one of the reasons God brings together the unique individuals and team leaders that make each field team special.
Each day of a GDMMissions clinic begins with personal devotions and leader-taught team devotions before the team eats breakfast and packs vehicles for the day’s clinic ministry. Team members encourage and exhort one another during the day as they deal with new health care situations and the difficulties of working under sometimes austere or stressful conditions. God’s loving care is seen every day as spiritual and cultural barriers to the Gospel are broken down and physical obstacles such as broken equipment, unreliable electricity, sickness, or inclement weather are overcome. In the evenings the team participates in worship services for patients and visitors and has opportunities to share how God worked that day to accomplish His purposes in people’s lives.
“But grow in grace, and in the knowledge of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. To him be glory both now and for ever. Amen.” II Peter 3:18

Item of Prayer: That your short-term trip would emphasize individual spiritual growth; that growth would be more than just a by-product of one trip but the primary goal of your Christian life.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org

Reason #3 for Taking a GDMMissions Field Team Trip

Reason #3 in our series on 8 Reasons to Take a GDMMissions Field Team Trip distinguishes GDMMissions by combining health professionals with “fellowhelpers” to form a unique evangelistic team.

#3 – Be Part of a Unique Evangelistic Team

GDMMissions conducts dental and medical evangelism clinics but you don’t need to be a health professional to be part of this unique team approach. Everyone on a short-term field team has multiple important jobs that not only make clinics function on a medical level but also minister to the spiritual needs of patients. You will be active from early in the morning until late at night as you serve our Lord in many ways. (Although our field teams are not your typical summer “work projects” that doesn’t mean you won’t work hard!)
If you are a health professional then our team trips are special times to use talents and knowledge in your field to demonstrate the love of Christ to people who appreciate your help and whose hearts are made tender to hear the Gospel. When you see others receive Christ as their Savior in the waiting area before they even recline in your dental chair or sit for a consultation then you know you’ve already had a joyous part in building the Body of Christ!
Dental and medical evangelism combined with health professionals is a powerful combination that follows a biblical pattern of teamwork. The high-profile, “up front” individuals are supported in countless ways by faithful “fellow labourers” who minister to individuals in ways that are often not recognized. God uses everyone, regardless of their specialties or skills, as part of His team.
“And how shall they preach, except they be sent? as it is written, How beautiful are the feet of them that preach the gospel of peace, and bring glad tidings of good things!” Romans 10:15

Item of Prayer: Pray that God would use you on a short-term missions trip with an evangelistic purpose; that you would be motivated first and foremost to evangelize the lost.

For more information about GDMMissions and our short-term field team trips contact our home office at http://www.gdmmissions.org/contact.html or call 1-978-454-6710 or visit our web site http://www.gdmmissions.org