Greentree Community Church

     "We have plenty of people in our own community who need help. Why should we send you or our money out of the country?" This is a valid question. I have been on both sides of this issue. In 1989 I left my business job and worked with junior high youth for four years at a local church. I was amazed and troubled at what these young kids were experiencing. Many were starved for affection, insecure, unsure that they mattered to anyone, and plagued with feelings of guilt and insignificance. These were our own children; children of faith. Children who had been baptized as babies and we as a church had all committed to helping them grow up in their faith and into their faith in Jesus Christ. We poured our energy, our resources, and ourselves into helping them grow up in Christ Jesus. We spent hours and hours with parents, training volunteers, planning and taking trips so that these kids could be in an environment where they felt safe to accept Christ and acknowledge their doubts and fears. And today at Greentree Community Church we are investing resources into our Student Ministries (link) so that our own kids and their friends have every opportunity to meet Christ.

     So, what about the kids in Honduras, Kenya, Russia, Ireland and South Africa? Why don't those countries take care of their own people? The answers vary from country to country. In Russia, where I lived for 12 years, atheism left the country morally and spiritually bankrupt. Communism was riddled with corruption that has flourished ten fold since the iron curtain fell. Alcoholism has left people in a stupor. Extremist capitalism has left people insatiable for more without regard for their neighbor. The problems in Russia and many other countries are too big for us to simply waltz in and fix. They are too big for us to throw in a sum of money and expect people to use it wisely. But, what we can do is to look for Christians in each country who have a clear call and a vision from God, and then enable them to fulfill that call. Yes, that may mean some of us should visit and encourage them. It may mean we give our own resources to help them achieve their goals. It may require sacrifice on our part. Christians in Russia face daily sacrifices that would seem foreign to us, such as constant ridicule, prejudice, and harassment by official government agencies and the list goes on. Many Christians brave brutal weather, long walks and crowded buses and trolleys just to get to church. Now that does not make them more spiritual or better Christians, but it is simply a fact of life that being a Christian in Russia takes more energy and sacrifice than being a Christian in well-developed countries.

     Do we give and go because we feel guilty for what we have? Do we give more to these countries than we give to our own because they are more economically downtrodden?

     The answer is no to both of those questions. My perspective is that we give here in America and we give to foreign countries because we can. We give because Christ has poured out His grace and mercy and blessings of all kinds. We give to our own and we give to others who are not in a position to care for their own. We give to those who are investing wisely and using their resources for God's purposes and His glory. We give because our neighbors need to know Christ just as much as those in far away countries. We go on short term trips because we need community and those trips create a sense of community and interdependence on each other. Short term trips are a tremendous encouragement to our own missionaries. We come back inspired by the examples of Christians in foreign countries and we are challenged to care for our own with the same passion, dedication and care.

     So, my answer to the question of, "why should we send our money and resources to foreign countries when we have our own problems? is this: We do both. We serve our own and take every opportunity to serve those in other countries.

     "For Christ's love compels us, because we are convinced that one died for all, and therefore all died. And He died for all, that those who live should no longer live for themselves but for Him who died for them and was raised again." 2 Corinthians 5:14-15