A Vision for the Mission

“Deputation” = 1. the act of appointing a person or persons to represent or act for another or others. 2. the person or body of persons so appointed or authorized.

(Dictionary.com)

“Deputation” comes from the same origin as “deputy.” In the earlier days of America, local sheriffs would “deputize” trustworthy men of good reputation, to assist them in enforcing the law whenever necessary. These deputies became an extension or representation of the sheriff and his authority in order to accomplish a mission that the sheriff could not otherwise accomplish on his own.

In the same manner today, the church has been given a mission that they must strive to accomplish. We call it the Great Commission. (Matthew 28:19-20) Acts 1:8 gives the plan for this mission, “But ye shall receive power, after that the Holy Ghost is come upon you: and ye shall be witnesses unto me both in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.”

In a way, missionaries become the church’s “deputies.” The local church appoints and sends out missionaries as their representatives to share the good news of the Gospel message throughout the world, while faithfully doing the same work in their community- reaching their “Jerusalem” for Jesus Christ. This creates a partnership of support and teamwork between missionaries and local churches to accomplish the great mission that God has called all of us to do.

The lesson comes when the missionary realizes that they are not raising finances to get to the field. It is all God’s money and He will supply it in His time. Instead, they are helping local bodies of believers (the local church) to catch the vision of one particular focus within the Great Commission. Missionaries are inviting churches to join together to reach a specific people group, that the they could otherwise not reach on their own.

The church, in turn, needs to realize that the Great Commission is a mission that all of us have to fulfill. To catch this vision, they must see and hear about new areas of the world or new people groups who desperately need the Gospel. Missionaries have that vision to share. Sure, when a missionary calls to set up a meeting it goes without saying that they will need finances to sustain their calling. This should not deter the vison for the mission. Just as God will supply the finances and needs of the missionary, He will also provide the ability for a church to give.

So, the bottom line is this: The missionary must realize that He is sharing the heart and vision God has given him and not “fundraising for a field”. The church must recognize and accept the responsibility of sharing the Gospel “… in Jerusalem, and in all Judaea, and in Samaria, and unto the uttermost part of the earth.” When these two purposes come together and everyone trusts God to provide the means and motivation to accomplish this task, the cause for Christ will move forward as never before!

The Flex

There are times in life when there can be no doubt that God is at work. We would like to share one of those times with you. As you have seen in our previous updates, we have been asking for prayer that God would replace our current vehicle. The following story is a testimony of God’s answer to prayer!

For the last six to eight months we have been in prayer over the need for another vehicle. We had come to the conclusion that when God knew we needed another vehicle, He would not only provide the finances, but would direct us to the vehicle that fit whatever budget He gave us. About four weeks ago, God began to do just that! Finances began to come in from several different sources, including God’s people. We were set to begin shopping within the budget  God had supplied… off to Michigan we went!

On Monday, March 27, my father and I started looking for cars. A Ford Flex was our primary target because it can get high mileage and would fit our family and luggage. We searched the internet, visited car dealers, test drove numerous vehicles and talked with dealers who “were on our side.” Most of the cars we looked at were dirty, damaged or just too expensive. There was one that caught our attention. It was a 2012 Ford Flex with 82,000 miles. When we drove it, we quickly discovered that the brakes were horrible. The saleslady told me they would call us after they fixed them, but the price (which was already above our [God’s] budget) may need to go up depending on the extent of the brake repair.

By the end of the week, all options, but that Flex, had been exhausted and discouragement threatened to rear its ugly head. The call came on Thursday. We were told that the brakes had been repaired and the price was not going to rise! Beth had not yet seen the vehicle, so we decided that we should look at it again and talk about a trade-in. We had determined that if God gave us a certain amount of money, He was going to provide a vehicle in that price range. Little did we know what that meant. After a brief “negotiation” over price (“This is our trade-in and our budget… yes or no?”) God saw fit to allow us to purchase that Flex!

Here is “the rest of the story…” (thank you, Paul Harvey!)

1. The Flex went on sale 5 weeks ago. God provided the finances 4 weeks ago. (God’s timing)

2. The Flex had a blue book value about $2,000 above the amount God gave us to work with.

3. When the dealer went to drive our old van for a trade, the “check engine” light turned on!

4. The final price came in at $126 under budget. (God’s guidance)

5. After title and plate transfer in Pennsylvania, we were left with $6.27! (God’s provision)

O the depth of the riches both of the wisdom and knowledge of God! How

 unsearchable are his judgments, and his ways past finding out!

 Romans 11:33

24 Hour Rescue

There are times in our lives when we ask ourselves, “What is God doing?” Sometimes when bad things happen, we can find ourselves questioning if God is really in control of THIS situation. The little story I am about to tell may sound like a nice Hallmark movie (minus the romantic twist!), but I assure you it is all true. My family can tell you, “This really happened!” I pray that it is an encouragement to you, as it has been for us.

It all started on December 18, 2016 when our family was enjoying a break from the busyness of deputation meetings. We were visiting a church in DuBois that was having a special evangelistic Sunday. We had been invited to the service by the pastor about two months earlier. I remind you that we were just visiting, because what is about to happen will then be directed to God’s providence instead of human error! As we sat in the standing room only service, the pastor’s wife came and told my wife, Beth, that we had a phone call in the office. Of course, the only other people in the world that knew we were at another church were those packed in with us for the service and our family at our “regular” church across town! Is someone in the hospital? Who died?!?

On the other end of the phone was the stressed voice of Mike, the husband of one of the college girls we had worked with in Elyria, Ohio. He told us that they were stranded with a broken-down car, in twenty degree weather, on Interstate 80 with their four-month-old daughter (thus the stress). They were only ten minutes from where we were!

Now, as we left church in a rush and headed out on our rescue mission, we started asking a new question… “How did friends from eastern Pennsylvania traveling to Ohio know to call us at the church we were visiting?” 

As Paul Harvey used to say, here’s “The Rest of the Story...”

We picked up Mike and Emily, along with baby Ava, on the highway and brought them back to our house. We then enjoyed great fellowship together for an afternoon. When a friend from Ohio graciously drove the three hours to DuBois to pick up them and their car, we said goodbye and they were on their way home for the holiday!

As for the answer to our question, it was a God moment! You see, Mike and Emily had called her sister to find out which church we attended. She accidently gave them the ‘wrong’ church information. The church they ‘happened’ to call was the very one we were visiting on Sunday morning.

Fate? Coincidence? Not a chance! God was working behind the scenes in the lives of Mike and Em, as well as the Tanners! God cares and He is always at work! But as Winston S. Churchill once said, “This is not the end, this is not even the beginning of the end, this is just perhaps the end of the beginning.”

The second half of the story shows not only God’s working in our lives, but also how He uses the network of believers across the nation to accomplish His plan. It was now Monday, December 19, 2016, just twenty-four hours later…

On Monday, we had the privilege of having a good friend from Ohio visit. Dana is currently on deputation as well, and had her first official meeting cancelled due to weather. As a result, she came and visited us for a couple of days! She arrived mid-morning and by 2 PM her phone rang. It was Kathy, a friend and former fellow teacher of mine back in Elyria. I had the fun of teaching her son for a couple of years, but had not seen or talked with them in quite a while.

“Tim, you have a phone call on MY phone.” Dana said.

Kathy went on to explain to me that Tristan, a friend from a college out east, was going to visit their family for a few days and his truck was broken down on Interstate 80 near DuBois… sound familiar?  After laughing in disbelief and having to explain myself to Kathy, I took his number and said I would call him and see if there was anything I could do. There was plenty!  Tristan was stranded in the middle of nowhere, with very little option but to be taken to a small town that not even a couple of lifetime PA residents knew existed! The auto shop was not much more that a broken-down pole barn with a wooded vehicle cemetery surrounding it! Not a place that brimmed with confidence boosters! That is where I found Tristan, waiting alone in the dark, in his broken truck.

The auto mechanic had given us the strong sense that we might be in the back country of nowhere. He told Tristan that he could get the part in tomorrow and have him on the road by 1pm. Great! So Tristan joined our family for the night, with a nice cozy couch for a bed.

On Tuesday morning, Tristan called the mechanic who said that he was going to lunch and then would have about a half an hour or so of work left on the truck. It was a forty minute drive one way so Tristan and I timed it right, or so we thought. When we arrived at 1:15 to pick up the truck, we quickly realized that this mechanic must not share the same time system as the rest of the world! He had not even started on the truck! Our afternoon was spent in my van laughing, talking, answering calls, texts and snap chats to reassure friends and loved ones we were still alive and in general enjoying one another’s company until the mechanic finished, around 4PM.

Tristan left for the last half of his trip to Ohio and I made my way back home to my family and company asking, yet again, “How in the world did the phone call get to me?!?” Paul Harvey would be proud…

This is my take from what I understand. If I missed something, well, at least you will get the gist of it! Tristan had called Kathy’s phone and told her about being stranded. Kathy remembered the Tanners (that’s us!) lived along that stretch of forbidden highway and began working on finding our number. She called the school where I used to work, but they did not have it on hand. One of our dear friends (Dana’s mother!), who still works at the school was in the office at that moment and said that Dana was visiting us. She gave Kathy Dana’s phone number to call! Confused? God wasn’t! He used believers in three different locations to connect us with Tristan, even though we had never met!

I guess the lessons that I have learned from this 48 hour adventure are as follows:

1.    God is always working things out no matter how rough a situation may seem!

2.    All things DO work together for good! (Romans 8:28) We were blessed to visit with and be an encouragement to people we may not have otherwise seen.

3.    In the family of God, this should be our motto,” Family takes care of family, no matter where they are from.”

I pray that this little story is an encouragement to you as you faithfully serve God in whatever calling He has given you!