Asterix's Expressions

Tentmaking

Last weekend I went to a seminar on tentmaking at KCPC. For those who are wondering what tentmaking is, here is a definition from the seminar:

Tentmakers are missions-committed Christians who work in secular jobs in order to reach another people group. They communicate the gospel by word and deed through excellence in work, caring relationships, and well-chosen comments about God in the context of everyday life.

The seminar speaker used the Apostle Paul's ministry as a prime example of tentmaking, quoting from 1 Corinthians 9 that Paul insisted on working to support his own ministry. I knew that Paul was the quintessential tentmaker, but I never asked why he refused to take money from others and preferred to work. Apparently, he had his reasons:

• Credibility - He made the gospel free and had nothing to gain financially; he was genuine.
  
• Identification - Most of the people to whom Paul ministered were workers. Paul, as a worker, identified with them.
• Modeling - He lived as an example of how a Christian could live in the marketplace.

These reasons make perfect sense, and I'm glad that I know them now. They cast the option of tentmaking in a positive light and made it just as attractive as fully-supported, full-time missions. I had previously thought that tentmaking was a less preferred route because it was like two jobs: work and missions, and the working part took time away from the missions part. In truth, although the experience is still as intense as two jobs, the two parts are integrated. Plus, there are clear advantages and rewards to tentmaking, as Paul outlined for us.

I've gone to a few missions conferences and have been on a couple of short-term trips, but I don't recall anyone talking about the advantages of tentmaking, compared to fully-supported, full-time missions. And now I'm simply delighted, because overseas tentmaking seems a much more viable path for me than full-time overseas missions. No doubt, that's because I'm a professional.

Not only did I learn much this weekend, my future goals seem to be clearer now than before. So praises to Christ our Lord! If you want to know more of what revelations I received, send me an email and I'd glad be share.

You can find more information about this seminar here, including the slides and an article. Also, here is Global Opportunities' website.

posted by Asterix @ 8:03 PM