Where is the mission field?

(this particular service opportunity was hard work but very fulfilling!)

Where is the mission field?

We have all probably seen or know of a missionary family.  We may even support them financially.  These folks leave the comforts of home behind to travel to far off lands to serve in the name of Christ and share the good news of the Gospel. My respect for these families knows no bounds. What they do is heroic and critically important to the kingdom.  Groups like the YMCA and Habitat for Humanity internationally do transformational work as well, serving the needs of struggling communities in places like South America and Africa.

“I know that the Lord secures justice for the poor and upholds the cause of the needy” – Psalm 140:12

Not every needy person or community exists outside the United States though. A couple weeks ago at the annual NAYDO conference a group of Y folks spent a day serving at the Hazelwood YMCA.   This Y has no gym and no pool and instead serves the substantial needs of its community for food, after school care and other basic human needs.  It's right in the heart of Pittsburgh.  We painted rooms and improved the urban gardens that provide the only fresh produce available in this “food desert”.

There are undoubtedly similar situations in the town where you live. Find them.  Join them.  Serve them.  You may find your own mission field right in your backyard.

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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Volume 6, Number 40

Seek First

(stay true to your mission...it is after all why you exist)

Neil Nicoll, the newly appointed CEO of Y-USA, gave one of his first talks at a Chief Financial Officer Conference in May. As he spoke about youth work and philanthropy one point really hit home, “Make sure you are doing something worth giving to.” If the work we do as YMCA staff and volunteers is impacting lives and improving the quality of our communities, finding the money to support that work should be the least of our worries. It even applies to those working outside the charitable sector, as any organization that stays true to its mission and core strengths is more likely to be successful!

There is a Biblical parallel. In Matthew Chapter 6; Jesus tells the crowds to stop worrying about what they will eat, or what they will wear. Rather he says “seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well.”

So it seems that keeping God first in our work, in our families and in our interpersonal relationships should be our focus. If we have the ability to influence an organization or operating unit of one, we should have the same focus. At the YMCA staying true to our stated mission “to put Christian principles into practice through programs that build health spirit, mind and body for all” should take primacy over just chasing dollars.

Seek first the mission.

Thanks for all you do.

Brian

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