Last month, I sensed an urgent need to spend time in our regular morning prayer meeting about a topic we discussed in a recent Board of Directors meeting. I introduced the topic and asked everyone participating in our “Map Room” and those online to pray. The topic was the future direction of the World Mission Prayer League and some challenges we face. As we read the Daily Texts for that day, it was apparent that the Lord had orchestrated this special prayer time and given us his Word as proof.
WMPL appears to be between two very different organizations: a religious order and a modern non-profit missionary society. This hybrid model has made it challenging to acquire harvest workers who are both skilled for certain positions, and called to live a commissioned lifestyle. We must be in step with the Lord, have the skills to achieve our mission and remain viable without compromising what God wants us to be. Our identity statements, which have been prayerfully developed, help guide us.
The Lord has sustained us thus far and has supplied an abundance of financial resources. However, the trends between our financial and personnel resources aren’t equally positive. We want to be open to the idea that the Lord is saying something through this situation and respond in obedience.
Here are the verses that struck a chord with almost everyone in the room that morning.
Thus says the LORD… Ask for the ancient paths, where the good way lies; and walk in it, and find rest for your souls.
Jeremiah 6:16
Then,
And we want each one of you to show the same diligence so as to realize the full assurance of hope to the very end, so that you may not become sluggish but imitators of those who through faith and patience inherit the promises.
Hebrews 6:11-12
As for the first verse, we want to “find rest for our souls” by walking in the paths where the good way lies, and as for the second verse, we want to inherit the promises by being diligent and full of hope to the end. As WMPL Fellow Workers, we have received a wonderful heritage from those who have gone before us and paved the way. As the road changes course and obstacles present themselves, we want to stay true to the identity we believe God has established.
After our morning prayer meeting that day, I read Jeremiah chapter 6. It struck me that the end of verse 16 wasn’t mentioned in the Daily Texts: “But they said, ‘We will not walk in it.'” That ending represents a challenge to us as we pray for the Lord’s direction. We must remain obedient. We need to remain focused on our Mission:
We are a praying community committed to knowing Christ, sharing the Good News and ourselves with those who do not know him, and discipling and mobilizing believers worldwide.
We can’t reject our stance on non-indebtedness, our non-solicitation of finances, our dependence on lay workers, and our commissioned living ethos. On the other hand, the obstacles before us offer opportunities to consider how we might overcome the challenges of being caught in a hybrid model that has characteristics of a religious order and a non-profit. It’s becoming a more difficult place for management and some categories for our workers.
Let’s learn something from Jesus’ story found in Luke 16:1-13: some call it “The Parable of the Shrewd Manager.” One of our workers pointed me to this parable when we were discussing this topic, and it may speak to our situation to some degree. It seems to suggest that, while the manager is dishonest (which we don’t condone in WMPL in any way), his foresight and planning in using his master’s wealth to secure future benefits can be a lesson for Christians to use their earthly possessions wisely and with a focus on eternal values, even if it means using worldly methods to do good deeds and build relationships with others. It highlights that we should be shrewd in managing our resources, including our time, finances, and workers.
Please pray with us as we assess our various organizational risks and pray for more harvest workers to accept the Lord’s call into service with the World Mission Prayer League. Let’s pray that we won’t be disobedient like those who heard Jeremiah’s prophecies and refused to heed their warning. These prophecies are as essential today as they were 2,600 years ago.