Being a Self Supported Missionary

The theme of my current season of life can be summed up in a few words:  fear, faith, and freedom.

When God placed this call upon our life, we didn't know what to do with it. We tried to reason our way through it. We attempted to explain it on our terms. We even denied it for the longest time. God had asked us to do something that was outside of the cookie cutter mold and we had no idea what we were doing. Our calling looked different than the current battle cries coming from SBC life. How much easier it would have been if God had called us to strictly work within our current city, or our state, or even a NAMB SEND city or an IMB unreached people group.

Jesus busted up our comfort zone.

God works through established churches and denominations. I've seen the evidence of this, but I think we do a grave disservice to Jesus if we don't recognize He works outside the establishment as well.

I am a missionary. We are self supported missionaries, which means we are not financially supported by our denomination or a local church.

Last year God called Curt to thru hike the Appalachian Trail. This is what we were definite on. We knew Curt's main purpose was to hike the entire trail. After accepting that calling we struggled with lots of little things along the way. I've gone over those things in other blog posts, so I won't harp on them, but we struggled and it wasn't until recently that I completely understood why.

I don't know missions outside of SBC life. For those of you that aren't Southern Baptist, I'll explain how things work in our denomination. We are a group of individual churches, every one of us are self governed, but we come together for mission work. We have this thing called the Cooperative Program. Each church body gives a portion of the offerings and tithes that are collected to the Cooperative Program. The Cooperative Program then distributes the monies to seminaries, mission work, and a couple other entities of SBC life. I'll strictly talk about mission work here.

From there, we have several thousand full time missionaries that are supported through two organizations: the North American Mission Board (NAMB) and the International Mission Board (IMB).

For Southern Baptists, missions falls into a couple categories: 1) Full time missionaries supported by these two entities and 2) local church short term mission trips or mission/ministry work in the immediate city/county/state.

That's all I have ever known. There is a certain amount of pride within local bodies that "our" missionaries don't have to go around asking for support from individual churches during a furlough. They are fully funded by the sending agency and therefore, us. So, what do you do when God calls you to be a full time missionary and it doesn't fit with NAMB or IMB goals?

You panic

You flounder

You make mistakes

You spend a lot of time on your knees praying for clarity.

And all because, in my entire life, I've never seen a missionary sent out, solely supported by an individual church. 

Know what we discovered? SBC churches in the south didn't find what God had called us to odd at all. Most other believers, those not associated with SBC, didn't find what God had called us to out of the norm. And we were so confused. We grasped for understanding until one morning it became crystal clear.

In an instant God removed the veil from our eyes.  

I am a missionary. God has called us to mission work. To be Jesus' hands and feet here on earth and for this season of life, we are missionaries on the Appalachian Trail.

So, what is our next step? God has called us back to the trail. I know everyone will have a million questions about this, but here is the short answer; God has called us to take our two youngest to the trail and to start walking. To live and just be on the trail.

We have no idea what that will look like. We have no other answers other than what we have just said. We will begin at Springer Mountain in Georgia and start walking north. We may walk for 3 days or we may walk for a month. We could do the whole trail or we could stop in some town along the way and do work or help with some ministry. We just don't know. What we do know is God has told us to go. So we are.

Below I have compiled a list of questions that friends and family have asked in response to our new news. If this doesn't answer your particular question, then shoot us a text or email. We'll do our best to answer honestly and completely. 

FAQ

What about Gabe?  Gabe is not a hiker. He doesn't like anything to do with hiking. He climbed Mt. Katahdin last year to be a part of the end of Curt's journey, but he would rather eat dirt than walk on it. Gabe also has a lot going on here. He is a part of the All State Youth Choir and will be touring in Canada this summer and he wants/needs to take driver's ed. None of that can happen if he is with us on the trail. It isn't uncommon for kids to spend a summer with their grandparents, Gabe will just have an extended grandparent visit. He and Emily will come visit us on the trail once or maybe twice, but otherwise, they both have a desire to stay here and work throughout the summer.

Are you doing the YouTube channel again?  Yes, but not the same way. This hike will not be a daily vlog. It will be about life on the trail as a family. What it's like to live there with kids. It could be daily, but doubtful. We all three have YouTube channels, Curt's is Not By Sight, mine is Halo Hikes, and the littles share one called, The Littles' Life. Subscribe if you would like to follow along and see what life is like on the trail.

I thought Curt's hike last year was supposed to be a mission trip, why didn't he mention anything on his vlog last year about witnessing to people?  This would be one of the lessons we learned last year. It was a big lesson. When the vlog was originally created, it was created to simply chronicle Curt's life, as a believer with a disability, still living the life that God has given to us. Taking advantage of every breath in spite of being legally blind. Then the hike happened. Immediately we thought how great his channel would be to still keep in touch with folks back home. They'd be able to see his hike and he'd be able to give updates on witnessing opportunities, etc. Then we realized very quickly that the world of YouTube AT thru hikes is a small one. Friends and families of hikers found Curt's channel and were following along, looking for glimpses of their loved ones. They wanted to know more about the trail and what the hikers were experiencing. In that moment, Curt had to make a decision. It was way more important for the world to see what a follower of Jesus looked and sounded like on a daily basis than to keep our friends and family updated in a public setting like his YouTube channel. 

So what opportunities did Curt have? Hundreds of conversations. Sometimes on a daily basis. And it wasn't just lost people. We have both had countless conversations about being an obedient follower of Jesus with those within The Church. 

Why haven't we heard these stories?  You haven't been able to attend one of his many speaking engagements to hear what God did during and after his hike. If you ever desire specific ways to pray for us, contact us privately. We have a small group of prayer warriors that we treasure.

So why are you doing vlogs, a blog, Facebook, AND Instagram this trip?  Same reason. So the world can see what a follower of Jesus looks like. If it opens one door of opportunity to share why we have hope, why we are full of love, why we look different, then it is all worth it.

Are you asking people to support you financially?  This is a great question. We still wrestle with this topic because of our Southern Baptist background, but we realize many people want to be involved and to help. We do have a PayPal account that money can be donated to or contact one of our parents if you prefer to donate non-electronically. There are other ways to help also. There were several friends that arranged for hotel or hostel stays for Curt last year and even more that sent food items on the trail. As the hike commences, more information will be given on www.halohikes.com or Not By Sight's Facebook page on where we will be and when if this is something you would like to do.

How long will you be gone? We just don't know. Like I said before, it could be 3 days, it could months. We just don't know. We will be praying constantly, seeking direction and opportunities.

As more people ask questions I will add to this blog. We treasure and need your prayers. Please add us to your church prayer list and if you have any questions at anytime, contact one of us.

Now that we have accepted this call and have come to grips with all it entails, we are excited. And nervous. If there's an emotion, we've had it. Thank you and tune in if you want to see how things are going 😊