So, God has laid upon your heart to have a missionary family visit to present their work. Great! I’m sure they’re excited about coming to meet you and the church. What can you do to help optimize their visit?
Many times, a missionary family will be visiting your church for only one day. A great idea is to see if you can get the missionary family to visit on Sunday for the whole day. They can participate by teaching a Sunday School class and/or Children’s Church that morning and then preach and/or present their work during the evening service. This provides the optimum amount of time for you and your people to get acquainted with the family. If that is not possible then schedule the missionary for the service that your “key people” attend. For many churches that is Sunday evening and for others that is the Sunday morning service. No matter which day they visit preparing and planning for that visit is vital. One way to prepare is to make sure the family has a good, quiet, comfortable place to stay and rest.
LODGING PREPARATION
Being able to provide the missionary family with lodging is a great blessing that not only saves them money, but also makes the deputation ministry a little less wearisome. Deputation travel can be an exhausting experience! It is a blessing to the missionary family to arrive and find their lodging to be a clean and comfortable place to stay. Provide the very best accommodation you can afford, especially when it comes to hotels. Most missionary families are grateful servants of God and are genuinely appreciative of anything that is provided. It doesn’t have to be the “Taj Mahal,” but also not the cheapest deal in town just to save a few dollars. If your church can afford a nicer room or even a suite for a large family, going “the extra mile” in providing lodging for missionaries will put a smile on the missionaries’ faces when they walk in and will provide a great testimony for you and your church.
When it comes to lodging, most missionaries are looking for three main ingredients:
Clean…Comfortable…Secure.
Clean – Make sure that the lodging provided is clean! Don’t assume it is – check it! Also, if you’ve been using the same hotel for a few years, go check it out on occasion, especially if there has been a change in ownership. What might have been a quality establishment several years ago may not be that way now. If you are lodging a family in a members’ home or prophets’ chamber, make sure it is clean as well. Many have good intentions and a heart to help but never assume and put a missionary in a place you have not visited recently to see if it is a appropriate environment for them to stay.
Comfortable – Make sure to provide adequate space for the family to spread out based on the family size, need to work on homeschooling, etc. Also make sure there is sufficient bedding for the entire family along with adequate heating/air, etc. If the family has several children checking to see if the hotel has a roll-away bed or a pull-out couch ahead of time will alleviate children sleeping on the floor or not having adequate space needed to comfortably sleep. A reliable internet access is a must for missionaries as they need to stay connected through emails, so providing that for them is a great blessing. If they will be staying with a church family, try to match them with a family that has similar interests and likenesses to help avoid any awkwardness for either family. Check with the family also if they need the hotel the night before the meeting.
Secure – There is nothing more unsettling for a missionary family (especially the wife) than to be placed in lodging that is not safe or secure. Is the hotel in a safe part of town? Having sufficient outdoor lighting and separate locked entrances with exclusive access puts the family at ease and allows for better rest. If the need arises to put the family in two rooms having a hotel that has indoor adjoining room for younger children would be a preferred option. Security for the family is always a concern while they are traveling.
A safe, comfortable, and clean environment provided for the family is a blessing along the way as they travel during their deputation or furlough. As a host your church has an important opportunity to be an encouragement and blessing while they minister and present the ministry God has called them to your congregation.
