"The Price You Pay"

Lately Abby and I have been weighing the price you pay to live a missional life. There are definite costs to being a missionary.

Two addendums need to be made.

One. This is not a shout out for any sort of support (but if the Lord leads you to then praise be to God)

Two. This is a not proclaiming the greatness of the Fishers, we are proclaiming the greatness of God

___________________________________________

There are certain things that have to sacrificed in a missional lifestyle. This is not exhaustive or set in stone, these are just some things we have seen.

1. Time at home

If you're like me, and you're a homebody then this will resonate with you.

Abby and I guard our time together vigorously. Something that we are missing in our quest to be missional and starting Churches through evangelism is things like meals at home, lounging in the living room. We still spend a lot of time together, but sadly it is while we are out. I love sitting in my recliner with Abby on the couch taking in a favorite show, watching a movie, or our personal favorite, sitting and talking. We make sure that we do most of the things, but for us it is a sacrifice to be out this much. We know that the Lord is great and gracious and sees fit for us to sacrifice.

2. Supply

Abby and I often experience the goodness of Christ in the way he provides for us. Of course he provides for all of us, no matter how much the richest person makes or how little the poorest person makes. Christ calls people to minister to all sort of different people, and the people he gave us a heart for are here in North Fargo. The Lord has supplied and continues to supply us with exactly what we need, exactly when we need it. But a missional life is often a call to small supply or a call to using the supply more than we would normally.

3. Relationship

We moved far far away from our friends and family. Now to live missionaly you don't have to move 18 hrs, drive time, or a $350 roundtrip plane ticket. But with us the Lord has called us to live a missional life in Fargo, ND. We hear from different people that we have made the wrong decision by moving so far away from our parents, siblings, college friends and people we have known for years. Is this a hard calling? Yeah, especially in light of the new life growing within Abby. Do we regret following Christ here to Fargo? An emphatic NO. His will for us is so obvious and we are so excited and his provision for family here in Fargo, friends here in Fargo has been overwhelming.

So what is the price that you pay to live a missional life?

Well you won't have to do all the things the way we did it. The Lord was obvious about his plan for us, so we followed but his plans are different for everyone. While the principles are the same, the way the principles are acted out are so very different.

How has the Lord been showing you he wants you to live a missional life? What do you need to sacrifice, finances, prestige, comfort etc? How you do it is so different depending on strengths, giftedness, life but the point is DO IT!

Do it and then look back together at what the Lord has done in and through you by your living a missional lifestyle.