Deputation

What on earth IS deputation? I have, for years, heard missionaries say they are "in the deputation process," meaning, I always supposed, that they were speaking and seeking others who would be willing to help support the ministry to which they had been called. I started thinking about that word, "deputation," and decided to investigate. (What else would an English teacher do in her spare time?) What I discovered was that most definitions of this word conveyed the idea of a group assembled, appointed, selected and authorized to serve together with a specific, united purpose: to represent the interests of a body of people. Deputation also carries the idea of a commission or charge, trust, and the concept of a mission to be accomplished.

When a person or couple is going through the “deputation” process, they are sharing a vision with others in order to give those others the opportunity to be a part of the missionary endeavor. Each person who commits to serving on the missionaries’ “team” is to be as committed as the missionaries themselves, and each supporter's responsibility is to be taken as seriously as the missionaries take their jobs. It is an excellent example of how the body of Christ is supposed to function!

As various supporters perform their calling to pray, encourage and give, the missionaries are enabled to perform their tasks of sowing the seed of the gospel in the lives of those to whom they are sent. The “sending” team cannot perform the tasks the missionaries are called to complete; likewise, the missionaries cannot provide for themselves all of the prayer, encouragement and financial support they need. In addition, the missionaries, without their sending team, cannot perform the tasks to which they are called; similarly, without the missionaries, many people in the body of Christ could not be a part of sharing the gospel with those in faraway places.

As team members stay in touch with the missionaries, they provide encouragement, support and insight to the missionaries. The reports that missionaries send back to their supporters provide blessing and encouragement to those who are a part of that sending team, and a true sense of partnership ensues. This is the vision that God has given us for our support team: a true partnership where we literally reach out to others in another part of the world at the behest and desire of others who will sacrificially pray, encourage and give, learning to love from afar the people to whom we, as missionaries, are called. Pray for God to continue to build our "team" as we wait on Him to serve in Micronesia. As of March 1, we have 25% of our monthly needs committed and 70% of our outgoing expenses on account. All praise to God, who provides for our every need!