“Deputation” is missionary jargon.
It is a word that has somehow come to mean: “when a prospective missionary travels around to churches for an indefinite amount of time, trying to raise sufficient prayer and financial support so they can get started with ministry at their target destination”.
I tried a few weeks ago to discover why the word “deputation” is used. But all my Googling could not turn up a dictionary definition that could explain, so semantically I am against it.
If someone can cast a light on how this word got applied to missions and why, please come forward. I’d love to know.
I am currently “on deputation” (ugh, grammatically it makes no sense), raising support to go back to Cambodia to work in children’s ministry. I now have a total of seven meetings with churches under my belt, which clearly means I am an experienced “deputee” and can now talk about it authoritatively.
Contacting churches is its own adventure. Any job that requires a lot of reaching out to relative strangers feels a bit awkward at the beginning, but on the bright side pastors have been easy to talk to. Rejections have been kind and apologetic, and, when I’m invited to visit, everyone of course has their own methods for sorting out details. For me the most stressful part of this process is trying to juggle the sheer number of communications all at once.
I prefer to be personal and one-on-one, but to be forced to have so many (relatively) impersonal communications going on at once… I’m always terrified that my brain will one day explode and I will mix up pastors and churches and schedules and completely embarrass myself.
Once the meeting is set up, and it’s the day of departure, I utilize the McPhail superpower of packing suddenly and head out. Sometimes it’s early in the morning. Sometimes it’s before lunch. Sometimes afternoon. Maybe I’m planning to be gone for three nights, or two, or one, or even none at all. I might be staying with a family, at a hotel, or in missionary housing.
I like traveling.
There’s something about being between places, untethered from responsibilities and normal life, and yet still productively covering distance as the miles speed by.
The past six weeks I’ve had lots of opportunities to enjoy traveling through the southern states of the U.S.A.. I’ve been to Georgia three times, North Carolina twice, and all the way to Virginia once, always driving back to South Carolina in the end.
I’ve identified the gas station franchises that make me feel safe (but mourn the prices), and begun to question whether only buying fast food at Subway, Taco Bell, and Chick-fil-A is a wise long-term decision. But what other restaurants are there in America anyway?
Also, sometimes it is worth it to take the longer way via back roads just to avoid the monotony of the interstate. And it is much prettier, too, especially in the fall!
How long is the ideal trip?
I think 4-5 hours is the sweet spot. That is long enough to listen to music, a sermon or two from my home church so I don’t fall behind on the current series, an hour or so of an audio book, and still have time to take in the scenery and talk to the most intelligent person in the car.
But the thing with traveling is that, at some point, you arrive.
No one church context is the same as the other. Getting to travel so much and yet focus on one specific setting–that of the local, usually Baptist, church–helps give a broader insight into churches in general.
So far I have been in so many different ministry contexts: small-town rural churches, churches with large Christian school ministries, city churches, aging churches, young churches, churches reinventing themselves after COVID-19, churches with new leadership, and churches anticipating transitions of leadership.
I’ve noticed that nearly every church thinks that they are small. But “small” is a matter of perspective.
The church with two families and a few older couples and the church that that doesn’t quite fill their auditorium that sits six hundred might both look sadly at the numbers. And then in Cambodia ten adults is a big church! I encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ that a “small” church can thrive by growing in Christ, staying faithful, and serving God, no matter their size.
There also seems to be a lot of discouragement and frustration in the churches with American culture. I agree that when we look at the world around us, whether it’s in America, Cambodia, or anywhere else, we will be grieved and discouraged. But I encourage my brothers and sisters in Christ not to dwell on it. Recognize it, but don’t let it rule your life! This world is not going to get better, but God is not hindered in his work. He is always building his kingdom, and we can have hope and joy in this confidence that we have in Christ Jesus! And we can be a part of his work!
My verse for my presentation is Psalm 74:12, “Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.” This is taken out of a context where the psalmist is crying out to God, “How long, O LORD?”, how long will God’s enemies revile his name? Yet, even so, God is working salvation just as he has in all the ages gone by.
Yet God my King is from of old, working salvation in the midst of the earth.
Psalm 74:12
I have a display table, as all good missionaries do. (I should have a degree in setting up display tables by now. I used to be in charge of my family’s, too.)
I was excited about having my own display table. I was preparing for it months ago, when I was still in Cambodia. I went into the market in Pursat and told the toy shop lady that I wanted toy motos.
“The kids in America have never seen one!” I said.
With great sympathy, the lady brought out whole sheets of plastic toy motorcycles. Then I bought other toys, the animals of the Chinese zodiac and plastic kitchen sets complete with toy chopsticks and soursop fruits.
My display table isn’t really for adults. My favorite part of being at a church is when the kids realize the stuff on the table is for them. Suddenly the church sanctuary/foyer/atrium is full of motorcycles zipping across the floor, kids sitting under the table flipping through books of weird Cambodian myths, and girls setting up shop with Cambodian cooking paraphernalia.
It stresses out the parents, but this is an unavoidable side effect.
My presentation video was put together my brother Elijah (I am very proud of him), and I am amazed to say that it worked without a hitch at a total of two churches! I am developing this wise saying: “if the video works perfectly the first time, that’s suspicious.”
Speaking is also fun. There’s a strange sensation as a traveling speaker. You are conscious of having said these same words four or five times already. You still mean them just as much as you did the first time, and they are no less true or sincere–there’s just an additional sense of deja-vu.
Someone once asked me if it was uncomfortable having to speak with the goal of raising financial support. My answer was, “No, because it just means I get to talk about what I am most passionate about, and then if people want to partner with me in that work, they can!”
I always get some time to present my ministry, and often I get additional time to speak either to kids, to ladies, or to the whole church. Sometimes I’m handed a whole service, and in those situations I love doing Q&As.
People have been very kind in their feedback after I speak, but I must say here definitively that I cannot take any credit whatsoever as a speaker. God prepared me for this in such a special way.
I was a quiet, awkward child. When I chose Communication as my major in university I heard that one family friend said, “What? That shy girl?” The thing is, I knew it was my weakness, and I had a suspicion that I was going to have to do some speaking in the future.
But then first semester I agonized my way through freshman speech. Uh-oh. Perhaps my major was a mistake.
Then second semester Dr. Greg Kielmeyer handed me a controversial topic and control of his class for more than twenty minutes. I still remember the feeling it gave me, standing behind that desk, feeling that spark as I stirred up discussion, and the engagement of the audience. Then and there I fell in love with public speaking.
Jeanine Aumiller took it from there, drilling the art into me until every time I hear myself say “um” in the middle of speaking, I picture her marking me down on the rubric. And when Mark Vowels asked me, a nervous second-year student, to teach a workshop on Buddhism that was open to the entire student body, I got some much needed out-of-class motivation.
It’s so cool how God prepares people for what is ahead.
The kindness, generosity, and hospitality God’s people have shown to me over the past six weeks is truly amazing to look back on. I am so thankful for my experiences so far, and look forward to the future!
Praying for you!
Love your thoughts and comments on “deputation.” I have wondered the same thing of the years ~ how that word morphed into meaning what we take it to mean today. You are a fun writer to read – keep writing. God will use it for His glory!
As I was reading this lovely piece, I could hear your audible cadence and visualize your humor peeking out just before you communicated certain phrases. Loved it! I think of you often and am praying for you.
Most interesting prayer letter I’ve ever received