TL;DR:
The Church of the Nazarene's Care & Connection emphasis helps local churches build personal relationships with missionaries through prayer, communication, hospitality, and practical support. Churches can celebrate milestones, encourage retired missionaries, support missionary kids, and welcome missionary families during home assignment. Ask about their needs and interests so your encouragement and gifts will be especially meaningful.
The Church of the Nazarene has a central funding system that helps support around 500 missionaries serving around the world. Each missionary or missionary family is assigned to district Nazarene Missions International (NMI) organizations. Those organizations, in turn, connect them with local churches through a program formerly called LINKS—Loving, Interested Nazarenes Knowing and Sharing. Now known as Care & Connection, the program offers everyone opportunities to encourage and support missionaries in personal ways.
Note: If you do not know your assigned Care & Connection missionaries or need their contact information, get in touch with your district NMI president.
Find out when your adopted missionaries are scheduled for home assignment and deputation services. If they will soon be on home assignment, take advantage of the opportunity. Try to schedule them at your church and at other churches on your district that have also adopted them. Give them the royal treatment. Plan a family-style dinner and a time of celebration. If your adopted missionary family can visit only on a weeknight, contact neighboring churches and plan a reception together.
Plan ahead. Find out what your adopted missionaries need and what they would like to take back to the mission field. Ask about their special interests and hobbies. Be a Care & Connection promoter. See these suggestions for when your church hosts a missionary speaker.
Are your Care & Connection missionaries expecting a baby, moving to a new location, celebrating a milestone wedding anniversary, attending one of their children's weddings, or retiring? Help them celebrate. Send cards or flowers, make phone calls, or host a shower when appropriate. Think of your Care & Connection missionaries as your church's pen pals.
Before mailing food, toiletries, or other goods, ask the missionaries what would be useful and check current postal, customs, dietary, and local restrictions. Ask about the children's ages and interests before selecting gifts for them. For digital subscriptions, games, or recordings, check that the recipients can access and use them where they live.
What a special privilege you have! Let these veterans know they are appreciated and remembered. Write and introduce yourself, your church, and your community. Send photos of your church, your pastor, and interesting happenings in your area. Connect them with senior adults in your church as pen pals. When you send cards and letters, consider including stamps they can use. Ask about their interests and hobbies, including their music and reading preferences. Invite them to share stories, by mail or a digital recording, about the places where they served. Consider gifts such as:
Thoughtful contact can be especially meaningful to retired missionaries who are widowed or have limited mobility. Many retired missionaries enjoy hearing from the children in your church. Encourage your children or teens to adopt your retired missionaries as honorary grandparents and remember them on special occasions.
Do your Care & Connection missionaries have children? Supporting missionary kids can be both rewarding and fun. Many teens would enjoy hearing from a church youth group. Birthday party supplies arriving in the mail could brighten a young person's special day.
Need a selection of ideas? Try these:
Of course, money is also a welcome gift. If you are a Nazarene church, send monetary gifts through the General Treasurer so your church can receive 10% credit and the funds can be delivered securely rather than mailed as cash.
Church children's groups could also assemble a birthday party in a box for MKs in their church's Care & Connection missionary families. Have your children bring small gifts that can be easily mailed: crayons, markers, pens, pencils, books, candy, gum, powdered drink mixes, balloons, stickers, stamp sets, and notepads. Include cake and frosting mixes, candles, napkins, and prizes if those items would be useful. Prepare the box well in advance so it will arrive on time. Homemade birthday cards will add a special touch.
Other things Care & Connection missionary kids might enjoy include:
What an opportunity for your whole church to get involved! Show them care and love through gifts such as:
Most of all, tell them you care by sending cards and notes. Plan a "treat month" for your college MK. If arrangements permit, invite them to your church for a weekend. If their college is nearby and they cannot spend a short school break with family, offer to host them. This could be especially meaningful during Christmas or other holidays. Treat your college-age Care & Connection MK as you would want your child to be treated.
Missionaries are like you: they love to know they are loved! Learn their needs and interests. Show them that you care.
In 1921—only about two years after what is now NMI was born—a "box work" program was begun. Box work encouraged local churches to send missionaries more than cash. Churches packed personal and ministry supplies in boxes and mailed them overseas.
Two years later—in 1923—the General Budget (now the World Evangelism Fund) came into being. At that point, box work became a way to provide a personal touch for individual missionaries supported through a central budget.
That "box work" program later developed into LINKS and, eventually, Care & Connection. It provides personal contact between local churches and missionaries serving around the world.
Care & Connection helps churches build lasting relationships with missionaries through prayer, personal communication, and thoughtful practical support.
Howard Culbertson, hculbert@snu.edu
