Near ten years ago, I was asked to share with a group of InterVarsity alumni about financial partnership with IV staff. As I prayed and prepared to share, God brought to mind the battle against the Amalekites in Exodus 17.
Staff and missionaries are like Joshua and the able men of Israel, on the front lines of battle, fighting to advance the Kingdom of God. Behind them, however, are people who are equally crucial to victory. I did not think myself comparable to Moses, but I did see a role for financial supporters. We are Hur; we hold up the arms of Moses and keep them lifted up toward the throne of the Lord. Removed as we may be from the action, we are part of the fight.
Today, I listened as Glen Chapman, a missionary who I met on my first trip to Africa in 2005, shared about the challenging and exhilarating work he and his wife are doing in a remote village in the Democratic Republic of Congo. Mixed in with feelings of awe and inspiration was gratitude. Even as I struggle (on a virtually daily basis) to find meaning in my work, I was reminded that my job enables me to financially support folks like Glen, to provide some of the practical means they need to be where they are and do what they do. And for that, I feel so grateful and privileged, to be able to take some small part in what God is doing halfway across the world, to be a part of the fight, to be a part of the victory.
