[CS-FSLUG] Your Mission Dream
Tim Young
Tim.Young at LightSys.org
Mon Apr 3 08:39:39 CDT 2006
Well, as a full-time missionary already, I believe I am on the mission
field the Lord has called me to.
I am a computer missionary. I am not trying to save computers, but
rather I make sure that the computers that are being used for the Lord's
ministry are running properly. Because of this, my mission field is
where the computers are.
We have pinpointed a number of places where it is possible to be very
effective in fixing computers for missions. I am really called to one of
these fields, but I will list them all anyway and then explain why I am
called to the one.
The mission home office usually has a computer guy who manages their
computers. Usually this is done by a "regular" missionary, a trained
pastor, an old evangelist, a medical person, etc. They return to the USA
and get tucked into the home office. Because they have fought computers
in the past, they become responsible for the computers for the entire
mission. From managing the LAN, the website, to dealing with remote
problems over the phone or Internet. (see www.lightsys.com)
When missionaries get together for mission conferences, we have a team
of IT people gather also. We can fix 50 computers in a 2 day period.
This is much more effective than sending one IT guy out to the jungle to
fix a single missionary laptop. (see missionarytechsupport.com)
The next challenge for missions IT will be in servicing the national
workers. There is a great movement to send workers from the third world,
many of who are used to living off one to three hundred dollars a year.
These missionaries want to participate in the various data-collection
processes that we have been doing for the last 20 years. (part of the
movement started by AD2000, trying to determine what it means when the
Bible refers to "every tribe, tongue, and nation") We have target
working with the Bible training centers around the world, putting in a
computer infrastructure, so that the national workers will have some
computer knowledge when they are sent out.
One other part of the ministry is the part that develops computer
programs for missions. As we work with more and more mission
organizations, a number of tools that are obviously lacking have sprung
to the foreground. We are developing open-source solutions for these
particular mission needs.
My personal mission-field is multi-fold. First, I work with the main
mission offices, which has me primarily in the USA. I am also involved
in putting together short-term missions trips for IT people. (let me
know if this group wants to put together a team ;) And my third
responsibility is to find new means of IT support that is effective, and
try to locate people and ministries who will take it on.
Mainly, the reason I have targeted this particular means of ministry is
because it is the one that I am most suited to be in. My calling was
fairly generic, I knew it was to be with computers and missions. But
when I looked at my personal gifting, skills, personality, and
upbringing, what I am doing now was the perfect fit. I grew up as a
missionary kid traveling mainly in the USA, Canada, and Mexico, living
out of a motorhome. By age 14 I was helping missionaries with their
computer problems. I have been trained as a computer IT guy, I have
missions built into the core of my being, I have a good idea of the
whole part of missions, and much more. My personality is the one thing
that makes it pretty sure that I am called as a field consultant. I do
not have ADD, but nearly so. I have a very difficult time working on a
long-term project. But as I travel from one place to the next, each
location gives me new and different problems. This works to keep me
interested and involved.
So, to answer the "Location" and "Why" question. I would travel in an
area which was very cost-effective, working with multiple mission
organizations, training their IT people, helping them work through their
current problems, and helping them plan for the future. My wife and I
would live in a motorhome for parts of the year, doing a circuit of the
USA to be most effective with time, gas, and finances. There are a few
locations in this world where this is possible. The largest land-area
with the highest population of mission headquarters is the USA. Europe
would probably be second. Since I already have a motorhome, and since I
am an American, the USA is the simplest and most cost-effective place
for me to be.
Anyway, enough of an essay for now. :)
- Tim Young
Ed Hurst wrote:
>Let's assume for the sake of discussion you are called to a mission
>field. God is letting you choose the place. Where would it be? Say why,
>if you know.
>
>
>
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