Churches and Pastors Part 2: Scheduling A Service

You've scheduled the service — now what?

In this episode, Jenn Fortner and Josh Sears walk through everything you need to know to show up prepared, serve the church well, and make the most of your time on the platform.

They cover the key questions to ask a pastor before you arrive, how to handle the pray-give-go call to action, tips for setting up an engaging display table, and practical speaking advice for both windows and full sermons.

You'll also hear how to navigate sensitive location assignments, why always having a backup sermon ready can save you, and how to protect your family's rhythms and find rest during a demanding season of travel.

Transcript

SPEAKER_01 0:01

All right. Hey everybody. Welcome back today to the Funded and Sent podcast. I am Josh. I'm here with my good friend Jen. Say hi, Jen.

SPEAKER_02 0:10

Hey everybody. Welcome, welcome.

SPEAKER_01 0:12

We're so glad you guys are with us today on this episode. And today we're going to be continuing our conversation talking about churches and pastors. And now you've gotten through to a pastor. You've gotten through, we've gotten the connection. We've scheduled a service. We're trying to schedule the service. So what do we do? What does that look like? So there are some key questions to ask when you're connected with a pastor, like, you know what? I would love to have you in. We're going to schedule in for a service. We're going to schedule in to have a time here to come and share. Um, and so some ideal things to ask here in that moment is asking them what a service looks like? Because you want to know what their service looks like first, identifying am I doing a window or am I am I am I preaching that morning? That's a key thing to kind of clarify if they're having you in for a window.

SPEAKER_02 0:55

Yeah, that's kind of a helpful thing to know.

SPEAKER_01 0:58

It really is. It really is. So, how much time am I preparing for on Sunday? Is it five minutes? Is it seven minutes? Is it 10 minutes? I've had two-minute windows, I've had full services. So finding out and clarifying that, if it is a service, what are the outcomes the pastor wants to see? What are some of the things they'd like to see happen from the service? Are they there? Are they having you in because they want you to preach as part of a series they're doing? Are they there for you to be able to speak on missions and really help them push their missions, vision forward with the church? What is their desired outcome with having you in? Um, how much time do you want me to share? How much time do I have on a Sunday morning? Pastor, how long do you, if you're preaching, Pastor, how long do you preach? Well, I go 25 minutes. If he goes 25 minutes, I'm not going longer than 25 minutes. I want to make sure I'm I'm operating inside of their time frame that they have and what that looks like. And I always ask them as well, like, what do you want me to share on? Because listen, if they want me to share as part of a series that they have going on, awesome. I'm happy to jump in on that. You want me to share on a specific topic? Awesome. I'm happy to jump in on. Our area director in in our portion of South America said this to us one time in a missionary fill uh fellowship meeting, and he was talking with us in our in our area. He said this, he goes, if the church asks you, not just in the in our nations, but actually in the US, if a church invites you in to preach, unless they give you something else, preach on missions. And that was like one of the best pieces of advice. It's so easy. So if the church asks you, they don't give you another topic, preach on missions. We are there to ring the bell and be the mobilizer in the local church for what's going on.

SPEAKER_02 2:32

Yeah, and that pastor, that's actually what they're looking for. They're not looking, they they're inviting the missionary to speak about missions, you know, to inspire their congregation to follow their own callings and their own heart. Exactly, you know, before the Lord. So, yeah, that's your job at that point. It's the pastor can do the sermons on, you know, whatever else, but yeah, preach on missions unless they tell you to do something differently. Yeah, for sure. Yep.

SPEAKER_01 2:57

Yeah, and I always ask, I always ask that question because I have had pastors who are like, you know what, I'm in this series and we're on this topic in the series, and I think it would work really well if you want to take that topic and end it talking about missions and move it towards missions, that'd be great. I've done that, yeah, but I've had other ones who are and that's beautiful when that happens. It is. Um, I always ask if they have Sunday school, because if they have if they have Sunday school classes, what time does it meet? Not should I come, but what time is it meet? Because I'm gonna be there. Can I share in a Sunday school? Even if you can't share, I still show up. I still show up, I still attend Sunday school just to be there to meet people in the church and get to know them. How do I dress? Oh, that's like the the first question I always ask the pastor after how long do I have is what do you typically wear on a Sunday morning from the platform? Because the last thing I want to do is show up in my jeans and a polo if he's there in a in a suit and a tie and a vest. Like he's got a three-piece suit on. I'm not I'm not gonna fit in with the culture if I'm wearing a you know a polo shirt and a pair of ratty jeans. Like this is not gonna work. Um, but I also don't want to show up dressed to the nines if the pastor preaches in a pair of jeans and a polo. So I want to make sure that I'm matching the church culture and how I'm dressing. And then, yes, asking how do we want to end the service? Do you want to do a specific call? Do you want to send it back over to you for you to wrap things up? Am I wrapping things up? How do they want to handle that? Because ultimately they're in charge of the service. We're just being given a gift to be a part of what they're already doing. They have a strategy, they have a desire for that Sunday morning or that Wednesday night or Sunday night. They already have a desired outcome. How do I best serve what their purpose is? Not do I how do I fulfill my purpose in being at that church? And so trying to figure that out. Um, asking if I can um asking about support. That's it, that's a key thing I ask pastors. If it's a five-minute window, a seven-minute window, if I'm preaching, is it okay for me to make a general appeal for people to partner with us? Or how do you handle missions giving? I think that's a key question for pastors because so many churches have their own strategies as to how do we support missionaries, if they want you to ask from the pulpit, if they're gonna do the ask for you, if they just want to support as a church and don't want you to ask, every church is so different. And so always asking the pastor, what do you do? What does your strategy look like so that I fit that strategy? So I'm not walking on what your desire is.

SPEAKER_02 5:26

Yeah, I was gonna say, what you don't want to do is inadvertently make a like, you know, call an audible and all of a sudden ask for support in the middle of a congregation where they do their missions giving through a world missions board, and then the pastor has to backtrack in the middle of it. So this this question, you should not go into a um a window opportunity or a sermon opportunity and not know exactly how they do their missions giving.

SPEAKER_01 5:56

Exactly.

SPEAKER_02 5:56

Um and if it's okay for you to ask, if you do, which we really we really think it's a it's a great idea at the end of every window and the end of you know a sermon or a service, you're you're giving a pray, give, go call, right? So, hey, would you pray for us, particularly in Windows? Would you pray for us, you know, as we go overseas, you know, be a part of our prayer team? Would you uh would you consider going yourself? Um, and would you consider giving? And all three of those need to be incorporated as long as this, the, the pastor says that it's okay to incorporate that give piece, but you want to know walking into the service whether or not that's okay or not.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

You know, I always hit the give piece, anyways. If the pastor says, No, we're gonna give you an honorarium and the church is gonna pick you up for so much, don't make a specific appeal. What I do in that moment is instead of asking them to give to me, I thank the church for that generosity. So I assume that they're giving. And I say, Thank you so much, church, for your generosity and giving. I see out on the wall you have these many missionaries that you guys support. Every time that you guys give sacrificially, you are transforming lives around the world. So I'd use that give component as a time to thank the church ahead of time for their generosity. I haven't asked for anything. I'm assuming they're already doing so because the church has a missions, vision, and giving. And so I use it as that.

SPEAKER_02 7:17

So, Josh, the so if somebody's taking notes, I would say to them, like, hey, organize it. You always do a pray, give, go. But if the pastor says that that give piece is up to a World Missions Board giving, you thank them for their giving. So it's a gift piece, but it's directed a little different based off of what how the church does their missions giving. Yeah, they don't have to give it and you need to do all three of those. And sometimes the go piece is the thing that gets left off whenever I hear um missionary presentations, and that's one of the critical things that you can be doing too. Um, because no, like there is, I think we've talked about touched up a little bit on this in previous episodes, but you know, we as a as an office in Springfield, Missouri, you know, at headquarters of Assemblies of God World Missions, we cannot do the work of reaching our congregations and our churches and the body of Christ the way that an itinerating missionary can as they go and preach a service, as they go and speak about missions. That is a catal, like a catalyst, a catalyst factor and multiplication factor, like none other. And so that go piece becomes so, so, so critical. Um, but I think it's really nice to note here too, and I love how you do that. If you can't say that give piece, do a thank piece for give piece.

SPEAKER_01 8:36

Exactly. Yeah, and then to reiterate what you just said there about the go, as a global worker who is out in the church raising, yes, you're raising a budget, but you are raising awareness of global need. You are the best advocate and the best mouthpiece for the lost in the world. And your obedience and saying yes can be the catalyst for somebody else's step of obedience. And so you may step into a church and maybe they only give you a hundred dollar honorarium. Maybe they don't give you anything. I don't know. I mean, there's opportunities, there's times when that happens sometimes. You know, things do happen. Let's say you step into a church and they can't pick you up and you get a hundred dollar offering that day for being there. But what you don't know is what you shared that day compelled somebody else to step out in their journey of obedience to going to the field. And that is far more valuable than any dollar amount that you can receive in a church or any amount of support you can receive, is our yes motivating somebody else to answer the call of God upon their life. That is our main focus. That is our main desire is getting the body of Christ mobilized in mission. That's what we want to see happen.

SPEAKER_02 9:45

That's a good reminder. Like, hey, all of this is not about you getting your money to go overseas. This is about the body of Christ being called to the Great Commission and what that means. And so, yeah, you are a vital aspect of the biggest multiple multiplication factor we have uh for gospel access and for you know um multiplication of ministry workers is you going up there and speaking and sharing your story and sharing your heart for missions and sharing your heart with your calling and passion. So yeah, don't take that lightly.

SPEAKER_01 10:18

Yeah. So, Jin, Jin, you want to talk to us a little bit about about display tables when we're sharing at a church?

SPEAKER_02 10:23

Yeah, I don't want to we have this in our notes, but I don't want to miss the um uh tech questions too. Um like making sure that as you're talking with pastors, and then I'll move on. But as you're talking with pastors prior about what the service looks like, hey, make sure if you do have audio or visual, like that that is something that you've walked worked out with the church, not five minutes before the service happens, but prior to going. Um, so who's the tech person? When should I send the materials? What does that look like? Should I arrive early to test everything? Uh, just run everything by the pastor and try to be like, you know, as communicative as possible with um some of the things. So don't assume it's their church, their rules. Um, so okay. Uh one question we get a lot whenever it comes to scheduling a service and having a service as a missionary is hey, I've got a display table. What does that look like? Or what helps me out there, or you know, connection pieces after a service. So I want to touch base on those. And I think display tables, if you do have a table in the back in the four-year after service, um, you know, I would say I think it's important to keep make kind of make it interactive and engaging if you can. There's ways to do that, but one of the main things about having a display table is don't just set out some rinky dink um newsletter sign-up sheet that people just sign up and then leave because you're not gonna get very much engagement from that. Okay. And there could be a bottle-and-neck effect that happens. So I'm a busy mom. And after church, like I'm wrangling my kids, picking them up from their church or children's service, and I'm like not thinking about probably what happened in the beginning of service. I'm thinking about getting my kids, getting the lunch, getting to the next thing. So if my heart was compelled, like, you know, half an hour ago to meet a missionary and they make it challenging for me to connect with them further, I'm not gonna probably like do anything about that. So if you do have the opportunity to meet individuals after service, it's important for you to make on ramps easy for people that need to get out and go or need to um, you know, move forward with their day. So um, so some good to with keeping that in mind with good table elements. So some visual interests like, hey, photos from your field, cultural items, maps showing where you're going, something that people can touch and interact with, clear information, have a stack of prayer cards on your table, lots of them. Have case documents available for people if they want, like, you know, and that's in the show notes. Um, I think for uh several of our conversations, but it can be in the show notes for this one as well. So what a case document is, but it's essentially a front and page uh back, like sort of a pastor or you know, um a resume for a ministry worker. So it's got your like picture on it, it's got some um of your budget needs on it if that's appropriate, that kind of thing. And then like have a QR code like slapped on your table somewhere that people can just scan and get more information. Maybe it leads to your giving page, maybe it leads to an epistle, um, you know, newsletter sign-up sheet. Maybe it leads to, I personally like to connect them to some sort of a Google form so I can capture their contact information and get their name, email, address, phone number, whatever it is that they feel comfortable giving me. And then I like to include little check boxes that say interested in mission skipping, interested or giving, interested in going, interested in praying. So I'm touching on that pray, give, go that I just gave at the end of the service as a call to action, and it's reinforced in my um QR code or what I like to call uh connect cards. So that's one thing too, and I'll talk about connect cards a little bit more in just a second, but have interactive elements if possible. There is this couple that went to um one of our Eurasia countries and they made like an alphabet from their language with a chart where people could like actually spell their names with the alphabet from their country. So they had kids coming up and trying to spell their names, you know, from that country, and you know, people interacting with them a little bit. I think that was kind of cool. Um, you know, maybe taste testing some food from your country or having something specific, um, a game or activity related to your culture, even like a photo booth with cultural items, like something where they can engage a little further could be fun.

SPEAKER_01 14:56

You know, I love that. I love that point of it though, as well, like the interactive elements of it. And this is one thing that I will say here is that making your tables kid friendly and engaging with kids is awesome. Like, I know we do kids' ministry, so it's natural for me to act like a big child sometimes, but um, having a component that gets kids engaged, it attracts them to the table, automatically draws people, and the kids are in back and connected, they're interacting, then adults begin to interact with the table. So making it kid friendly and something that that really does engage with that audience is gonna be helpful.

SPEAKER_02 15:29

Yeah. Yeah. And then uh yeah, I I yeah, I just love that idea. So being being friendly, like, don't hide behind your table, don't stand in like behind it, stand in front of it, make eye contact. Um, and then back to the connect card portion. So it's those little, you know, you could do this on a QR code, but also having physical um QR codes could be helpful on your table. So instead of a newsletter sign-up sheet that just is a bottleneck effect and one person has to sign it at a time, have multiple cards. And even as you are talking and speaking at a service or doing a window, you're holding those up and saying, Hey, come and see me in the back. We have these connect cards in the back so we can capture your contact information and get you signed up to um, you know, our newsletter, or if you're interested in going, or if you're interested in praying, or if you're interested in giving, we would love to grab your contact information and send you more information. They're in the back table and then reinforce it with a QR code that's behind your head as you're speaking, saying, Hey, and also if you don't want to fill out a connect card, this QR code would lead you to um getting that contact information so that you can hop on our newsletter or whatever it is. So you're reinforcing the actual paper that is on your display table with while you're speaking and while you're doing a window, that QR code popping behind your head um on the screen that says um those things. So that's connect cards for um, we do have that in a show notes too. So if you want to see more information about connect cards, you can do that as well. So um, but yeah, and if somebody does fill, I will say this when somebody does fill out a connect card, what happens next? Um, follow up with that connect card within um 24 hours. So say Josh, you're a congregate member and you filled out a connect card on like my display table and you actually filled out the physical card. And me um and Zach, my husband, you know, we would follow up with you within 24 hours, probably a text message. And if you checked one of those boxes that said, I'm interested in going and I'm interested in getting your newsletter, then we would have a text message and probably a template one that we'd worked up that says something like, Hey Josh, thank you so much for being interested in what we're doing in Estonia. Um, we're gonna get you signed up on our newsletter and it's called X and Y, X, Y, and Z, and we'll um send it to you sometime in the next couple of weeks. So be on the lookout for that. Um, and then also if you're interested in going, we would love to pray with you and get some more information in your hands. If you'd like to schedule a phone call with us, we'd be love, we'd love to do that. Or if you'd just like us to get more information, you let us know. Something like that. So it's personalized, it's to them, but it's also a form that you can hit pr send pretty quickly on a text message that within 24 hours, because you really want to hit uh touch base with that person while it's still fresh in their minds and not wait two or three days afterwards, if you can. And having a template for these is helpful so that you can copy and paste and change the particulars and expedite the process a little bit. So uh yeah, so you know, you figure out what to do with those, but connecting soon and um quickly is helpful. And then what to do with the service? I want you to go ahead and talk about that, Josh, if you're if you're good at running that group.

unknown 18:52

Yeah.

SPEAKER_02 18:53

So what do we do? So what do we do at a service once we do have a service?

SPEAKER_01 18:58

So once I get there, one of the first things I do, and I mentioned it earlier, is I'm gonna find out if they have Sunday school ahead of time, and I'm gonna show up for Sunday school. I'm gonna show up, I'm gonna be there. It's a great place to connect with people.

SPEAKER_02 19:09

I liked how you said too, like, I'm not gonna just ask the pastor, you know, what can I come to a Sunday school? I'm like, when is the Sunday school?

SPEAKER_01 19:17

Yeah, exactly. Find out when it is, if they have it, and then be there for it and just be a part of a room, um, whether you're sharing or not, because it gives you a chance to connect with people and shows that you actually care more about the church than just your time that you're gonna be there. Um always I always set up a meeting with the pastor beforehand to find out the service order. So, what's the service gonna look like? Because now more than ever, they're how you're gonna see that they have an order, they have a where they're gonna put you in, if it's gonna be before the offering or after the offering or after this special song or right before I preach or whatever it is, confirming the amount of time you have and knowing where you fit in the service. So I always make sure I had that nailed down by the pastor beforehand. That way I know ahead of time. I reconfirm my time limit to make sure I know how much time I have. Um, if I have media, I am definitely connecting with the media team before anything gets started to make sure one, that it works, two, that it all got uploaded correctly and it's in the right spot or the right order. Because I've had sometimes I send slides in and slides get out of order for some reason. And so making sure that they have that. And with just a note with media, please make sure that whatever you're presenting, whether it's a window or you're preaching, make sure that it's not dependent purely on media. Because it's gonna happen. Technology is going to fail. If it's gonna fail somewhere, it's gonna fail on a church.

SPEAKER_02 20:39

And that's like, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 20:42

Exactly. And that's not because they don't have good equipment or good systems, it's just Murphy's Law. If it's gonna go wrong, it's gonna happen with the AV. Um, so make sure that you connect to it, it's uploaded, it's working. Work your table before service. Be out there, be present, be connecting and talking with people as much as you can, be friendly. For those of you who aren't as extroverted as I am, this may be a challenge, but you gotta push yourself, man. You gotta be out there and talking to people, shaking hands, enjoying getting to know people in the congregation. And then one of the things that I do, and this comes from my time is when when I served as a pastor, is I love working the auditory. I say working, not like in a negative way, but I like being in the auditorium before service and greeting people. I'm gonna go and shake hands if people are sitting down their chairs. Hey, I'm Josh, nice to meet you. So glad you're here. Hey, how are you doing? Hey, how's it going? Good morning, glad you're here this morning. I'm not on staff, I'm not a pastor. I can still show pastoral care for people. Yeah, I can still love them, I can still get to know them and shake their hands because then when I step up, they've already seen my face. They've shaken my hand. I've I've extended that friendly atmosphere to them beforehand. And um, I think that that goes a long way. It's just greeting people and having a pastor's heart for people, loving on them, even though you're not there every single week, you still love on them. Be active in worship. Like actually engage in worship. Don't be so concerned about I know you may be nervous, it may be your first five-minute window, and you're sitting there with your paper and you're reading it over and over and over. Do that before you get to service so you can actively engage in worship. That may seem like that should be a no-brainer, but I'm just saying, be active because the pastor is watching as well. They want to make sure that you have a genuine heart for the Lord, a genuine heart in worship. You're not just there for your thing, you're there for to be a part of the atmosphere. You're there to worship with him.

SPEAKER_02 22:32

Yeah, yeah, for sure.

SPEAKER_01 22:34

I always make myself available to pray for people. And this is a question I do ask pastors. Pastor, can I, if you have an altar time, can I go pray for people? Sometimes they have a prayer team that they've already vetted, sometimes they have a way of doing that. I always ask because if there's an opportunity, I want to actively minister to people. Whether I'm speaking or just doing a window, I want to take that moment to actually pray and engage with people, but I want to make sure it fits with the way the pastor wants that to happen. So I asked that beforehand. And then be respectful of your time limit, please. I know I've said it again, I'll say it a thousand more times. Don't go over your time limit. That is a sure way to cause problems.

SPEAKER_02 23:08

I would say one thing to add that I'm thinking of, I I heard uh the former mobilization and develop the mobilization and development director, uh Gil Rodriguez, used to say this so well. Like, don't go to a service before praying up beforehand. Like the night before, you know, the day before, like start asking like the Holy Spirit, ask the Lord, like, hey, is there anything you want, you know, be like receptive to what God has in the service. And I think don't take that um ministry lightly. I think is something that, and he would probably be saying it a little differently, but I think um something similar, like pray up before you go to that service. So actively engage it with God uh in the midst of the service and prior to. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 23:59

I want to hit a couple of uh speaking tips here for a sermon or for a window, and then talk a little bit about cadence before we we come to a close today. But um, if you're speaking, it's it's normal to be nervous if you're new to speaking, it really is. Even if you're if you're good at it, even if you've done it before, you still get nervous.

SPEAKER_02 24:16

I'm still, I mean, I've been teaching for you know journey trainings with assemblies for years now, like 10 years, I think. And I still like the night before the morning of like I still get super nervous. So my hands I my hands are betraying me because they get shaky and I'm like, I don't want this, but yeah, yeah.

SPEAKER_01 24:37

It's okay, it's okay to be nervous. You can write your stuff down, you can have a manuscript with you. It's okay, even if it's a sermon, I manuscript out my sermons, it's okay. I don't read them word for word, but then I've gotten my stuff on paper, I've practiced it beforehand, I feel comfortable with the information. So even if I am nervous, I know where I'm going. I've seen the roadmap.

SPEAKER_02 24:55

Yeah, I think one of the things that I tell myself too, and this is you know, science, I think. Um, some things I've heard along the way is I tell myself and I I speak to myself and I say, Hey, Jen, you are not nervous, you are not anxious, you are excited because your body is actually reacting the same way to like excitement as it does to anxiety. So I tell myself that uh um before I start, you know, before I grab the mic, like, no, I'm excited to be here. And it there's something about it that really helps me, really, really helps me. Because I used to be a nervous Nelly speaking. So yeah.

SPEAKER_01 25:34

I I mean there are people who absolutely love it and they they love being up in that spot, but nerves are part of it. And way to help break the nerves is also engage with your audience. Keep people engaged with what you're saying, even if it's a five-minute window, engage with the audience. Don't be stuck to your script looking at it. That's where you practice beforehand. Come prepared, come practice and engage with people, draw them into what you're saying, whether it's three minutes or 30 minutes. You can engage with the crowd and hook them and get them connected to what you're saying and keep them a part of that. Um a couple of notes here for preaching. If you're preaching, give a strong call to action, a strong call to go regarding missions. Like I've said before, one of the prime motivators for people going into missions is hearing you speak and hearing your yes. So utilize that to your advantage. Utilize that. It's okay also to have a couple missions-related sermons saved in your glove compartment or saved onto your iPad because I've walked into services where I thought I had a window or I had a window scheduled, and the pastor goes, Hey, you know what? I was wondering, you know, if you could preach this morning, or they call the day before, hey, I got sick. Would you mind preaching instead of just doing a window? Stuff like that happens right at the last minute sometimes. And so being prepared and having something in your back pocket ready to go is never a bad idea. That was one of the one of the pieces of advice that I received back in Bible college was that always have a couple sermons hidden in your Bible, on your iPad, in your glove compartment somewhere, because invariably you're gonna get asked at the last second somewhere to speak, and then you've always got it stated. And that is that has come true. I can't tell you how many times in my life. So let's talk about cadence real quick.

unknown 27:14

Sure.

SPEAKER_01 27:14

What I mean by what I mean by cadence is about we're traveling a lot, and especially if you have family, travel can be really difficult sometimes. It can be tough because if you're doing a Sunday morning and a Sunday evening, or and then you have a Wednesday, you've got multiple services going on during the week, and you're traveling, it can be difficult, not only when you're by yourself, if you're a single, but if you're married, if you have kids, it can be really it can be a struggle. So know your family's limits, know your limits. Like I I let my kids be the thermostat, they're the ones that they're the ones that determine the temperature for how things are, right? I watch them, and if things are too much and they need a rest, I let them stay at home and I go by myself. There are times that leave my my wife and kids behind, and I'll do a service by myself because you know what? They've we've been traveling, traveling, traveling. They've reached their limit. They need it, they need to they need a time off, and that's okay. And pastors are gracious enough with that when it comes to that to know that. Um, I also love to plan activities around my travel. So if I'm gonna be somewhere in a Sunday morning, I go early enough on a Saturday and I go check out, you know, check the town out. I go look up online because I'm a foodie. I like looking at that. So like go to Food Network and find out what was if there was a restaurant in there somewhere that was highlighted on some diners, drive-ins, and dives or whatever, and find some local hotspot, find someplace, get to know the community and be there. Check things out on your route before to and from the service. Is there like the world's largest ball of twine somewhere along the way that I want to go and see as I'm driving, or the world's largest rocking chair? There's some weird Americana things out there, okay? Um, planning those things in. If you have kids in school, Wednesdays, Wednesday nights and Sunday nights can be really tough getting back for bed. So give yourself grace enough to go alone and let the family rest. Understand that there are limits and understand that you gotta prioritize those things sometimes. I have two kids. And Jim, one of my favorite things about traveling um is that we don't always go all together because schedules are difficult sometimes. But one thing I love to do that makes it really special is if I've got a Wednesday night somewhere that I know I'm gonna stay overnight, or I've got a Saturday night and a Sunday morning service, and I'm staying the night somewhere. If we're not all going, I'll take one kid with me and I make that whole weekend about them. I let them pick where we're gonna eat. I mean, we've we've done the pool and sat in the hotel room and ate watermelon and done all the fun things. They get to pick where we go to eat, you know, unless the pastor says, hey, we're gonna go here. But like Saturday night they pick. I make it special, so it's one-on-one time with one of my kids, and then the next weekend that I've got something that we're not all going, I take the other kid with me. And so they get that one-on-one time with us, and then the other child is back at home with the other parent, and so it's a way of being able to make them special and make them family moments, even though you're engaging with this season and you're traveling a whole lot.

SPEAKER_02 30:02

Yeah, you're staying intentional with your family as in the midst of the season, and and not every not everything has to be, you know. I think it's fun to go see like your kids would appreciate going and seeing the biggest ball of twine or whatever.

SPEAKER_01 30:16

Yeah, absolutely do.

SPEAKER_02 30:17

It just takes a little bit of intentionality to make those things happen.

SPEAKER_01 30:20

Yeah, intentionality and planning and takes some looking as you're going along. Um, right, and then my last note to say here, and this is something that I will harp on until the day that I die, is plan an active day of rest, a day of Sabbath during this season of support raising. Your entire time can be consumed with phone calls and emails and newsletters and meetings. You have to take a day off. You have to. Yes. If you're married, your wife, your husband needs rest. If you have kids, your kids need rest. If you're single, you need rest. So be determined and be disciplined about that. That you're gonna take a day off every week and rest.

SPEAKER_02 31:01

Yep. Yeah, good. Um, yeah, that's great. Do you have well? I'll I'll say this. I really wanted to add a couple of things really quickly for our sensitive uh global workers. So anybody that's going overseas that is going to a sensitive location, like what can I say in a service? What can I not say? How do I treat that? And I would just say anytime that I'm that it's speaking at a service, you ask the pastor on the front side, add to that list of questions that Josh mentioned. Um, and the part the first of this podcast is, hey, pastor, I'm a sensitive worker. Do you uh stream, do you live stream or um, you know, web stream this service, or will it be posted anywhere on the internet? And if they say yes, you say, okay, is it okay if we don't include my portion on that? And then a lot of times they're gonna say, Yeah, that's totally fine. We'll work that out, or they say, No, we're not gonna do that. Then you know which like which direction you're going to go in, whether you're going to give the sensitive version of your window or of your sermon, or you're gonna give the non-sensitive. So, in our, that's what we call it in our organization. So you're either a sensitive missionary or non-sensitive missionary. And our sensitive missionaries have to be really careful about what they say on from pulpits, even. So if you're going to Sri Lanka on a two-year assignment, um, what I tell somebody that's going to a sensitive location and the pastor says, yes, this is going to be webs, you know, on the web, this is going to be posted. Um, okay, so they say, that's totally fine. I won't say that I'm going to Sri Lanka, but then you you basically uh come up with a sensitive version that doesn't give the full right of where you're going. Usually the easiest things to take out is the where and possibly your last name. So you might say, Hi, my name is Jen, and I'm going to a sensitive location. I'm not going to tell you exactly where, due to the sensitivity of the in the nature of my assignment, but you'll see behind me it's one of these countries. And I like to throw a map up behind my head, and it has a wide swath of countries and maybe circled, like it's somewhere in here, is basically what I'm doing. And then I'm creating like a level of intrigue, and I'm not seeing that sensitivity as a detriment to my speaking, but it is an it creating intrigue that leads people to ask me from the congregation afterwards where I'm going. So I'm not going to say, man, I can't, I can't do anything or I can't say anything. What a bummer. Um, I'm going to say, I'm so excited to tell you where I'm going. I can't up from up here, just due to the sensitive nature of my assignment. But uh, I come see me in the back and I would love to share with you. And up here, you'll see it's one of these places. Uh, so then you drop into either your area or into your region that you can talk about. And then you can give specifics about the country, you can share those that dynamic those dynamics, but you just might have to say in my country instead of specifically. So there's that. And then I would say always, always sharing stories is huge. Um, and uh, you know, going above and beyond to make sure that stories are a part of any sermon and any window that you're doing, because you're 22 times more likely to remember a fact if it's baked into a story. Um, so yeah, so those are the last couple of closing things that I wanted to just share on services, and I just wanted to touch base really quickly on those sensitivity issues. So, yeah, I think I think that's it for today, Josh. Right? I think we've we've covered some good ground.

SPEAKER_01 34:38

Yeah, I think that's really good. Um, appreciate you guys for tuning in. Thank you so much for for checking us out.

SPEAKER_02 34:45

Yeah, and thanks. We we really hope that this information is helpful and gives you some good basic ground things to think about as you're going into a service with a um a pastor in a church. And uh yeah, just as you as you move forward, take notes, remember these things, uh, try to incorporate them, try to change one thing and do um even a better job as you communicate with uh churches along the way and as you schedule services. Um, yeah, you guys are heroes. Thank you for saying yes to the call of God in your lives. And yeah, y'all are the best. All right. Bye bye, ta ta for now.