Missionaries Needed‍ ‍

I am so glad that you are interested in helping. There are different ways that you can come and help.

A. You can come by yourself and commit to a year or more. Maybe you would like to come for the summer first and then decide. This is for men only right now. The mission site is not ready for co-ed. This only applies to full-timers.

B. You could choose to come by yourself for a shorter period, let’s say a few days or weeks.

C. Another way is to form a group of people or teens from your church and come during the summer months to do VBS or work projects.

In any of these cases, we need to get to know each other first.
You can call me first if you want. I am the pastor. 928-679-5400 Jeff (cell).

Let me give you an idea of what will be expected from you and what your living conditions will look like.

If you are an individual (Men):

A.    We are not funded by a mother church. This means that no one gets paid. We are all volunteers. We do not eat steak and drink our favorite power drinks. We eat what we can afford. We live on a budget.

B.    I am in the process of converting my house so that a small team can live somewhat comfortably. There is also a living room and a full guest bathroom. There is a washer and dryer, electricity, heat in the winter, and Internet.

C.    We work during the day except for Saturdays. We view Saturday as a Sabbath and no one works. The exception is if we are doing a VBS program. This would fall under priestly duties and most likely will only occur in June and July.

D.    Every person who volunteers comes with skills that may be unique and add value to the team. If you are interested in working on vehicles, then you we will try and put you in charge of vehicle maintenance. If you like cooking, then you might be in charge of meal prep for the team. If you like to do puppets or skits, then that is where we will put you. We will try to match you with something you like – but, we all have to do stuff we do not like.

E.      We are not a mission organization that attempts to give you an experience. There will not be a schedule that has quite time, Bible reading time, prayer time, or sharing time. We are here to be a special ops team that works to advance the Kingdom. You should read the Bible and pray during you personal time. We will probably spend time together discussing the Word, but we are not here to oversee your relationship with God. I will spend some time each week telling you why I do what I do and what scriptures or stories from the Bible I use as a guide. I will encourage you to know the Word, but no one will judge you.

F.      Your behavior must reflect that you are a child of God. Meaning, you must be kind, avoid using curse words or filthy language. You must be careful what you do and what you say since as a missionary, you will be representing God and the mission site. We have a lot of baby Christians. As long as you are here, whatever you do and wherever you go, you must be careful about how you behave and what you say.

G. When you first come to the mission site, you can do it several ways. The closest airport in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The mission site is about four hours from there. 1) You could fly in and I can pick you up. 2) You can rent a car and drive to the mission. If you are unhappy and want to return home, you have a car. If later you decide to stay, I can go with you to return the car. 3) You can drive your own vehicle. 4) Amtrak stops in Gallup, NM. I can pick you up there. If you fly in, purchase an open return ticket because at some point you are going to want to go home - even if it is just to visit.

You can make a difference here. We need individuals who can work autonomously; without someone continuously motivating them. We want those whose hearts are with the Lord. We want those who are willing to do whatever it takes to get the job done. We want those who know how to be respectful, kind, and outgoing.

Mission Teams that come in for VBS or work groups.

A good mission group can do incredible things. They can help bring in new children, build playgrounds and advance the Kingdom.

The mission will not look like your church. That doesn’t mean that our hearts are not with the Lord. Our focus is on getting the kids to come to the site and making the mission site fun so they will return. Most of the children are not brought by parents. We have a fun one-hour church service for the kids followed by play time. We have hay rides, a little train, go-carts, and a water slide in the summer. We have water balloon wars and other fun activities. We attempt to show God’s love to the children. We are not rigid. We believe that the children are more valuable then the buildings. Jesus taught His disciples how to be fishers of men. Fishing for children requires a different type of bait. We want to make the mission site fun so kids are attracted to it. When the kids come, we tell them about Jesus.

Chain of command. Some of the best groups that visited created a chain of command before they came. They would assign one adult leader to six to ten of their teens. That leader would instruct their teens what to do and supervise them.

Before you come to the mission site, spend some time with me on the phone so we I can answer any questions and so we can get to know each other. If there are any problems, we can work them out ahead of time.

The primary reason to bring a group is to help us put on a VBS program for several days in a row. If you are coming to do a VBS program, then you should stay at least from Thursday afternoon through Sunday afternoon. If a group comes in earlier, we can either do projects or additional canvassing and ministry. If you want to go site seeing, I encourage you to do it before or after. Some teams have taken their groups to an amusement park on the way home.

The mission site is really good at making VBS programs. Your team can do puppets, skits, games, and worship. We will work together. In the past we noticed that if a group did a VBS from Wednesday to Friday (But not on Saturday), the new kids would not show up on Sunday; which defeats the purpose. On the other hand, when we had the VBS program flow in to the Sunday, let’s say Thursday through Sunday, then on the next Sunday, many of the new kids would come.

The local children are familiar with visitors who come to do VBS programs. If your team is super friendly and loving, you will be shocked at how fast the local kids connect with you. If the local kids like you they will want to connect with your kids via e-mail or some other method. I encourage this. You can go home and your team can still be ministering to the kids here. If you enjoy your visit, you might go home and think about coming every year.

Another factor that you should be ready for is meals. Visiting groups should purchase and feed their group. The mission site will not have enough funds to feed a group. We have a kitchen with an ice machine, a fridge, stoves and sink. There is a Bashas grocery store in the town.

Housing: We will eventually build two barracks for visiting groups. This will not be ready in 2026. Your group can sleep in the church. There are local hotels because there is a tourist site nearby - but the church is available. The church has a kitchen and bathrooms. We are building make-shift showers that will be ready for the summer of 2026. We have 24 cots as well.

What to bring:
1. Bring food for your group, We have an ice machine, reverse osmosis, and a kitchen with stoves and a fridge.
2. We have 24 cots, but your kids can bring air mattresses if they want. Bring a towel, toiletry kit (Shampoo, soap, comb). Bring a pillow and sleeping bag or blanket.
3. The Arizona sun is strong so do not wear black clothing. Lighter colors - white is best. Bring hats if you want. Water bottles are a must. Shorts are good. Some people bring sun lotion and bug spray.

Here is the most important information - before you bring your group to the mission site, have a talk with them; even the adult leaders. Remind them of the following:
1. The Navajo people are not prejudice. They look forward to VBS groups coming during the summer.
2. You are going to really enjoy the kids. The kids are desperate to connect with you - don’t be shy.
3. Unlike a typical church, you are going to see water balloon wars and activities that are normally considered “Wrong” in city churches. Let them know that the mission site is focused on saving the children - not the buildings.

Our long-term goals.

Although Jeff has been a missionary since 1997, he has only recently been put in charge of the mission site. He inherited the site three years ago. Jeff’s goal is to create a mission site that can handle 1,000 children on Sundays and then reach out from there. We will be building playgrounds, fixing old vehicles, building fences, cleaning up, and other physical work. At the same time we will be doing ministry. Much like Noah built the ark in preparation for what was to come, we need to get the site ready. Once the construction is finished, we will focus all of our resources and time on outreach and ministry. We consider our area to be a circle with a radius of 29.3 miles from the mission site. Within that area are some 20,000 people. Over the next 20 years the mission site would like to say that they invited every last person to come to Jesus. Of course it is unlikely that most will not come. But for those who do, it would be nice to provide a place for them to learn about Jesus. This means places in nearby towns.

You can make a huge difference here. Most of the people here do not know who Jesus is. Help us bring in the sheep and after you leave, we will feed them and take care of them.

What are the Navajo people like?

They speak English (With the exception of the elderly). They have cell phones, satellite TV, Internet, and the youth can be addicted to texting and their cell phones. Their priorities are not the same as most Americans. They are not driven by money. Most are not goal-driven. They are friendly and are used to tourist. They drive cars and dress like people anywhere. They are laid back. They talk slower. They will not treat you different. You will fit in easily.

Whether you are an individual or someone who wants to bring in a team, either call me or e-mail me. (Jeff 928-679-5400 cell) canyonfamilychurch@gmail.com.

Get to know me before you commit. This might mean several phone calls or even seeing each other in person.