Those Who 'Stay with the Stuff': The GFA Mission Support Team

Stay with the Stuff: GFA considers its Mission Support Team - KP Yohannan - Gospel for Asia
"Who will listen to what you say? The share of the man who stayed with the supplies is to be the same as that of him who went down to the battle. All will share alike." —1 Samuel 30:24 (NIV)
About 3,500 years ago, David, the anointed king began preparing Israel for the promised Messiah. Saul was dead, so David and his men returned to their homes in Ziklag, only to find their families gone and the entire city destroyed by fire.

The Amalekites had taken advantage of David's absence to plunder their homes and kidnap the entire community of women and children. Battle-weary, exhausted physically, and shattered emotionally, David and his men set out in pursuit of their enemy.

However, when they came to the Brook Besor, 200 of his men were unable to cross, so David left them to stay with the stuff. When David and the others returned victorious with all of their wives and children alive and laden with the spoils of the battle, some of the troops did not want to share the spoils with those who had stayed by the stuff.

David established a practice in 1 Samuel 30:24 that remained a rule in Israel and that has been a principle in Christian work for two millennia.

That principle is that those who stay with the stuff, those who protect and maintain the supplies, are to be considered as equals in the work of the Lord. The basis for the principle involves the understanding that, for whatever reason, not everyone can go into the field, yet those who stay behind and tend to the supplies should be recognized as equally involved in the battle.

The people who stay with the stuff protect the home base. They are available for inventory, maintaining the lines of communication and logistics, providing for the replenishment of needed supplies to those in the field, and sharing the news from and the needs in the field to people at home.
This principle is, at least in part, why GFA considers its Mission Support Team as not only part of the ministry but an integral part of it. Their sacrifices are often as great as those in the field. But the issue is not about who is making a greater sacrifice or a greater impact. It's about the ability of those on the field to function at their best. That cannot be achieved in the field without the coordinated, supportive contributions of those who stay with the supplies—the GFA Mission Support Team.

We encourage you to pray for the Mission Support Team whenever you pray for GFA. Whether they are packing boxes, printing books, mailing letters, praying for you (Yes, they do that too!), managing human resources, accounting or working in the kitchen, they need your prayer support.

Members of the Mission Support Team are able to do their jobs by living sacrificially and relying upon the financial support of others who cannot go, but who can give. As you pray, please seek the Lord's direction as to how you can help support one or more members of our home team—the Mission Support Team, the keepers of the stuff.


To read more posts on Patheos on the GFA Mission Support Team, go here.

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