A mission is not just a project, it’s a lifestyle.
By RON CARGAY
Ron Cargay is the founder of Four Corners Initiatives, a ministry based in West Bengal, India, dedicated to mobilizing, training and equipping the churches of Asia to effectively fulfill their mission vision.
The following is taken from a small section of Ron’s interview with Maggie Mohr. Please take time to enjoy the full video:
Let worship marry mission
We focus so much on our relationship with God, and in that journey we realize that worship is not just about raising hands and singing songs—it’s about connecting to God’s heart. In one moment David talks about worshiping and praising God, and the next moment he talks about the broken, the poor and the orphan.
And so we realize that worship is something that we do to reach God, but that he asks us to do what we do for him for other people. That’s why our motto is “Let worship marry mission.”
Whatever we do, we do it for the local churches. We never plant our own church—we train people from the local church in the skills to plant churches. In our ministry we can proudly say that in our twenty-three years of journey, we have always helped and equipped the local church.
God is not just measuring production
America is the most powerful nation on earth. That translates not just in politics, but also in the non-profit and even in the mission world. Yet Maggie and I sit here together like friends—I’m not here to give her a report. She is not my boss, and I’m not her boss. I think there is a vision right there which is God’s vision.
If you really take time to understand your partner’s culture and mindset, I think you are on a journey to understand the impact of that partnership over a very long time. Because God is a God of eternity, and in the scale of eternity, God is not just measuring everything from the production point of view. I think it’s a more from the relationship point of view.
We can be so driven by the idea that the end is everything, and the means are not important. But I think in missions, both are very important. God is not just interested in Inspire 180 and Four Corners Initiatives doing work together so we can achieve something for God’s Kingdom. I think God is also interested in how both of us enjoy this whole journey. How would I respect you? How would you respect me?
An investment of your life
I have been to America many times, so I understand a little bit about your culture, but I think many people in the third world get offended by the fact that you are there for like a week, like you are there to conquer something. We fixed this orphanage, or we fixed this church, or we fixed this road. Then you take a picture, and then it’s good. Like you need to have that experience.
But those people are still there. You took a picture and you went home, and then you probably forgot about those people. But life transformation doesn’t happen like that. It’s an ongoing thing. It’s an investment of your life.
A mission is not just a project, it’s a lifestyle.
“We actually have to live out among the poor. Because that’s what Jesus did.”
Sometimes I go to mission conferences, and I give a strong message, and people get thrilled and they feel good. But then, am I living out what I’m preaching? It’s a constant reminder to me and my family that we have no right to talk about the poor, but we actually have to live out among the poor. Because that’s what Jesus did.
I understand that your culture moves so fast. It’s happening in India as well, we move so fast. But when you are dealing with people’s lives and people’s eternity, let’s not do it that way. Let’s do it God’s way. Take time, build a relationship.
I know you want to get things done, like “Hey, how much will it cost, here’s the money,” and you think the problem’s fixed, but no. It’s walking together with that idea, that vision. And sometime that vision might take a long, long time.
Ron Caragay, founder of Four Corners Initiatives