1 Corinthians 16:5-7

1Co 16:5 But I will come to you whenever I go through Macedonia (because I am going through Macedonia),
1Co 16:6 and I might stay with you, or even spend the winter, so that you can send me wherever I need to go.
1Co 16:7 Because I do not want to see you now just as a stop over. I hope to spend some time with you, if the Lord allows it.

travel plans

If all goes well, by the time this is posted, my wife and I will have arrived back in New Zealand, after visiting two countries in Africa. That will make four different countries we have visited so far this year, either as Asia Pacific missions area directors, or as global trainers. These trips help us to see what God is doing in different parts of the world, and gain a better perspective on the people he has gifted his church with, and the problems they face. It is not always fun. In fact, sometimes we are overwhelmed by what we see. But, by God’s grace, we hope to be an encouragement, and to be encouraged. There is no substitute to going and spending time with these holy ones whom God has sent.

Traveling across continents, meeting believers in wildly different contexts, seeing both the beauty and the brokenness of the global church — that is spiritual work. It is resurrection-shaped work. It is the kind of labor Paul had in mind when he said that nothing done “in the Lord” is ever in vain.

My reflection on returning to New Zealand after Africa fits naturally into the flow of Paul’s thought:

• Resurrection hope fuels perseverance.
• Perseverance expresses itself in real, embodied ministry.
• Real ministry means showing up — in person, in love, in service.
• And showing up is often exhausting, overwhelming, and deeply holy.

Paul’s collection for the saints was not a fundraising campaign. It was a spiritual act of solidarity. It was the church saying, “We belong to one another because we belong to the risen Christ.” In the same way, your travel, your training, your presence among believers in Africa and the Pacific is not logistical work. It is resurrection work. It is the church being the church.

There is no substitute for going.
No substitute for seeing.
No substitute for standing beside the holy ones God has placed in difficult fields.

And there is no substitute for the encouragement that flows both directions — the kind you receive and the kind you give — when believers meet face to face, share burdens, and remind one another that the risen Christ is still building His kingdom in every corner of the world.

Your closing line captures Paul’s heart as well as your own:
There is no substitute for going and spending time with these holy ones whom God has sent.

That is resurrection hope made visible.

LORD, raise up a team of heroes who have the time to spend with those you have placed on the mission field.