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You are here: Home / Digital World / How to Join 3,000 Missionary Teams Around The World!

How to Join 3,000 Missionary Teams Around The World!

By Frank Johnson on February 22, 2020 0

Technology for World Mission
Photo courtesy of Gerd Altmann. Used by permission.

When we hear sermons and conversations about how we should be involved in missions, we often think of three different avenues: 1) we can go to the mission field; 2) we can provide prayer support to those who go; and, 3) we can provide financial support to those who go.

If you’ve read our pillar articles (which can be reached through the tabs at the top of the site if you are using a desktop or the three-bar/”hamburger” menu if you are using a mobile device), you know that our conviction is that all believers should be part of a team seeking to reach the unreached. And we contend that there are four basic ways we can be part of such a team — as we said above, some will go, some will pray, and some will provide financial support.

But we often don’t consider another very important way to be part of a team seeking to reach the unreached — providing logistical support to those who go. Those who provide logistical support to on-field missionaries may handle financial, administrative, communications, or technology matters for the missionary family, among other specialized responsibilities.

By consistently addressing these areas, a team member providing logistical support frees the missionary to devote themselves to declaring the gospel on the field — much like deacons in the early church addressed issues of food distribution so that the apostles were freed to devote themselves to prayer and the preaching of the Word.

Bob and Edie Lafon
Photo courtesy of Bob and Edie Lafon. Used by permission (personal correspondence).

The Lafon Family
Bob and Edie Lafon are good examples of those providing logistical support and participating on teams seeking to reach the unreached. In Bob and Edie’s case, they are members of almost 3,000 Assemblies of God missionary and missionary associate teams around the world! They are an integral part of these teams, providing technology support to those who may not be as familiar with computers, email, social media, audio and video communication, etc.

Whether providing remote support (which is much more challenging than many people realize) or traveling to the field to provide in-person support, Bob uses his computer science background to help missionaries navigate the challenges of modern technology, communication methods, and media outreach which have become intertwined with so much of what today’s missionary employs to declare the gospel.

Whether it is helping with email, teaching how to make website updates, offering advice on software purchases, providing technical support at conferences, or addressing a host of other technology-related issues, Bob stands ready to serve.

Uniquely Qualified
After being born in Honduras and receiving his secondary education in Ecuador (as the son of missionaries), Bob studied computer science in college but graduated with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Bible/Missions from Southwestern Assemblies of God College. He then received a Master of Arts degree in Missiology from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

Edie received a degree in Bible from Zion Bible Institute, a bachelor’s degree in art from Keene State College, a bachelor’s degree in psychology from Evangel University, and a master’s degree in Biblical literature from the Assemblies of God Theological Seminary.

And they spent 15 years as missionaries in El Salvador, where they worked in evangelism, discipleship, church planting, church construction, Bible school teaching, university teaching, medical teams, evangelism teams, and helping train and send missionaries from El Salvador to other countries around the world.

This combination of a well-rounded education, 15 years of experience as on-field missionaries, and over 15 years of experience providing technology support to missionaries make Bob and Edie uniquely qualified to fill the role to which God has called them.

Join Bob and Edie’s Team!
And just as Bob and Edie are members of almost 3,000 different teams around the world, you have an opportunity to be a member of their team! Joining their team would be one of the most strategic choices you could make for the cause of world missions because their influence, though it often takes place “behind the scenes,” is vast in its scope. Here are three ways you can join their team:

  • You can learn more about their ministry by visiting and bookmarking their website. You can also connect with them on Facebook.
  • To keep up with their news and prayer requests, subscribe to their newsletter at their missionary profile.
  • And to support them financially, visit their giving page. If you are a pastor or missions leader of a church, please consider inviting them to speak in a service. Bob and Edie are full-time Assemblies of God missionaries and do not receive a salary — they depend on the financial support of churches and individuals.

By joining Bob and Edie’s team, you will be joining those 3,000 different teams around the world through them!

WORKERS IN THIS ARTICLE: Bob and Edie Lafon

Related Resources

Innovation in World Mission: A Framework for Transformational Thinking about the Future of World Mission explores the mega-changes happening around us and the impacts they are making to world missions. Real-life examples from ministries, non-profits, and businesses are used throughout to hep the reader understand how to put these tools into practice.


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About Frank Johnson

Frank is a 1985 graduate of Bethany College in Scotts Valley, California (B.S. Ministerial Studies) and a licensed minister with the Northern California and Nevada District Council of the Assemblies of God. Frank has been an internet strategist for over 20 years, applying principles of digital media strategy to spread the gospel. In addition, he is the author of Find A Job Through A Temporary Service, “Bringing in the Outcast” (under pen name, John Norman) in Issue 43 (January 1, 1988) of Discipleship Journal, and numerous articles in the Santa Cruz Sentinel.

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frankjohnson_squareFrank describes himself as an online strategist who advocates for world missions through storytelling to spotlight the work of God throughout the nations.

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What Does It Mean to Join a Missionary Team?

There are four basic ways to join a missionary team and participate in God's story of restoring the nations to Himself:

GO: You can physically join a missionary team "on the ground" in their geographical area of service. This can be in the form of a short-term trip (1-4 weeks), a longer stay (1-3 years), or a career commitment.

PRAY: You can subscribe to the missionary team's email or print newsletter, follow them in social media channels, join their private Facebook group, etc. and commit to praying for them and the needs they share on a regular basis.

GIVE: You can financially support the missionary team or their organization (either through cash gifts and/or monthly commitments).

SUPPORT: You can provide logistical support to the missionary team in the form of administrative help, website development, social media channel maintenance, newsletter processing, and a host of other tasks and projects - anything that will allow the missionary team to devote more time to their primary calling.

As you consider how the Lord would have you join missionary teams, please join us in our Daily Declaration!

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Our Daily Declaration

Lord Jesus,

This day, we cast our souls upon Your sacrifice as our only hope for purpose, meaning, and fulfillment here on earth and for life in the age to come.

This day, we swear allegiance to You, our King.

This day, we pray that You would set our hearts aflame for Your cause and for the over 3 billion people in this world who have yet to hear Your name.

We long for the day that we will stand before Your throne, surrounded by the most diverse community ever formed — from every tribe, every tongue, every people, and every nation — those whom You have purchased with Your blood — as we cry out together “Worthy is the Lamb!”

Until that day, we commit ourselves to loving our brothers and sisters in Christ — no matter what their people group, no matter what their language, no matter what their race, no matter where they are from — and to living in community with them — that the world may know that the Father loves them and that He sent You to save them.

This day, we devote our lives — our time, our money, our passion, our mind, our strength, our everything — to see Your gospel proclaimed in every corner of this world.

And we thank You for the astounding privilege of playing a small part in carrying Your name to the nations!

Pray for the Tsukuba Express Church Planting Team

Tsukuba Express Line

  1. Please pray for the areas surrounding these twenty rail stations: Akihabara, Shin-Okachimachi, Asakusa, Minami-Senju, Kita-Senju, Aoi, Rokucho, Yashio, Misato-chuo, Minami-Nagareyama, Nagareyama-centralpark, Nagareyama-otakanomori, Kashiwanoha-campus, Kashiwa-Tanaka, Moriya, Miraidaira, Midorino, Bampaku-kinenkoen, Kenkyu-gakuen, and Tsukuba
  2. Pray that God would raise up church planters and send forth laborers into the harvest fields surrounding these stations (Luke 10:2-4).
  3. Pray that God would help these church planters identify persons of peace in the areas surrounding these stations (Luke 10:5-8).
  4. Pray that God would enable these church planters to speak the word of God with boldness in these areas (Luke 10:9b).
  5. Pray that the proclamation of God’s word in the areas surrounding these stations would be accompanied by demonstrations of God’s compassion and power (Luke 10:9a).