Aaron & Dana Bogan packed up their four children and moved to Jinja, Uganda two weeks ago. That may seem strange to most people. After all, this is a family that had a great future without going anywhere. Aaron, after serving in the Navy, had completed his master’s degree in mathematics and was employed as a professor of statistics at Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. Dana is trained as a Registered Nurse. They were living the American dream!
Then, in 2005 Aaron & Dana experienced a life-changing event when they heard the gospel of Jesus Christ. They made Jesus their Lord and began a journey of obedience to Him that changed every other decision they made. In 2006, after hosting a missionary family in their home, they expressed to me that they were drawn to missions and cross-cultural ministry. Urbancrest provides many opportunities for mission experience and they began to participate in everything they could.
They became the team leaders of the first mission trip to Appalachia in 2007. Although Aaron fell off the roof of a house on that trip, that experience did not leave a negative impression of mission work! They went on to lead teams to Costa Rica in 2008 & 2009 and were involved in many of the mission events and trainings that Urbancrest provides. The Bogans definitely had been bitten by the mission bug! In 2009, Aaron & Dana surrendered to full-time international vocational ministry. They began the process of seeking a sending organization and the location of their call. They took a short trip into Honduras in 2009 and also began the application process with the IMB, Operation Mobilization, and several other mission organizations. The downturn in the economy became a factor as many organizations were reducing, not expanding, their mission staff. In early 2010, Aaron & Dana took a trip to Kenya, and it was during that trip that God confirmed their call to Africa. But, it was not until August of 2010 when Aaron traveled to Uganda to meet with the missionaries, faculty, and governing board of the Uganda Baptist Seminary that God revealed His full plan for the Bogan family. Aaron was invited with a unanimous vote to join the seminary faculty.
For the past year, the Bogan family has been preparing to make the move to Uganda. It has not been easy. They have traveled thousands of miles, written hundreds of letters and emails, and spoken in numerous churches. They had to raise thousands of dollars to make the move in addition to the monthly support of $4,000.00 per month. The financial challenges seemed insurmountable! Southern Baptists typically give to the central funding of the Cooperative Program and the denominational offerings to support their missionaries. Therefore, the story the Bogans were sharing with the churches was a new paradigm for most. Thankfully many were able to see God working in their lives and join Him to move and keep them on the field. Nothing is impossible with our God!
This is the new normal. The funding mechanisms that we have traditionally used are wonderful and have given the churches a great infrastructure of missionaries all over the world. Unfortunately, there are not enough missionaries or funding to fulfill the Great commission with this method (Matthew 28:19-20). The gospel is to be preached to all peoples, according to the words of Jesus (Mathew 24:14), and Revelation 7:9-10 tells us that there will be people from every tribe, tongue, and nation worshiping at the throne of God. Mission boards alone will never be able to make this Scripture a reality because it is a mandate and commission to the local church. Ultimately, the church will have to provide the direct resources for people who are called to cross-cultural ministry. We live in a time where the mission infrastructure is in place, but much more is lacking if we do not send our own people to the mission field. Urbancrest is a sending church that will send God-called individuals through any appropriate channels to obediently reach people for Christ. We will send people through the boards and agencies if they are accepted, but if they are not, we as a church will send them. It will take all of the resources that can be mustered to fulfill the task. The church is the point of the spear and will be held accountable, not just for how well we supported the mission boards, but how we equipped the saints and sent them to the task of world evangelization and discipleship.
At their commissioning at Urbancrest on August 28, 2011, Aaron stood with his family on the stage and commented that they were just ordinary people that had been saved by the blood of Jesus and the grace of God. Then he said, “Take a look at us. This is normal for followers of Jesus. We are to follow Him wherever He sends us.” This really does have to be the new normal.
The Bogans are on the field in Uganda and Jesus is being glorified in their lives, both there and here. It is pretty amazing to see the church be the Church. Numerous churches are participating in sending the Bogans, and hundreds of individuals are praying and giving. It will take all of us doing all we can to keep them on the field in Uganda. May we be found faithful! You can follow the Bogans and find a link to their blog at http://www.gatewayglobaloutreach.org/Bogan/.
No comments:
Post a Comment