What is it that gives some people such great freedom from sin? What is it that gives some people such great courage and boldness in proclaiming the gospel? What was it that enabled the Apostles to transform their world for Jesus? James gives us some hard but profound counsel in James 4:6-10.
6 But he gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud but gives grace to the humble.” 7 Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you. 8 Draw near to God, and he will draw near to you. Cleanse your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded. 9 Be wretched and mourn and weep. Let your laughter be turned to mourning and your joy to gloom. 10 Humble yourselves before the Lord, and he will exalt you.
Sometimes sin seems so powerful in our lives and sharing the gospel seems so intimidating, but James gets to the heart of the matter. We must submit ourselves to God. Submission to anything isn’t particularly popular in our culture today. There is a prevalent argument that “the good life” is found through pursuing individual freedom. But pursuit of freedom is what led Adam and Eve to rebel against God and redefine good and evil around their own whims and fancies.
God is calling us to submit to him as King and Creator, to trust his definition of good and evil through faith in Jesus the Messiah. In order to do that, we must spend time daily reading and memorizing the Bible, both individually and in community. When we humbly submit ourselves to the promises and commands of God, we find ourselves equipped to resist temptation, ready to boldly proclaim the gospel, and exalted by God as we exalt Him.
This summer, we will read the Bible together daily, but you should not wait to get into the Word until our trip starts. Along with all your other summer preparations, prepare your heart. If you are not already involved in a Bible reading plan, would you read one chapter of Psalms and one chapter of the Gospels every day from now until Training Camp? Start with Psalm 1 and Matthew 1.
Ephesians 3:20-21 provides us with this encouragement: “Now to him who is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, according to the power at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever. Amen.”
Important Information
Forms Due
Most of the forms that we sent you in your Prep Packet are due May 15th (that is next week). Make sure to look through the material you were sent to be sure you don't miss a thing - especially the Reference Sheet. Be careful to read through the forms and instructions carefully. Anything filled out incorrectly will be returned to you. If you have questions about any of the forms, please contact us, and we'll be happy to help!
Mission Trip International Airfare Amounts & Deadlines
In your prep packet, we let you know that we are required to start booking international tickets at the beginning of May. Listed below are the actual dates we will be booking each trip. That means each participant must have enough money in her or his account to cover that cost on that day. If you have enough funds in your account, we will automatically book your ticket. However, if you don’t have the funds in your Royal Servants account, you may also give us a credit card to cover the cost.
We won’t charge your credit card—really! We will simply put a hold for that amount and then remove the hold when your account has enough funds to cover the ticket. We would only charge the card if you dropped from the program and didn't have enough in your account to cover what we paid for the ticket. Reign Ministries is only able to process holds for Visa, MasterCard, and American Express cards (debit cards may be used, but there has to be enough funds in the account and the hold will make those funds inaccessible until released). You can find more information on this under "Financial Deadlines" in your Preparation Packet booklet.
If you want us to purchase your ticket by putting a hold on a credit card, you will have to call the Reign Ministries’ office before the booking deadline. You are not able to use our online giving to place a hold. You can make a tax-deductible donation for your ticket online, but the amount is immediately charged. You can call our office 763-535-9555 ext. 721 for the Royal Servants Department or ext. 718 for the Finance Department. We are in the office weekdays between 9:30 AM – 5:00 PM CDT.
Please note: Donations made online via ACH giving (via your checking account) after April 23 may not clear the bank in time to count towards the airfare. Therefore, this online giving feature will not be available April 24 - May 13.
Trip - Airfare Cost - Booking Deadline
Europe - $1870 - May 1
Kenya - $1970 - May 8
Nepal - $1790 - May 8
Costa Rica - $1100 - May 13
Ireland - $1250 - May 13
Peru - $1110 - May 13
ManagedMissions - Checking Your Support & Forms
By now you have been sent an invitation email to ManagedMissions.com (it was sent to the main email address you gave on your registration. Check your spam folder if you haven't seen it). ManagedMissions.com is the online financial reporting site that we use to let you know who has donated to you. The Finance Department will upload your support donations 2-3 times each week. This is not an automatic process. If you donate online today, you may not see it in your account for 2-3 business days. Once you log into your account you will be able to see the complete cost of the mission trip, who has sent a gift, and calculate how much is still needed to be raised. You will also be able to download donor information so thank you notes can be sent. If you need the invite email resent to access your ManagedMissions.com account, just let me know!
In the "Tasks" tab, you will see a list of forms that we need.
Please note: at this time of year we are getting a TON of forms in all at once. It takes us a few days to get the task marked complete once we receive the form. So please, once you put your forms in the mail, wait at least 10 days before calling to see if we received your forms. If you are missing any of the forms we are requesting, you can download them from the MyMissionTrip page of the website, or email me and I'll send it to you again.
TIP: If your registration has been accepted, be sure to read through all of the materials sent to you. There is some pretty important info in that packet - make sure you don’t miss a thing!
If you haven't submitted your registration, don't worry, you still have time! Go hit submit today!
If you have any questions about Royal Servants or the registration process, please email us at lmacdonell@reignministries.org.