What a week this has been (and it’s not even over)! This has been my first full week of teaching, and while I’ve already had a student tell me that he hated me, I’ve also fallen in love with (the vast majority of) my students and with the fabulous district of which I am a part. It blows my mind to think that I am graduating with my Bachelor’s Degree, attending training camp, celebrating holidays, packing up my backpack, and leaving for the race all within the next 140(ish) days. I want to tell you all more about teaching and how God’s been moving, but right now, I want to take some time and give you all some information about Adventures in Missions (AIM). AIM is the missions group I will be operating through as a racer, and answer some questions that I’ve received from friends and family. I want to give a shout-out to my awesome mobilizer, Ricci, who helped me answer these questions graciously and kindly. If you have any more questions or want to follow up with any of this information, comment or shoot me a message!
Let’s start with a simply one… What is AIM?
Taken directly from AIM’s website (www.adventures.org): “Adventures in Missions is an interdenominational missions organization that focuses on discipleship. We emphasize prayer and relationships in our work among the poor. Since we were established in 1989, we have taken over 100,000 people into the mission field, some for as short as a week and others for as long as a year or longer. In several places around the world we minister year-round to “the least of these”. We believe that by giving people the opportunity to hold orphans, bring hope to the hopeless, and pray for the sick, lives are transformed. We seek to disciple as Jesus did; our vision is that God would use us to raise up a generation of radically committed disciples of Jesus Christ.”
Are in-country missions/missionaries prepared to receive Racers? Who does AIM partner with in all these countries?
“AIM partners with organizations already in place in the countries we travel to. We don’t only go to missionaries in country. We have about 10-12 Regional Directors (RDs) at Adventures who are in constant communication with each and every contact. Each RD’s job is to email, Skype, and talk with these contacts. [We have worked with some of these contacts] since Adventures started. There are also teams on the field that are looking for new contacts. Our main goal is to partner along side contacts rather than bust in and show people how to run their existing organization.”
What kind of existing missionary groups does AIM work with? How are these groups selected? Are each of these mission groups “solid”?
“[AIM has] a list of criteria that each contact must meet. Some [criteria] is to have clean drinking water and food teams can eat. But, other criteria is that our beliefs line up… There are some teams who look for new contacts in each country. There are some countries where we need contacts, so we send in teams to search for existing ministries to partner with. There is a training so these teams know who to look for, but ultimately, the RDs follow up with the contacts to see if it would be feasible on all ends to partner with the contacts. Because of this constant communication, they know and are prepared to take racers when they go to each country. There is always a conversation had to see if contacts can and are willing to host a team and that’s usually months before taking a team. Our heart is to help rather than hurt a ministry in every aspect!”
Isn’t an excessive amount of money used for transportation of Racers that could be better used for established mission work?
“[AIM] would not say an excessive about of money is put towards travel. Obviously, there is a good amount, but that’s a part of what the World Race is – traveling to 11 countries. When you add up all the money that comes from all squads and people that have gone on the WR, it’s a lot. But, sometimes you have to spend some to gain some. If you think about all the people that have been sent out and all the people they touched on their WR and after, that number is much larger for the Kingdom. Since we are a Kingdom oriented organization, we want to see all nations know the Lord. I think the WR is establishing Mission in each racer. You don’t have to be in another country to be doing mission work.”
Racers are only at a given site a short while. Can much good for the Kingdom be achieved in such a short while?
“There are a lot of people sent out [through the WR that are] touching numerous amounts of people. One of the best examples I’ve heard is this: Think of your average Christian in America. We think going to church is all we need. So, say that lasts for one hour each week. That’s 4 hours a month, or 48 hours a year. Now obviously there are some outside activities people are a part of like meeting with a Bible study or mentor.
