Perhaps more harmful than these expectations, though, is our belief that international service will heal our spiritual brokenness. We don’t board the plane considering how we can encourage local people; we come expecting them to fill us. Before joining a 127 GO Team, it is important to dispel these unrealistic and unhelpful expectations.

127 has a different model. It might be terrible math, but we think that we can actually accomplish more for the vulnerable by doing less for them directly. Faithful Christians have labored in their contexts long before our team arrives, and we want to aid that gospel work in ways that help without hindering the mission already happening.

When giving her update on Tumaini in the staff meeting, Rose casually mentioned that she had been fasting and praying for the children of Tumaini, her family, and Tumaini’s supporters over the month of January. Amanda Walton, long-time friend of Rose and Alumni Relations Coordinator with 127, asked Rose to teach us more about how she implements those spiritual disciplines into her ministry.

We hope 127 Worldwide’s name speaks for itself. 127 exists to help Christians around the globe live out the “pure, undefiled religion” described in James 1:27. We serve as a bridge between individuals and churches in the West and local leaders who are already doing gospel work in vulnerable communities.

Unfortunately, it is often difficult to discern the intentions of our own hearts. Are we serving because we want praise or because we want the name of Jesus to be praised? The lines of these contrasting motivations blur in our not-yet-perfected hearts. However, there are some fairly simple questions we can ask ourselves to determine whether our service may have drifted away from gospel-centrality.