Stacy Long
AFA Journal staff writer
Photo above: SIFAT volunteer Jillian cooks over the open fire on a Guatemalan griddle.
June 2016 – “Living in this room and cooking over an open flame every day would likely cause us to die from smoke inhalation poisoning, the fourth leading cause of death in the world,” Jillian said. She paused and scraped under the crumbling edge of a handmade tortilla, turning it cautiously.
Her words quickly morphed from a distant fact into reality as smoke choked the dim space in the cane hut, searing lungs and blearing eyes. Outside, a steady, drenching rain, mixed with hail, made the earth into a mudslide. Quickly, we pressed food into our mouths, shivering and damp, dreading the unavoidable walk back through the deluge.
Soon, we would return to our safe, dry homes where we could easily prepare a hot meal, but for two-thirds of the world, the ordeal we were leaving is the routine of daily life.
Face-to-face with poverty
Most would not choose to live that way, but Ken and Sarah Corson chose that challenging lifestyle as missionaries to South America.
“We wanted to go to people who still didn’t have churches or schools – to find the greatest need, not just go where a school or church was already established,” Sarah said. “So we went on our own, supporting ourselves. We lived on a native level income – in Bolivia, for example, $80 a month; in other places, it was less than $2 a day. We chose to be poor, to live the way the locals did. That’s what Jesus did. He didn’t carry the riches of heaven with Him when He came to earth.”
They saw great need as they moved through six countries – Cuba, Costa Rica, Puerto Rico, Haiti, Ecuador, and Bolivia – as well as five revolutions, beginning with Fidel Castro’s rise to power in Cuba. As they faced the question of how to combat poverty, what stuck with them was the potential of people.
“More important than economic development is the development of people,” Ken explained. “We don’t think welfare is a good answer, except in cases of relief where people have been through a tragedy. We believe in helping people help themselves.”
Bringing the Third World home
The smoky scene described above did not occur in some remote jungle, but in rural Alabama where, in 1979, the Corsons decided to bring what they learned to others and founded Servants in Faith and Technology, an international missions organization.
At SIFAT’s Lineville, Alabama, campus, the focus is hands-on instruction in skills that save lives and show the love of Jesus to others. This is done through programs for youth and college students, adults, church groups, missionaries, and internationals who come together to practice using resources that might be readily available in the Third World.
Visitors to the campus spend time in a simulated urban slum and global village, where they prep food, fire, and shelter. They sleep and eat, and learn about the unique challenges that face residents of those environments, as well as how to pray for them.
“We have had at-risk kids on welfare come here,” Sarah said. “And I’ve heard one kid say to another, ‘I thought we were poor! But we’re not poor – we’ve got a lot. We ought to do something to help.’ The mentality of kids changes from feeling they’re victims because they turn 16 years old and don’t have a nice, new car to seeing how much God has given them and the responsibility to do something for others.”
Is the gospel enough?
But when it comes to Christian ministry, how does practical service aid spiritual wellbeing? How does helping people overcome physical struggles fulfill the Great Commission? How does social betterment point to the good of the gospel message?
“One young man,” Sarah said, “came by a SIFAT sign with the words Faith and Technology in the title and said, ‘What does technology have to do with the gospel? Nothing, absolutely nothing! But I went to Haiti, and I’ll tell you right now, the gospel is not enough for Haiti. They’re starving.’
“‘Wait a minute, brother,’” I answered him. “‘The gospel is enough for every man, woman, and child in this world. It’s your concept of the gospel that is not enough. You see it as only words, but Jesus didn’t see it that way. Jesus saw it as the body, mind, soul, the entire human being.’”
And so SIFAT teaches what it terms an integrated gospel – a holistic presentation of God’s love in word and deed. From that point of view, poverty exists not only among those who are without material things, but also among those who are spiritually impoverished.
The Corsons came back to the U.S. to train people to take the truth of the gospel into overseas missions, but also to teach them to follow Jesus in loving and caring for their neighbors in the U.S.
Grow where you are planted
Many people will never travel to another country or experience life under a Third World pay scale, but all are surrounded by people in great poverty, whether physical or spiritual. Tom Corson, Sarah and Ken’s son and the current SIFAT director, emphasized ministry should not be confined to a set timeframe or location.
“Missions is about the present day, wherever God puts you,” Corson said. “There are very few places in the world where you will not see opportunities to do service.”
As SIFAT emphasizes, every community has its needs and assets, and each person in a community has potential to address those needs. As the landscape becomes more culturally diverse, the skills and perspectives useful in global missions (See “Ready, set, go,” AFAJ, 3/16.) are valuable at home as well.
The first and most invaluable resource is the church, whether with ministries of a local congregation or by looking at the outreaches of other churches for inspiration. Other types of organizations, governmental or nonprofits, may also have local programs already in place, but not all will fulfill gospel purposes or have appropriate methods or affiliations, so careful research is necessary.
To go more in depth into ministry practices, participate in training such as that offered at SIFAT’s retreats. Or look for ways to work directly with minority communities in many large cities in the U.S. For example, Global Frontier Missions (See “The world on our doorstep,” AFAJ, 12/13.) is one ministry that provides missionary training and short term work with unreached peoples in urban settings.
Looking at the array of needs and ministries and considering appropriate responses, stepping into the mission field is as easy as picking up a phone or turning down a new street in your own hometown. 
LEARN AND SERVE
Each year in the summer, SIFAT holds weeklong Learn and Serve sessions for American youth. Over 650 students visit the campus to learn how to serve with a global and local view. Personalized retreats for all ages and groups can also be arranged.
sifat.org
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