Jerusalem - The Original Gateway City

I never thought of it this way before, but Jerusalem was the original gateway city. And God seems to love using gateway cities to reach the nations.

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Now there were dwelling in Jerusalem Jews, devout men from every nation under heaven. And at this sound the multitude came together, and they were bewildered, because each one was hearing them speak in his own language. And they were amazed and astonished, saying, “Are not all these who are speaking Galileans? And how is it that we hear, each of us in his own native language? Parthians and Medes and Elamites and residents of Mesopotamia, Judea and Cappadocia, Pontus and Asia, [10] Phrygia and Pamphylia, Egypt and the parts of Libya belonging to Cyrene, and visitors from Rome, both Jews and proselytes, Cretans and Arabians—we hear them telling in our own tongues the mighty works of God.”   –Acts 2:5-11

Jesus told His followers they would be witnesses in Jerusalem and everywhere else. Why did He want them to start in Jerusalem? It wasn’t their hometown (although we like to try to make it mean that for our personal peace of mind). Maybe He said start in Jerusalem simply because that is where they were standing when He said it. So He was essentially saying they needed to start now. There is definitely truth in that idea. We don’t have to wait to make Him famous. You don’t just make Him famous when you are on a summer trip somewhere. We are called to make Him famous everywhere, and that includes the everywhere you will be today. Your school, that store, your job, at practice, eating out. Everywhere.

But this passage in Acts 2 makes me think that starting in Jerusalem had some strategic elements as well. The plan all along had been for the message of Jesus to go global. The salvation He provided was and is for all nations (cross reference: The Bible front to back). And here they were in Jerusalem, where the nations had gathered. People from all over the world had come there to live and to visit. And as the disciples began to “declare His glory among the nations” Jerusalem was the perfect place to begin. People from all these nations were able to hear the good news. Many of them might have taken that news back to their countries. Sharing in gateway cities is an incredibly strategic way to make Him famous.

Our gateway city strategy at iGo is still developing, but we see the same thing these disciples saw in Acts 2. In Amsterdam, Paris, Madrid, London, Cardiff, etc. our teams have encountered and engaged people from all over the world. Our teams serving in these gateway cities routinely get to share the gospel with people from northern Africa, the Middle East, all over Asia, and all parts in between. Some of those people take that good news back to their homeland.

And sometimes our students decide to do that themselves. As students serve for the first time in these gateway cities they encounter unreached peoples. They see the need for the gospel to be proclaimed among these peoples and they recognize the amazing opportunity they have to go to those difficult places. Many iGo students have served one week in a gateway city followed my whole summers, semesters, and longer in these “ends of the earth” type places. This also is part of our strategy and we are so thankful to be able to train and mobilize a generation ready to make Him famous no matter where He leads.

As we move forward, we recognize that God has opened up gateway cities right here in our “backyard.” Dallas has become a major landing point for immigrants and refugees. Doors have opened in Denver. Fort Worth is another gateway option. Last week I had lunch with a church planter with overwhelming facts about the gateway in Vancouver. We desire to declare His glory among the nations, and we recognize that the nations have come to us. Join with us as we ask God to open up doors for iGo in these newer gateway cities, and pray that we will be able to partner with more churches as He does.

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Lance Shumake, February 12th 2013 | Posted in Insightful, Shu

Front Line Report (July 9, 2012)

With over 180 iGo Global students currently on foreign soil, the front lines of the Kingdom’s advance overflow with good news. Please continue to pray for our teams as you read through some of the reports.

Where the Nations Have Gathered (Western Europe)

Brad Cardwell and I (Shu) are currently on location in Western Europe where we are getting to see the OK GO Students team, the TX SS team, and the JSI’s (overseas interns) in action. It is hard to describe the greatness of seeing these students embrace the core values and our teaching as they daily engage the work here in Europe among the nations. And by nations, we mean this in a literal sense. The nations are gathered in these gateway cities all throughout Western Europe.

The JSI’s are doing amazing work as they demonstrate servant leadership to the students on the two 1.0 teams. Occasionally I run into different people who think using students on the field is a little bit or a large bit crazy. I wish I could drag all those people over here and let them watch these JSI’s, especially the five students serving as the JSI leaders.

The Tip of the Sword (South Asia)

Our backpacking team in South Asia has checked in again after a few weeks out in some of the most remote villages on the planet. Their team leader reported that a native man volunteered to drive their team to numerous villages right about the time they were wondering how they would get to all the villages they had mapped. They had not asked anyone for help yet. This man just showed up and volunteered.

They were also able to share the good news of Jesus with about 15 people that had never heard His story while sitting in the Buddhist Temple in that village. This team has visited many villages in their time trekking throught the mountains of South Asia. As D.H. (the team leader) said, “Not every village has welcomed us or our message, but every village was brought before our Father.” Keep praying for them as they are used by Father to advance His kingdom.

Everything for His Glory (Central Asia)

We also received news from our team serving in Central Asia this week. Our team leader was glad to report that she had the opportunity to milk a cow and harvest eggs…for the glory of God, of course. Their team has been out serving in a remote village as well, teaching English to the people of that village as well as cooking meals (an extreme adventure in itself). They stay up late and rise very early to accomplish all their tasks, but the team has been able to share the love of Jesus with some people that have not heard the good news. They asked us to pray for their health as several of the team members have been fighting off various sicknesses.

And please continue to pray for all of our teams. This week we have more students serving on the field than at any other time this summer. Thank you for partnering with us in prayer.

Brad and I fought off jetlag by posing for a few hours as tourists.

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Lance Shumake, July 9th 2012 | Posted in Brad, Insightful, Shu, Student Story, Team Update

Leadership Lessons for Lunch (Part 5)

Leaders develop Leaders by Shu

The iGo Team Leader retreat begins later today in iGosia (aka Camp Lake Lavon). Tomorrow this year’s crop of JSI’s show up to begin their training as well. It is always a special time of year for us as we get to really invest in leaders. At the core of iGo, we have a passion for developing leaders. Leadership is often defined as influence, and we want to do whatever we can to equip the next generation of influencers. This is part of the reason why our staff rarely leads teams. It is also why we strategically place 30+ students each summer as interns overseas through our JSI program. We want to see leaders develop.

And we get to see that time and time again. Students who first showed up for an iGo trip as confused and lost in iGosia as anyone (one of the best we know showed up at the wrong base camp the first time around) are now leading, serving, and influencing in all kinds of roles. Some iGo alums are church planters. Some are overseas. Some are accountants, office managers, teachers, salesmen, and even marine biologists. And so many of them were given their first real opportunity to lead, along with on the ground training, through iGo. It is humbling and just plain cool to see God use us like that.

That reminds me of the best leader I ever got to learn from. Joel Bratcher (now the BSM director in Aggieland) was one of the leaders that really invested in me. He saw leadership potential in me when very few people did. I don’t even think I did at the time. As a sophomore in college, Joel began to invest in me by pushing me into leadership roles. He recommended experiences that would stretch me and challenge me. And then he let me lead. Probably against his better judgment, but he did. He was always there to evaluate, encourage, and speak wisdom into my ideas, but he let me learn as I led. He let me make mistakes, and I learned even more through them.

As a leader, I want to be like Joel in so many ways. Do you? It doesn’t matter if you don’t know Joel. It doesn’t even matter if you don’t like Aggies. Do you look for leadership potential in others? It may not always be obvious, but the best leaders I know are able to find it in others. Do you push others into experiences and challenges that will stretch them? Do you step back and allow developing leaders to lead? In many ways, this is what the best leaders do. They spend much of their time developing other leaders. What are the things you are currently doing to help develop other leaders around you? Feel free to hit the comment button and share it with us all.

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Lance Shumake, April 13th 2012 | Posted in Leadership, Shu

Nice Try Turtles

Today is March 6, 2012 according to the iGosian Calendar. This means that there are officially only 37 days until the iGo Leader Retreat and only 74 days until Base Camp Alpha (formerly known as College Base Camp). (explanation of new Base Camp lingo to follow)

With so little time left, we figured it was time to dust off the cucumbers and tomatoes and bring this blog back to life (Lazarus style).

So spread the word. Cucumbers and Tomatoes is back. It is almost time for tourist season in iGosia! Fire up! So subscribe to the RSS feed (whatever that means) and make sure you are following us on twitter. (@igoglobal). We are ready to get you ready for another beautiful iGosian summer of making Him famous.

And to kick things off, we thought we would let you know that we are almost ready to reveal the iGosian mascot for 2012. It was a close race this year, but we are sure you will be happy with this year’s missional mammal. iGo staff member, Chassidy is extremely pleased. Watch for that announcement coming real soon.

Until then, we have been given a green light to let you know that the runner up for this year’s mascot was…the Turtle! Nice effort all around by the turtle, but it was just nosed out in the end. Keep in mind, however, that if for any reason the 2012 mascot winner is unable to perform the duties and responsibilities associated with that title, said title will be given to the Turtle. If that doesn’t happen, there is always next year. Keep that head up..or out turtles. We still like you.

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So, got any guesses? Comments? Just want to tell us how much you miss iGosia? Use that comment button and let us know. We are waiting.

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Lance Shumake, March 6th 2012 | Posted in Shu, iGosian Culture

Listen to Shu’s Message

In November we hosted the first ever iGo Conference, and our theme was The Body. The Bride. The Church. (We are finalizing conference info for 2011 right now, which will be released soon.) We spent a couple of days talking about what it means to love and serve the local church.

Shu opened the conference with a challenge to love your church. He pointed us to God’s undying love for his church, even when it is unhealthy or dysfunctional. He closed that session by giving us 5 practical ways to love our church:

1) Pray for your church
2) Look for evidences of grace
3) Apply the Core Values
4) Invest in your church
5) Build up the body
It’s been a few months since then, and a lot has happened for all of us, so it is a good time to get introspective and ask ourselves if we’re really living this way. Are you investing in your local church, looking for evidences of God’s grace in it, and giving yourself to God’s work THROUGH your church, rather than around it or in spite of it?

Listen to Shu’s message again (by clicking the link or searching for iGo Global in iTunes), and ask yourself some hard questions. And then respond in obedience.

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Aaron Clayton, March 15th 2011 | Posted in AC, Insightful, Shu

Owl Be There for you

In honor of Valentine’s Day and the 2011 mascot, we wanted to send a special message from our staff to you:

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Emily Martin, February 15th 2011 | Posted in AC, Allison, Brad, Chassidy, Crazy iGosian Videos, Crystal, Elizabeth, Emily, Funny, Jami, Jonathan, Kent, Ky, Rowdy, Sarah, Shu

What is God calling you to in 2011?

So God appears to Moses in a burning bush. You know the story. So do I. I’ve read it, told it, or heard it more times than I could count. I read it again this week, and this part jumped out at me.

But Moses said to God, “Who am I that I should go to Pharaoh and bring the children of Israel out of Egypt?” He said, “But I will be with you, and this shall be the sign for you, that I have sent you: when you have brought the people out of Egypt, you shall serve God on this mountain.” (Exodus 3:11-12 ESV)

Moses was scared. He was confused. And he was pretty sure God had chosen the wrong guy. So God gives him a promise and a sign. The promise is that He will be with him.

Notice what the sign is. When the people have come out of Egypt, they will meet back up on this mountain and worship God together. This is the sign given to Moses so he will know that God is truly calling him. Did you catch that? Basically God tells Moses that when the job is done and he successfully leads the people out of Egypt, then he will know God called him to this task. Just being honest here, but that is not the kind of sign I would be looking for, and it doesn’t seem like the kind Moses was looking for either (keep reading through chapter 4).

But often that is the sign we get.

God calls us to walk by faith. He calls us to take risks. He calls us to leave comfort, family, hometowns, fishing nets, and all kinds of things behind and follow him. And maybe part of the call is that we will only know that it was really Him when we get there. Wherever “there” might be.

This is one of the reasons the Christian life is a great adventure. As we follow we don’t always see, but when we arrive we look back and see how clearly and powerfully He was with us all along.

As I think about this story, I immediately thought of our iGo students. Hearing God’s call at Super Summer or Falls Creek they apply to go. I bet a lot of them still have doubts even after the acceptance letter arrives in the mail. In fact I know they do because we have a number who drop out every year after being accepted. Then God sends all the money they need at just the right time to meet every deadline and cover their cost. Maybe that’s a sign. You will know He called you to this when you send in that last payment and worship Him for providing for your trip.

I also think about all my risk-taking, fishing net abandoning friends. We have so many friends and former students serving overseas after buying one-way tickets to the ends of the earth. I have other friends who have planted churches in difficult places like New York, Vancouver, and Idaho. They followed Him to those places knowing that He was with them. That, of course, is always good to know. And the sign that He was really and truly calling them to this crazy adventure will come at some point. When He has gathered a people for himself in those places and they worship Him together, that will be an amazing sign.

I have to mention iGo Global. 10 years ago this seemed like a good idea. We knew God was with us. We thought He was calling us, but we sure could have used a clear sign. Don’t get me wrong. There have been some amazing signs all along the way. He has been faithfully with us. However, this year, when we celebrated 10 years of making Him famous–now that was a sign. He really did call us to this. He really was with us from the very beginning and throughout every step of the journey. He really is with us as we head into the next ten and beyond. His signs are so good, and truthfully they come at just the right time. Always.

So what is God calling you to in 2011? You don’t need a burning bush to hear Him these days. You have His word. Is He calling you to go global, plant a church, give more, lead your family, share with a friend, or take some other step of obedience? He is with you. And he might just be waiting to give you a sign. Waiting for you to put down the nets and get behind him on the road. Warning: If you fail to be obedient, you may miss the sign he had for you. You may miss the chance to make much of Him on the mountain. I pray you won’t miss it. I pray that you will follow Him trusting that He is with you, believing He has called you, and anticipating the time when he makes His calling clear and you worship Him on that mountain.

Walk by faith. Not by sight.

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Lance Shumake, January 6th 2011 | Posted in Insightful, Shu

Stop worrying. Start praying. With thanksgiving.

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

I have always loved Paul’s teaching on prayer in Philippians 4. His command to not be anxious is so challenging. After all, Paul is telling me not to worry about things in my life while accessorizing his wardrobe with chains. No, not the Mr. T kind - the “you didn’t think you were going anywhere did you?” kind.

So Paul tells us not to be anxious. Stop worrying. Maybe he had some kind of premonition that worry and stress are unhealthy and lead to all kinds of disorders, diseases, and dis-function. But that wasn’t the main reason. The main reason is that our worry and anxiety tell a story about our lack of trust in God. “I don’t think he is concerned, I don’t think he is involved, I think this is up to me, and/or I definitely don’t think He is working this out for the good.” These are the heart proclamations of those that worry.

So Paul says don’t worry, and then he gives an alternative. Pray. Instead of getting all worked up about stuff, present your requests to God. What a great plan with an even better reward.

“And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

But just this week I noticed a little something extra in the formula. Thanksgiving. Paul added that in there to remind us it isn’t about the formula. It isn’t about the do’s and the don’ts. It’s about the gospel. It always is for Paul, and it always should be for us. The gospel is the only reason God hears our prayers.

The Bible says that God doesn’t hear the prayers of sinners. Without Jesus, our prayers are like those legendary trees that fall in the woods with no one around, thus failing to actually make a sound. Through the cross, Jesus gave us His righteousness, and now God sees us through Jesus and listens to us. Be thankful.

We don’t need to worry since God actually will listen to our prayers and He truly is concerned and involved in our lives. So be thankful. Be thankful that you can pray. Be thankful that you can give him requests. Be thankful that He listens. Be thankful for Jesus. Because without Jesus, none of that happens.

I can also be thankful when I pray knowing that this is so much bigger than me. These little issues that I deal with, when I give them to God as requests, He takes them and brings about His glory. John 14:13 says that God answers prayers so that He can bring glory to Himself. I pray instead of worry about stuff, and God’s trustworthiness and sufficiency are put on display. I pray instead of worry about stuff and God gets all the credit when He answers those prayers. I pray instead of worry about stuff and I become more and more thankful for Him.

Stop worrying. Start praying. With thanksgiving.

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Lance Shumake, November 24th 2010 | Posted in Shu

Less than a week away…looking back at 2009!

Hgpf. No, not a typo. This is a word. At one time, it was just an acronym, but somewhere along the way it seems these four letters took on a meaning all their own. Humble, gentle, patient, and forbearing. These are the words that Hgpf represents. Embracing them helps develop a team mentality. Brad came up with the super catchy acronym back in the day, but I still think he just threw it out there after trying for hours to come up with something catchy using thesaurus.com. Either way, team building is a huge part of the iGo experience. It always has been.

We place students on teams with other students and send them to make Him famous among unreached people groups. In many cases, these teams will spend inordinate amounts of time together as they serve alongside each other day after day while experiencing the challenges of culture shock, spiritual warfare, and fatigue. Their ability to function as a unified team is so important. Jesus said that when we are unified, we show the world that Jesus is the Son of God and that He loves them (John 17:23). Wow. Team unity is tied (like everything else) to the bottom line. When our teams function together and demonstrate Hgpf with each other, they bring glory to Jesus. And so we teach it, pray for it, and try to demonstrate it no matter how ridiculous it sounds when we say it. Bring the Hgpf.

As this countdown nears the end, I have realized how much I have enjoyed looking back at these ten years. We have journeyed with some great students, and those great students have formed great teams. 2009 was no different. But thinking about all our teams has made me think about the core of the iGo team.

I had absolutely no idea ten years ago that God was going to give me a team to lead at iGo. When you start something from scratch there are too many doubts about the future to think about asking anyone else to get in a boat that may or may not be sinking.

There is no way iGo would be celebrating ten years if it weren’t for the team that serves here. It is the team around me that makes this happen, but they aren’t my team. They are His. I still haven’t recruited a staff member. I have never asked for resumes. No ads on monster.com. But He has faithfully led people to our team to play a specific role, many times before I knew we needed that role played. Some of them came and served for a time and then moved on, but their contribution was vital. This truly is a team effort.

You probably know this, but I want to make sure. Our staff raises their own support to work here. God calls them to join us, and then he provides through support raising. Some of them sacrifice on a daily basis because they believe so much in the ministry and vision of iGo. I am humbled, amazed, and blessed to get to lead a group of people like that. They do their jobs with excellence not because of a paycheck and definitely not for the benefits (free T-shirts?). They serve because of their calling, passion, and commitment. Thanks team!

So here is my challenge (to whomever might be reading along).

  1. Tell an iGo staff member how much you appreciate them. You wouldn’t read this post if I listed everything they do on a yearly basis to make your trip successful.
  2. Consider supporting an iGo staff member financially. Did you have a great trip? Did an iGo staff member help you out? Why not become a member of his or her support team, helping them do what God has called them to do. I promise it will be an investment with a great return.

2009 was another great year. There are some good pictures on Facebook already from that summer. Make a comment on them. Tag someone. Start a conversation. Join the celebration. We are less than a week away from the 10 Year Celebration Banquet.

To attend the banquet this Saturday, October 23, register here: 2010 iGo Global Celebration Banquet

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Lance Shumake, October 18th 2010 | Posted in History of iGo, Shu

Almost there… 2008

For all eight of you that have been following along with all these countdown articles, you know that in 2007 things really began to click. We learned so much over the first six summers, and everything seemed to come together almost perfectly in that one summer. We felt like we had finally figured this thing out.

Consider the following quote:

“If you’re in a bad situation, don’t worry it’ll change.  If you’re in a good situation, don’t worry it’ll change.”  ~John A. Simone, Sr.

Yes, after seeing this thing turn almost into a finely tuned machine in 2007, almost everything changed in 2008. Change started in Germany, and as a result, our time ended in Germany. The infamous Jeff received a new and much better position with the IMB. Unfortunately for us, this meant he would no longer be living in Germany. Instead he would be in a little region of the world known as the Middle East. Yes, that Middle East.

Suddenly, the one M on the planet we knew who was crazy enough to take hundreds of students at a time, pour himself into interns while entrusting them with the bulk of the daily leadership of those hundreds of students was now moving literally between “Iraq and a hard place.” You figure it out.

We knew that we would no longer be sending him large teams of entry level students. First, we didn’t want to take entry level students into the Middle East, and second we didn’t figure hundreds of parents would be too cool with the idea either.

So change we did. Our first student team ever (2001) served in Japan, and we had been sending teams to Japan every summer since. Our main contact in Tokyo was Buddy, and coincidentally (read sarcasm in the tone there) Buddy had just been given a new role as volunteer coordinator for the Tokyo team. Buddy’s vision was to have as many short-term teams as possible in Tokyo in 2008.

It was our great privilege to introduce Buddy to 189 of our BFF’s from Texas Super Summer. No, the number is not mistyped. We basically invaded Tokyo in 2008 with a team of 189 students and adults from Texas Super Summer. In addition to that, we had established a partnership with the Kansas Nebraska Baptist Convention and were able to send that team of 30+ students to Tokyo as well.

The GO Students partnership from Oklahoma combined with our new partnership with the Missouri Baptist Convention decided to go a different route than Tokyo. Instead we decided to keep that partnership in Western Europe and move it to a different city and country.

God opened up doors for us at just the right time in Wales and England to begin sending these students from Oklahoma and Missouri to the United Kingdom.

NOTE: Our focus from day one at iGo has been to point students towards Great Commission completion work. This means that we want to send students to places where they can work with unreached and least reached peoples. When a lot of people hear that we send students to places like London, they tend to think of it as a tour group disguised as a mission trip. However, the truth is we are strategically engaging the world’s great cities where peoples from all nations have gathered. We can bring entry level students into these places in significant numbers and engage unreached people groups in “parent-approved” settings. And if you still have doubts, come and spend a week on the ground in London with our teams. Most of them don’t even see the main tourist attractions, choosing to spend their one free day with new friends they have met throughout the week.

God changed pretty much everything in 2008. And we never missed a beat. Of course, that isn’t because we were such good planners. It is because when He changed everything, He had already set in motion His plan to continue this work. Once again, we found ourselves riding along marvelling at His timing, His provision, and His faithfulness to the ministry He had given us.

We also had Xtreme Journey teams serving in super tough and challenging places. Places that are the modern day equivalent of the ends of the earth. We rotated our JSI’s over to Tokyo and the UK to help lead the teams. 2008 was a great year, and in many ways a new beginning for iGo. We started to see that change truly was going to be a part of our culture. In fact, just this summer, due to circumstances once again beyond our control, our partnership with Tokyo has come to an end. And almost as soon as it did, God had opened up new doors for us in Paris and Amsterdam. As we enter the next 10 years of ministry, we will do so with new locations and new partnerships once again. Change is inevitable, and change can definitely be good.

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Lance Shumake, October 6th 2010 | Posted in History of iGo, Shu
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