A question for MKs - where are the TCK ministries?
Hey there,
I am actually a missionary in Peru with a huge heart for TCK ministry. I’m not an MK but am raising two (2 yrs and 7 months). I have been wondering if God will lead me towards doing TCK ministry full time at some point in the future. Since spending last week as the speaker for an TCK ministry here in Lima, I have really not been able to shake this idea. Do you have any advice or are you able to point me towards any orgs that focus simply on TCK ministry or int’l churches that are searching for a youth pastor. Thanks,
Rev. Elliott Innes
March 1st, 2008 at 1:57 am
TCK Ministries? I haven’t heard of this idea or organization before. Could you elaborate a bit? I’d be interested to hear more about how MKs live.
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March 1st, 2008 at 6:01 am
Hi!
I’m an Adult MK, and good for you, for being willing to dedicate yourself to helping the difficult transitions, etc. for TCKs out there.
Did you say you spoke at a TCK type of conference? Have you asked the people who were in charge of the TCK organization in Lima what your possibilities are?
Good luck in your future endeavors…
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March 1st, 2008 at 8:53 am
Arg, I wrote a comment and it disappeared when I tried to send it because my computer had disconnected from the internet. I hate it when that happens!
I’m glad you are interested in MK ministry. It is needed.
Some mission organizations are quite organized (almost bureaucratic) about ministering to their MKs on the field, others are more personal about it, and others don’t seem to be aware of the need. I wish I could help you out more with organizations that do this… Kristina’s suggestion to ask the people who are in charge of the TCK ministry where you spoke in Lima is probably a good place to start. My coworkers have had a great experience with an organization the name of which I don’t remember; I’ll ask them if I think of it.
I’m an adult MK currently working on the field, and my team includes two other adult MKs (as well as others) and five second-generation MKs ranging in age from under a year to seventeen. It has been so much fun to be an influential part of the lives of these kids over the last two or three years that I’ve been here, and watch them grow and develop! I think that adult MKs have a lot to offer to young MKs. We can relate to a lot of their issues and we can help them learn to relate to themselves and the world around them. It is a great privilege!
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March 1st, 2008 at 9:00 am
I should add that as a young adult I learned a lot from people who were not TCKs but were aware of TCK/MK issues. Those are many of the things that I try to pass on to the young MKs around me.
I didn’t mean to imply that an adult MK is necessarily the best person to minister to an MK, I just meant that it is a great privilege for me personally to be able to do so as an incidental part of my work.
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March 1st, 2008 at 8:06 pm
Elliott,
There are several MK ministries, one being the organization I work with, Interaction International (www.interactionintl.org). Several others are:
Mu Kappa (www.MuKappa.org) - which is a part of Barnabas International (http://barnabas.org/),
Missionary Resources Connection (www.mresourcesconnection.org), and a location that shows several is http://www.mislinks.org/practical/mk.htm
Hope that helps in your search! Do let us know what your decision is…and where you go!
Margie
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March 24th, 2008 at 11:39 am
I am an MK and also a missionary now myself in Albania. I saw the need for ministring to the TCKs here and so just started something myslef. It started small as just a week camp and now I actually have a team of people involved. I try to have two retreats a year for the teens. I also do a weekly meeting with the MKs in the city I live in. I am also for the first time going to do a debriefing/re-entry retreat with three teens heading back to the US for college.
All this to say you can minister right where you are and have a huge impact, just by being there for them.
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April 6th, 2008 at 2:51 pm
My parents are involved with Campus Crusade for Christ, and they have a ministry dedicated for MKs.
The link is: http://mk2mk.org/
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