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Act One: Home ministry begins.
Joe and Sally, having completed four years’ service on the field, have returned for a year’s home ministry assignment. They live in the city of one of their supporting churches. Generous friends who have invested thousands in their work also live in this city.

Scene One:

The missionaries’ living room. Joe: I think it would be good if we invited some of our friends over some evening to talk about our work. Sally: Why don’t I print some nice invitations? Then we’ll know how many to expect. I’ll ask them to RSVP regrets only.

Joe: Okay. I’ll go through our list. Let’s limit this to younger couples. Later on we’ll invite our older friends.

Scene Two:

A week later. Joe: Well, Friday night’s the night. It looks like we’ll have a good turnout. Only two people said they can’t come. Sally: That’s great. Now I know how many cookies to bake. Shall we serve anything else? Joe: I don’t think so. We don’t have to impress these people. After all, they’re coming to hear about our work, not to eat.

Sally: I wonder.

Scene Three:

Friday night. Sally: I can’t believe we’re really doing this. I was wondering how we could ever get to meet and thank all of our supporters. Joe: I think I’ve got my notes all ready. And our pictures. I’ll start with a short introduction and then you can tell about the friends you made and how you are introducing them to Jesus. Sally (30 minutes later): I wonder where everyone is? Joe: Well, you know, people aren’t always on time. I’m sure they’ll show up. If they don’t, we’ll have a lot of cookies to eat. Joe (15 minutes later): You know, Sally, now I’m getting nervous. You’d think they’d call us if they’re not coming. Sally: I thought so, too. But only two did. What now? Joe: Sit and wait, I guess. I don’t know what else to do.

Joe (15 minutes later): I guess that was a lost cause. I’m taking some cookies next door.

Act Two:

Disappointment discussed. The next day Joe and Sally diagnose their failure. Sally: I still can’t believe no one came. Joe: I know, but if it’s any consolation, I’ve heard that other people have tried something like this-they even promised to show a video-and nobody showed up. Sally: Why aren’t people interested in what we’re doing, especially after they sent in thousands of dollars for our support the last four years? Joe: Well, young families have lots of things to do. School activities, sports, shopping. Maybe Friday night was the wrong night. Sally: I don’t think the night made any difference. They just don’t want to hear about our work, that’s all. I just can’t understand it. And what about common courtesy? At least they could have called us. Joe: You’ve got me there. We’ve been away four years. Maybe the rules have changed.

Sally: I don’t think so.

Act Three:

Another try. Sally: We still have some friends we’d like to see. Shall we try again? Maybe we’ll do better this time. Joe: Sure. Why not? At least we can’t do any worse. Maybe our older friends will come. Let’s send out some invitations to them. Joe (Friday night, two weeks later.): That was great, Sally. At least five people came, and they were really interested in what we had to say. They asked some really good questions. Sally: I’m glad we didn’t give up. It was worth it. I still don’t understand what happened before. But at least we tried. We did our part and we learned something. Joe: What’s that? Sally: Missionaries are a tough sell in 2003.

Joe: Yeah, but we also learned we’ll have to be more creative next time. Maybe evening desserts aren’t the thing for younger families. We’ll have to find the best ways to connect with them.