FFS (Formation, Follow-up, Service)
By: Missionary Team
One of the steps of being a Hard as Nails missionary is FFS (Formation, Follow-Up, and Service). Just like all four of the other steps, it is essential to being a missionary.
Formation:
Formation is one of the most important things that a missionary must have. Without formation, a missionary will be lost. If a missionary is a boat, then the rudder is his formation. A good formation should be the missionary’s start. It should guide him in all that he does whether he knows it or not. Every person who becomes a Hard as Nails missionary goes through one to two months of training. In the training, the future missionary will learn a lot about him or herself. For me, it was how selfish I was, and how much I have to work on giving my whole heart to Christ, not just parts of it. For others, it could be pride, doubt, or fear. More importantly, a future missionary will learn more about God and how He has been with him every second of his or her life. The more one learns about God, the more he will learn about himself, for God is his creator and lover, and to know the Creator is to know the creation and the beloved. It is also important to remember that prayer must be the bedrock of all formation because formation without prayer is useless. We can't do Our Lord's work unless we know Our Lord and have a personal relationship with Him. Again, prayer MUST BE THE BEDROCK OF FORMATION, and if not, all is vanity.
Follow-Up:
In formation, a Hard as Nails missionary will be formed to follow up with people he or she encourages. Follow-up is essential because it is relationships that change hearts. When we follow up with people, we build relationships with them and can show them that a life with Christ at the center is what we all long for. We show them this by our example, our joy, and our peace. Planting seeds is so important, but sometimes Our Lord asks us to help him reap the harvest, and it is in follow-up that we do this. Before people can encounter Christ in the Tabernacle, sometimes they must encounter Christ in others, and that is what follow-up does. We become Christ to these people through our intentionality and love.
Service:
Service is another essential part of being a Hard as Nails missionary. When we serve, we learn to get outside of ourselves. We learn that life is not all about ourselves. The more we serve, the more we become selfless, and the more we become selfless, the more we become like Christ. Service is also an opportunity to pray, for we can turn our service into a prayer to God, essential when we feel like not doing it. We can offer it up; in this way, service becomes a part of our formation, because it teaches us not only to get outside of ourselves but also how to.
