![Loading Events](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/plugins/the-events-calendar/src/resources/images/tribe-loading.gif)
Paul The Tentmaker
December 31, 2030 - March 14, 2040
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/Paul-The-Tentmaker.webp)
Paul The Tentmaker
Paul, The Tentmaker
Tentmaking Was Practical
![Lechaion Road YWAM Marine Reach NZ Blog](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/Lechaion-Road-1024x768.jpg)
This is the Lechaion Road today
Paul Turned Away Donations?
But there was a pastoral aspect as well. The city of Corinth, in common with many Roman cities, had a well-developed patron-client system. The patron-client system was all about status. Patrons were higher status, wealthier people, and clients were their followers. In exchange for free meals, the clients followed the patrons around, went with them to court to support their many lawsuits against one another, and generally added to their patron’s prestige. What no one wanted to do was actually work. If you read Paul’s Corinthian correspondence, you’ll see that he actually refused to take money from the Corinthians who wanted to give him money! That’s because he didn’t want to be seen to participate in the patron-client culture as either patron or client. They would have misunderstood the relationship if he had taken money from them.
It’s noteworthy that Paul did indeed receive patronage from someone in the region though. In Romans 16:2, Paul commends a deacon of the church in Cenchrea, a small city very near to Corinth. Her name is Phoebe, and Paul says that she’s been his patron and the patron of many. It’s pretty clear that Phoebe did not misunderstand the relationship, so Paul was able to receive her support. He even trusted her to deliver and perhaps to explain the epistle to the Romans as well.
Tentmaking As Counter-Cultural Witness
The other place where we know that Paul worked to support himself is Thessalonica. In 1 Thessalonians 2:9 Paul mentions that while he was with them he worked night and day so that he wouldn’t be a burden to them. Later, in 1 Thessalonians 4:11-12, Paul writes to them to live a quiet life, mind their own business, and work with their hands so that they won’t be dependent on anyone. This is likely a reference to the patron-client system or similar. Paul didn’t want them to sell their support to the highest bidder. He wanted them to do something useful in the world. His motivation in supporting himself among them was to provide them with an example of what it is to be a Christian. He was showing them how to live as a kingdom person, which was, and is, very different from following the ways of the world.
![YWAM Marine Reach NZ DTS Worship DTS](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/WOrship-5-1024x683.jpg)
![YWAM Marine Reach NZ DTS](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/Mel-Anna-and-Michelle-Teaching.jpg)
So What Kind of Missionary Are You?
So when we’re deciding whether to be a missionary “on support” or a “tent making” missionary, our motivation needs to be a kingdom motivation. We have to think about our own cultural background and the cultural background of the nation we’re called to. Our considerations should be both practical and spiritual in nature.
If our culture looks down on asking for support, that’s probably the exact thing we most need to do. The kingdom of God is about giving and receiving, not about buying and selling. By providing people with an opportunity to sow seeds of generosity, we oppose something important in a culture that is fixated on buying, selling, and getting. By choosing to live with less, we witness to what is most important. Not that there is anything wrong with working a paid job! But there is something powerful about the witness of people who have chosen to receive generosity so that they can give freely to others.
It’s All About Discipleship
If we’re seeking to disciple Christians in a nation that is averse to working with their hands, there is something very powerful about tent making, but it had better be a “working with your hands” kind of tent making. If we want to disciple people in being honest in business, then running a business honestly would be a powerful testimony. If you want to show the relative merits of various priorities, choosing less status at work in order to prioritize your family might be the way to go.
As Christians, we need to think very deliberately about what our lives say about who God is and how his kingdom works.
![YWAM Marine Reach NZ DTS Justice Movement DTS](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Artboard-2black-copy-1024x683.jpg)
Paul The Fundraiser
In the next post in this series, we’ll talk about when Paul received, and even asked for, financial support.
If you have further questions, you can contact us on our website here: About Us | Who Is Marine Reach? | YWAM Marine Reach New Zealand
Or we’ve written another blog post with more details on the topics we teach during a DTS – YWAM DTS Lecture Topics.
![Marine Reach YWAM NZ DTS New Zealand Missions Training](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/shape.png)
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Kasandra-Adler-200x200.jpg)
“The Justice Movement Stream taught me to truly fall in love with and respect other cultures and people groups, and how to see them as God sees them.”
Kasandra Adler, 19, Missouri, USA
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Talon-Jernigan-200x200.jpg)
“Doing The Cover to Cover DTS at Marine Reach was one of the best things I’ve decided to do. Reading the Bible from Genesis to Revelation helped me see more of the different characteristics and nature of God. The Cover to Cover DTS was great. It taught me how to be diligent, manage my time properly, and helped me have a more sturdy foundation and in my beliefs. “
Talon Jernigan, 20, USA
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Lauren-Balzer-200x200.jpg)
“Doing a DTS and being part of the worship stream was absolutely life changing for me. God took me from a luke-warm, passive, prideful faith, to an authentic passionate relationship with Him. As he revealed His worthiness to me, I learned to let go of everything in this world and cling to Him; to allow myself to be undone in His presence.”
Lauren Balzer, 18, BC Canada
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Tim-Stallard-200x200.jpg)
“Last year I decided to seek after God wholeheartedly and applied for the Pilgrimage DTS. Going on this journey (physically and spiritually) has been life-changing! Instead of wandering on my own, I am now following the Almighty God. I have rediscovered a personal and intimate relationship with my Creator!”
Tim Stallard, 26, Switzerland
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Matthew-Bassett-200x200.jpg)
“Medical Compassion DTS was a truly an incredible experience. Working in health centres, hospitals and pop-up clinics grew my interest in medicine and allowed me to practically show the love of God. For me, the most transformational aspect of my Med-Com DTS was the focus on compassion and its importance in achieving true holistic healing. This is an experience like no other!”
Matthew Bassett, 18, Orewa, NZ
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/E_E-Linder-200x200.jpg)
“Our DTS was a time set apart to seek God’s face and encounter Him in a completely new way. During those five months, He realigned our heart and mind with His heart and His thoughts for us. We found that to love Him and to sit at the feet of Jesus is the only place we want to be and to live our lives from.”
Emmanuel & Emelie Linder, 28 & 26, Sweden
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Peter-seip-200x200.jpg)
“In the Kingdom Come stream, we really focused on what the kingdom of God is and how to live that out on earth. The most impactful aspect of this was walking out a miraculous lifestyle and being in an intimate relationship with God, where you can expect miracles to happen.”
Peter Seip, 25, Virginia, USA
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Chelsea-Logan-200x199.jpg)
“Being a part of the Justice Movement Stream has really challenged the way I see and define justice. It has made me more passionate and aware of the help this broken world needs, and what I can do to bring a stop to the injustice. I can now confidently say that I am able to take on the world, seeking justice and mercy for people in need.”
Chelsea Logan, 19, Newcastle, Australia
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Blaise-Brunson-200x200.jpg)
“Throughout my time on the Pilgrimage DTS, God has worked in me in countless ways. Whether it was learning to see His beauty and love for us in creation, or learning to trust when I was soaking wet, and knowing it’s all for a purpose, a part of the adventure! But also a great part was having lectures about how to walk in the authority of Christ, and learning how to hear the voice of God and grow in relationship with Him! I must say, it’s been the adventure of a lifetime, which won’t end because God isn’t just staying with us for a season, He’s in it with us for eternity!”
Blaise Brunson, 17, Turkey
![](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/12/Jesse-Chua-200x200.jpg)
“Through prayer and passion stream, I was able to see how prayer could be a place of so much intimacy with God. Finding my secret place with Him allowed me to fall in love again with His beauty and goodness. At the same time, God revealed to me the secrets of His heart- how He saw me and how He saw the world. It’s such a privilege to know that there’s a big God up there who trust us and partners with us to bring the kingdom of heaven down on to earth through our prayers!!! And never once did He let me down.”
Jesse Chua, 22, Singapore
![YWAM Marine Reach New Zealand](https://marinereach.com/wp-content/uploads/MR-Emblem-Preloader-compressed.gif)