Missions on Point

We boldly talk to people about their missions giving, especially our beloved generous missions donors. Keep in mind this important principle of biblical local-church-centric ministry philosophy. It shapes the direction, criteria, and relationships of our giving. It has biblical, long-term, and discerning factors involved. Do you want more joy, more genuine long-term results, more spiritual fruit from your kingdom investments? Listen to this podcast and refer it to others.

This is a tough paradigm shift for missions agencies. But it must be done if we are to be faithful to God's church on both sides of biblical cross-cultural ministry. When we know the right thing to do, we must do it with determination and grace. So, missions agency, get more focused on the role of the sending local church. Recruit not just individuals but those individuals' churches. Equip, enable, and facilitate the church in sending the best prepared, best sent, best-shepherded missionaries in your agency history. You will not regret it!

Sooner rather than later, dear missionary candidate and missionary, get your church involved in your missionary development and missions ministry! The stakes are high. If you really want to be faithful and effective long-term on the mission field, you MUST get your home/sending church connected with a true sense of partnership and ownership in your ministry. True, it means giving up some "independence" and "personal rights."  But that's way better than burning out! You will love having a solid team of people who love you and are concerned about nurturing your soul as well as your productive ministry on the field. Humility and acceptance on your part will bear rich fruit in your life and ministry. Do it for God's glory!

The local church mentor of the missionary wannabe is almost totally neglected in today's world of missionary preparation. There have been organizations that have tried to bridge the gap with very limited effectiveness. There is nothing like a warm, godly relationship within the home/sending church to walk alongside and give sound perspective and encouragement for the whole process of thorough preparation for the mission field. This episode unpacked the character of the mentor's role and the journey of preparation that they will facilitate.

Check out these resources:

https://propempo.com/resources/missions-on-point-series-list/church-based-missionary-training-7-of-14-mentoring-and-accountability/

https://propempo.com/resources/missions-on-point-series-list/church-based-missionary-training-1-of-14-introduction/

https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/missions-committee/how-is-a-missions-committee-or-team-organized/how-do-we-raise-up-missionaries-from-our-congregation/

https://propempo.com/community/propempo-blog/what-are-the-qualifications-of-a-good-sending-church/

There is no doubt that the Missions Leader of the local church is absolutely key to the implementation of the biblical local church-centered missions mindset. To embrace this mindset and implement it is much more than being an administrator of a committee. It must be influential up and down the line to the church leadership, to the congregation, and to the missionaries that are being supported and sent. It's true that there are many components to getting the church on track. There is a special set of skills, including administration, communication, relational, skills, and planning skills. Take it as a challenge to help your church joyfully embrace what we believe to be God's biblical design for the local church's role in missions! Find resources:

Read the transcript

https://propempo.com/resources/missions-on-point-series-list/

https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/missions-pastor/

https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/

https://sendforward.org/product/get-your-church-involved-in-missions-pdf/

https://sendforward.org/product/church-missions-profile-3/

mailto:[email protected] 

Pastor, LEAD YOUR CHURCH IN MISSIONS! Your role is crucial to the effectiveness of implementing this biblical local church-centric missions ministry philosophy. There are a number of simple, not-overwhelming things you can do to be an effective catalyst for missions in your church. Embracing this biblical church-centric view will give you freedom, focus, and fortitude as you enable and equip your church for this great ministry. Find more resources, including podcast transcriptions, at Propempo.com.  Find the booklet entitled "Get Your Church Involved in Missions," at SendForward.org.

Access the episode transcript page.

"An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure." The two biggest categories of reasons why missionaries come home permanently from the field (attrition) due to preventable reasons are unrealistic expectations and lack of relational accountability. The sending church can be the solution for each of those. Rethink the candidate's pre-field training and qualifications. Build a strong web of relational accountability from the very beginning. Send and shepherd them well for long-term faithfulness and effectiveness.

Once you have the foundations laid for leadership and organization for missions values, you turn to "mobilizing the whole congregation in missions" by developing a church missions culture. Prayer, family devotions, biblical foundations, and engaging all the small group or affinity group ministries of your church and be inspired, informed, and enabled to participate in missions in practical ways. You know you've built a missions culture when your church members are spontaneously taking the initiative to be involved in missions both locally and globally.

The first concept to understand that it is not the church leadership or Missions Team/Committee's responsibility to do the work of missions on behalf of their church. Their responsibility is to mobilize the entire church in missions. That means taking seriously their leadership in informing, inspiring, and providing opportunities for every active member to do their part in missions as an intentional "world Christian" - living and aligning their lives in light of the Gospel and the Great Commission. This change of mindset will energize the whole church and eventually produce missionaries being sent out from your own church family.

It has been very helpful for church missions leaders to understand and implement a simple means of evaluating how much to financially support missionaries and ministries. Having passed through the initial application and alignment with the church's values in doctrine and relationship, this X-Y-Z grid helps visualize where the candidate is in X - relationship to your church, Y - priority of type of ministry, and Z - target access to the Gospel.