Missions on Point

Oh, no! My loved one has moved thousands of miles away. I won't see them very often. What will I do?

Hey, this episode of Missions on Point will help you generate helpful and wise patterns of communicating your love and appreciation for their ministry overseas. God has provided wonderful means of communication. There are easy and simple ways to show your care for them. Listen to this and the next episodes in the series to learn more. Tell your friends to listen to Missions on Point, too! :-)

Help! My family member (or close friend) is a missionary! They're leaving me behind! Sometimes the family left behind can feel betrayed, hurt, jealous, bitter, angry. It's hard to even describe how it feels. The missionary is being obedient to the Lord for His glory and for the sake of the Gospel. How is that a bad thing, especially as a Christian family member? Yet, these heart issues are real. Friends and church leaders should be aware of this battle and come alongside - both in compassion, accountability, and practical help. Listen in to this series of five episodes!

This final installment of the four-part series on Missions Funding deals with an oft-misunderstood distinction between "local" and "cross-cultural" missions. The Great Commission does apply to local ministry and outreach; however, the drive of the command and the rest of the New Testament compel us to distinguish between ministries inside the reach or scope of our own church and ministries clearly outside the reach of our church. Practical considerations help us understand this dynamic and equip us to confidently make the best decisions regarding funding and involvement. May God use this in your church and your own personal life.

The question addressed in this episode can be troubling. Here we give four key principles to fuel discernment about your choices. Ultimately, we want you to make good decisions, based on what is best for you, for the recipient, for the ministry, and for the long term. Feel free to give us comments and feedback through email: [email protected]

This second of the series on Missions Funding deals with the principles behind establishing an objectivized basis for giving to a missionary or ministry. Those metrics are defined along three scales: relationship to the church, priority of ministry, and Gospel impact. Besides the level of individual support, there are considerations for how much the church should give on the whole.  Listen to all four in this series to catch the big picture of missions funding, both as a church and as an individual.

This first of four episodes deals with the inevitable questions about missions funding. In this episode we talk about different sources and types of funding. Yet, we cannot escape the basic education of the congregation respecting the biblical priority and need for their participation in funding missions. The autonomy of the local church allows a wide degree of freedom of expression as to means and methods for funding. Your church needs to be discerning and wise in stewardship. Listen to all four of this series to pick up more principles to help you as a church or as an individual donor.

This is part 6 of our 6-part series, helping a church to learn and implement the dynamic VISION of becoming a missionary sending church. We compress two days of training into these six 15-minutes overview segments. This episode, NURTURE, helps the whole church understand their role and proper expectations for enabling their missionary with shepherding ministries. Missionaries with such a caring sending church are the envy of other missionaries on the field. This part of the VISION will certainly encourage and enable your missionary to stick with it in faithfulness for the long term.

This is part 5 of a 6-part series, helping a church to learn and implement the dynamic VISION of becoming a missionary sending church. We compress two days of training into these six 15-minutes overview segments. This episode, OWNERSHIP, helps church leaders and the congregation understand their sending roles in the process of training and sending out a missionary. The whole congregation should be given opportunities to help with a high level of ownership.

This is part 4 of 6, walking through the Implementation phase of our VISION process. Implementation includes the selection of a missionary candidate, missionary training, and implementation proper (including finding a sending agency facilitator). Too many people, both candidates and church leaders, rush this phase, much to their later regret or attrition. Think and pray it through carefully. Solid preparation leaves no regrets. Check out the HERE to THERE book and the Six C's of Missionary Qualifications.

This is the third of a six-part series, helping a church to learn and implement the dynamic VISION of becoming a missionary sending church. We compress two days of training into these six 15-minutes overview segments. This episode wrestles with the hard work, prayer, and learning necessary to developing a strategic plan or strategic focus for the church's future missions outreach. Research, communication, and thoughtful discernment are essential to the process of understanding and selecting your church's focus. The time spent in doing this is well worth it!