The Senior Pastor is the shepherd of the congregation who leads it in missions.  He sets the pace and expectations, but it's not up to him.  He, along with the church staff and the missions team all seek to equip the entire church for missions ministry.  But how does the Senior Pastor fit into this wonderful body?  He can be consumed by so much ministry that missions is often relegated to the periphery.  Or he can be overwhelmed by all that needs to be done.  Trust in the Chief Shepherd and leads others to him through the teaching and preaching of God's word.   

Your missions committee is a vital dimension of how your church fulfills its strategic missions focus.  Some people are delegated responsibility in your church to join this team and propel your church into greater missions effectiveness.  But, be careful.  Your committee should not be doing missions on behalf of your church.  They should be mobilizing the entire church to be involved in missions.  Find out here about 5 aspects of the missions committee.  

Everyone has a missions path, but someone has to help them find it.  Mobilizers are used in the body of Christ to equip the entire body for the work of missions.  While only a select few go on the field, everyone can play a supporting role.  Mobilizers disciple others in missions effectiveness, call the church to is biblical role, equip others with resources and help them overcome any hurdles they may have.  The work of missions is not easy, but mobilizers can help make the path straight.  

Churches and individuals should consider the value of Short Term Missions and how they fit into the larger picture of long-term missions ministry in planting churches.  Short term teams can provide ministry that long term missionaries could not do on their own.  Please tune in to today's episode to consider eight aspects of short term trips.  You careful planning, and your prayerful discernment about how God is leading you can be a blessing, not only to the missionaries on the field and the recipients of any ministry, but for the individual who goes on the trip too.  Perhaps this is the perfect opportunity for you to discern more clearly God's call on your life and your involvement in missions. 

Everyone should consider how they can get personally involved in missions.  There is always more for you to learn as you grow in your understanding of both missions and the missionaries in your church.  Pray earnestly for the Lord to send out workers, and pray for those who have already been sent.  Begin sharing your faith now.  Support missions, not just financially.  And start reaching internationals.  This podcast begins to open our understanding on how you can be personally involved in missions.  But there is much more to grow in.  Keep going and don't stop!

You can find more details about the topics raised here at https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/inquirer/

You can compile your only custom-made pdf of missions questions and answers with Propempo's handy tool: https://propempo.com/services/missions-path-pdf/

Everyone has a missions path to go down.  Which one is yours?  Begin your journey by inquiring.  Ask good questions.  Find out more about missions, it's biblical basis, it's history, your church's role in missions and the missionaries you know.  Become a life-long learner of missions.  Challenge yourself to commit to missions and grow in the depth of your understanding of God's heart for missions.  Inquire!  

You can find detailed answers to the questions asked here at https://propempo.com/services/missions-paths/inquirer/

You can compile your only custom-made pdf of missions questions and answers with Propempo's handy tool: https://propempo.com/services/missions-path-pdf/

We have much to praise God for when considering how churches are increasingly stepping up to take their rightful place being responsible for global missions.  We see God growing churches to become sending churches, and there are many organizations that are teaching this and supporting this now.  Please continue to pray that this paradigm shift in thinking about missions as church-centered would grow from a groundswell into a full on tidal wave of change in how most churches and agencies do missions.  And thank God that we are already seeing that conviction take root in several ways now.  Listen to this episode to hear a run down of several organizations that are on the right track.  And leave a comment on the podcast if you can think of any more.     

The church, the missions agency and the missionary all need to work together to accomplish the mission.  Who bears what responsibility?  How can we manage expectations?  And most importantly, how can we maintain the biblical conviction of keeping the church in the driver's seat?  Furthermore, how can we resolve conflicts when disagreements about or divergence from expectations arise?  In this episode we walk through a proposed template for a church and agency partnership agreement.  Feel free to adapt it as you like, because your church and the mission's needs will vary from situation to situation.

Over the years, missions agencies and churches have diverged from each other and often find themselves at odds.  But, missions agencies provide a unique role in fostering church partnerships.  First, agencies must recognize how they have succumbed to mission creep, no long supporting the church like they originally intended.  Second, missions agencies can equip the church for their role.  Third, they can let go of those roles that most appropriately belong under the domain of the local church.  Furthermore, missions agencies foster church partnerships too, through prioritizing prayer and facilitating the gathering of churches around the mission that they are partnering in.

No matter what kind of church you are, there is value in establishing church partnerships in the work of missions.  Three kinds of churches are explored in this episode: the sending church, the supporting church, and the receiving church.  Each kind of church has a unique interest in church partnerships.  Churches need other churches.  Just like the Gentile churches sent support to the church in Jerusalem, we too need to be aware of and ready to help other churches in need.  And who knows, one day we might find ourselves on the receiving end of care as well.