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PROACTIVE IN IDENTIFYING MISSION CANDIDATES

Service opportunities offered by sending organizations are virtually unlimited. The more than 50 organizations partnering in the Finishers Project have in excess of 15,000 full time opportunities. It is the supply of workers that is still short since the time Jesus lamented 2000 years ago, "The harvest is plentiful, the workers are few."

Accordingly, in a consultation on the subject, it was postulated local churches could do more to encourage their people to move into the missions enterprise to disciple the nations. Below are the findings of a one-day session of 50 church and missions leaders:

Why do we not send more people and set measurable goals to do so?
Of those representing churches across America most admitted they are 95% reactive and perhaps 5% proactive in identifying missionary candidates. A few claimed their programs are 25% proactive and one claimed they were 75% proactive.

In spite of the fact that missionary passages, and especially the Great Commission, are given prominence and preached in missions-minded pulpits, our church cultures are generally not proactive due to
  • Lack of vision (or interest) to have a measurable world impact.
  • Leadership is unable or unwilling to focus outside their own walls.
  • Lack of trust to allow finances be directed to their own missionaries.
  • Lack of confidence or boldness of the missions-minded to guide people.
What are the barriers to becoming a "sending" church?
Again, the consensus from the consultation is lack of vision (or interest) and leadership from godly pastors and elders to join the missionary enterprise, which are symptoms of lack of information. Often we are content in our churches to allow our world to be limited to our local arena. It is easy to fill our attention with immediate and local concerns. Since finances are vision driven, this is not a problem with sending our own church members but a symptom.

Therefore, in what ways can a local church be informed about what God is doing in other parts of the world? There are numerous resources in print and now on the web. Leaders often need a high touch approach — personal contact in their own arena of play before they will absorb and integrate new ideas. Often churches do not know where to turn or think to ask for assistance in building a "sending" vision. The availablity of this sort of service is not marketed well.

What is done by churches to promote sending of missionaries from their own congregations?
  1. Local church leadership might answer the question, "Since the Lord has a passion for the nations, what is happening at every age level in our fellowship to develop a heart for the nations?"
  2. Churches that are sending churches have missions emphasis on each age level:
    Grade School
    Usually limited to learning from and communicating with missionary families. May also send "CARE" packages to MKs and third world children.
    Junior High
    Includes education and local day ministry or helps trips.
    Senior High
    Steps up the involvement to distance trips to cross-cultural areas within the US or internationally. These are usually work trips with some ministry involvement, such as working with children, performing arts or canvassing.
    Career/Adults
    Includes quality educational materials such as video series, Vision for the Nations or Mission:Exploration. The most extensive offering is the Perspectives course, a product of the US Center for World Missions. Short term trips can have the same propose as the Senior High trips. In addition, adults can embark on longer ventures for several months or years, or an entire second career, to assist a mission effort.
    Seniors
    Willing to assist career missionaries, but often need networking assistance to make it possible. This is where a church can assist. They can also go on youth trips to mentor or assist on the work teams.

  3. Each of the pastors on staff, whatever their role, can be given a passion to incorporate missions into their work. This will take a concerted plan and high-level agreement.
  4. A missions committee can be empowered to run with an ever increasing vision of bringing missions involvement into every home in the congregation.
  5. When should a missions pastor be added? Rule of thumb is to add a missions pastor when the giving budget exceeds about $250,000. Most churches with giving at this threshold level cannot initially see having a person dedicated to missions. Some have the salary come from the general staff budget. This way all missions giving goes to ministry outside the church. Others have the fraction of time spent allocated from missions giving. This staff person could be an early retiree who likely needs some training. In this case the cost should be low and ministry goals appropriately dedicated to serving the missions committee, missionaries and missionary candidates.
  6. Missions conferences can have elements to intentionally inform and challenge people to enter missions as a second career.
  7. Some churches design a missions boot camp. This can be one or several area churches participating in an extended event designed to build mission awareness and suggest deeper missions involvement as a sender or goer. This comes close to the dynamic of the Friday night/ Saturday City Forum events hosted by Campus Crusade (CCC) for the Finishers Project.
  8. Install a career development program. One manifestation of this is use of mentoring teams or "Wisdom Teams". See Item 10 below.
  9. Track ministry involvement of each person. An intentional program to involve each in a church is a principal factor in church growth. Those demonstrating ministry effectiveness with a consistent longing to serve the Lord can be challenged to a higher level of ministry to assist in the cross-cultural mission enterprise.
  10. Develop what one church calls Wisdom Teams. This is a collection of about 4-6 people willing to mentor a potential candidate for up to 3 years until they are handed off to a mission agency. The one church represented at the consultation did not have this concept outlined in writing. Click here to view this idea summarized from the consultation interchange.
What resources are available to assist a church? Or how can we make willing people capable and capable people willing?
When asked to consider what resources would assist in identifying, informing and challenging candidates, one church asks, "How can we make willing people capable and capable people willing?" The response list generated below moves from the impersonal to the high-touch personal challenge.

Books of missionary biographies or on missions in general. A book that gives a great overview of God's missionary passion is Let the Nations be Glad by John Piper. A new book that gives an excellent view of this history of mission from the first century to where we are now is The Church is Bigger Than You Think by Jim Reapsome.

Resource books to assist people in getting there. Send Me by Hoke and Taylor. Resources on short-term missions abound.

Visit web sites on missions such as
www.brigada.org
www.finishers.org

Direct people to contact their denominational mission agency or submit personal information with Senior Ambassadors for Christ or on the Finishers Project opportunities page. They are left to deal with the responses.

Direct people to training opportunities such as offered by The Next Step, a missions training consortium.

Host adult Sunday School or small group sessions using video series, such as Vision for the Nations by MARC or Mission:Exploration by the Finishers Project.

Invite one or more mission agencies to visit your church with a view of building a long term relationship.