Everyone loves a good outcome. “What’s in it for me?” some may ask. Well, there are so many benefits for the Sending Church when it comes to missions. Let’s look at just a few. For each as it is shared in God’s Mandate for The Church: What it Takes to Become a Missions Minded Church Today. Here are five of the positive outcomes of local Sending Churches that are missions minded, on top of not being able to imagine an existence without answering God’s call to live missionally.
Partnership development.
- As churches in the global north seek to encourage and equip churches and ministries both at home and in other parts of the world, missions can be a great way to build relationships and deepen partnerships with international churches and para-church organizations.
- Being with global south partner ministries in their own home culture and “on their own turf” is an effective way to learn more about the ministry and about what God is doing in and through local believers.
- The importance of vision casting is essential in developing goals and objectives for future mission involvement as together the global south and the global north work towards the expansion of God’s Kingdom.
Church member engagement with overseas partners and projects.
- Many times, church missions pastors or missions boards have a lot of contact with and involvement in the work of its partners ministries. This is good and can lend itself to strategic development of the overseas ministry and the Sending Church’s Missions program.
- These experiences allow church members to actively engage with projects that the church supports. They can build relationships, improve their prayer life, and lend their gifts and abilities to a ministry in need.
- Overall, the Missions program of the sending church can engage more of its members at a deeper level, thereby producing transformation in the lives of everyone involved.
Creates ownership of missions programming among Sending Church members.
- Similarly, the opportunity for global north church members to be linked with a cross-cultural partner ministry creates ownership in all the Sending Church is doing through its Missions strategy.
- It gives congregation members “skin in the game,” and ultimately, they desire to be personally invested both in time and financing.
- They begin to believe rightly that the success of the partnership and the success of building God’s Kingdom relies upon them and their involvement.
- This produces good results both with the partner ministry as well as at home in the local Sending Church.
Gives the Sending Church a broader perspective.
- Missional living resulting in any kind of outreach, whether it is overseas or to a local charity in a nearby community, helps break down those inward-facing barriers and gives the Sending Church a broader, global perspective that challenges their worldview.
- Those involved in missions begin to ask questions about further involvement, about partnerships, and about expanding the ministries of their church both into the local community and overseas.
- Those who have had an overseas experience begin to think more about other cultures and how they can use their gifts and abilities to build God’s Kingdom.
- Church leadership can work together with the members of their congregations to create goals and objectives for mission work.
Deeper personal involvement locally.
- Oftentimes, people who have been involved with Mission work, particularly overseas, return home and realize they want to get more deeply involved in their own local church’s ministries. Their worldviews have been challenged, their comfort zones expanded, and their knowledge of their own personal gifts and abilities has been heightened.
- Mission minded serving people have more ownership in the local church, want to be involved as leaders, and enjoy being a part of the “inner circle” that develops goals and sets expectations for the local body.
- Missions experiences produce fruit in the lives of church members and stretch them beyond their personal boundaries into a place where God can use them even more effectively than ever before. Their perspective has been forever changed and they become more engaged on every level. Church volunteer training, for example, by missions minded people just soared to a new height! Can you imagine?!
Our people’s lives will change and the atmosphere in our worship services and weekly activities will be impacted as well from community outreach to small groups to bible camps. Answering God’s call to share His love with the world and reflecting His great heart for the nations, missions – when done well – can have productive and positive outcomes. I’d like to think being missions minded is part of our personal transformation, and the Message shares it like this in 2 Corinthians 3:18, “Nothing between us and God, our faces shining with the brightness of His face. And so we are transfigured much like the Messiah, our lives gradually becoming brighter and more beautiful as God enters our lives and we become like Him.”
Our Mandate
The Church’s call to be missions minded is a holy one. Our mandate to live missionally is one we cannot ignore. It is our responsibility to reflect God’s heart for the nations and the world around us. Let us, as one body of believers in this nation and around the world, accept this task. And with joy and enthusiasm move toward that heavenly vision when one day every nation, tribe, people, and language will stand before God’s throne offering our eternal worship to our Savior. Who loves us and made the ultimate sacrifice to have a relationship with all mankind. Go forth and be on mission today. Amen.
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God loves the World and has a huge, compassionate heart for the nations. God’s Mandate for The Church: What it Takes to Become a Missions Minded Church Today unwraps the privilege of the Church to join in His work of building His Kingdom by using our resources, our people, our expertise, and our passion to complete the assignment of making disciples in all the earth. Loving our neighbor means we need to be equipped from the inside out. Don’t miss any of our Church Growth Resources to continue in this good work and church growth strategies! Sign up to receive our ministry blog posts straight to your inbox.
Build a Global Mission Strategy on Any Budget
After reading God’s Mandate for The Church: What it Takes to Become a Missions Minded Church Today, you’ll:
- Understand the biblical basis for missions.
- Learn about the good missions accomplishes in the world today.
- Discover five ways your church can join in God’s mission today.
So don’t wait any longer!
Rev. Chuck Salter, Vice President of MissionInsite and Ministry Advancement, joined ACS Technologies in 2019 when ACS Technologies acquired MissionInsite. He co-founded MissionInsite, which provides community demographics and data analytics to the faith-based market.
Chuck is a clergy member of the Florida Conference of the United Methodist Church. He has over 30 years of experience in the strategic use of community demographic information. He has served as a church planter and has provided UMC Conference leadership in missional development and ministry advancement.
