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Get a Strong Foundation!
Let Your Church Leaders Know of Your Desire to Be Sent THERE
If you're a student or recent graduate, you're probably familiar with the temptation to skip church, perpetually visit many churches, or depend more on a great campus parachurch ministry (RUF, Campus Outreach, IVCF, Navigators, CRU, etc.) for discipleship and community. Yet the Bible places the local church at the heart of the missionary sending process.
Before leaving for the field you should demonstrate a healthy connection with and approval of the local church that's willing to send you. Your church and missions agency will require it. Your likelihood of surviving and thriving on the field directly correlates to a healthy church that proactively helped you prepare for and get to the field. So, your very next step on the path from HERE to THERE is to bring your local church into the picture. If you're away from your home church during college years, this might be difficult. However, having a strong local sending church as the core of your support team is essential to your long-term effectiveness.
Measuring the health of your relationship with your current home (sending) church
How would you answer the following questions?
If you or your family have not been active members of a good Bible teaching, missions-minded local church, this must now become one of your highest priorities.
How do you find a local church capable of sending you well?
Here are some guidelines, expanded in more detail in the book, HERE to THERE.
Characteristics of a Strong Missions-Minded Church
The following descriptions indicate a church that is growing into a model that reflects God’s heart for the nations. More is available in the book, HERE to THERE and at Propempo.com.
Having a strong local sending church as the core of your support team is essential to your long-term effectiveness.
Get good counsel from mature Christian friends about your choice of a local church. This is an important decision to be made for sound biblical reasons rather than personal preferences or consumer-oriented reasons. Great churches feature sound teaching, a good shepherding atmosphere, gracious and loving fellowship, and a commitment to know, love and proclaim the Gospel. Check out Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway, 2004).
With some patience and passion, you can be instrumental in helping your church become your most important long-term asset in reaching “your” unreached people group.
Here are some suggested standards that would indicate a good sending church:
No church is perfect, and it may be tempting to get to the field quicker by taking shortcuts around a substantial sending church relationship. As the African proverb says, "If you want to travel fast, travel alone; if you want to travel far, travel together."
"Suppose I had a thousand college seniors in front of me who asked me where they ought to go to make a maximum contribution to Christ's global cause. What would I tell them? I would tell them to mobilize [i.e. - be instrumental in sending out others]. All of them." --Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the US Center For World Mission
Questions for reflection:
Resources:
These books will give you a sound overview of what makes a healthy, biblical church, why the church is central to missions ministry, and what it means to be an active church member.
Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway, 2004)
Patrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think (Christian Focus, 2000)
Joshua Harris, Why Church Matters (Multnomah, 2011)
Thabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member (Crossway, 2008)
David Platt, Radical Together (Multnomah, 2011)
Before leaving for the field you should demonstrate a healthy connection with and approval of the local church that's willing to send you. Your church and missions agency will require it. Your likelihood of surviving and thriving on the field directly correlates to a healthy church that proactively helped you prepare for and get to the field. So, your very next step on the path from HERE to THERE is to bring your local church into the picture. If you're away from your home church during college years, this might be difficult. However, having a strong local sending church as the core of your support team is essential to your long-term effectiveness.
Measuring the health of your relationship with your current home (sending) church
How would you answer the following questions?
- Are you an active member in a local church at all? (You'll need to find a strong local church. More on that later.)
- Is missions an evident passion and purpose of your home church? Growing a missions passion may need some help from you or outside resources.
- What kind of relationship do you have with your church leadership?
- Have you had an active role in ministry in or through your church?
- Has your church tracked your spiritual health and maturity while you've been away at college/university? To whom are you spiritually accountable in your church? (e.g. a small group leader, staff pastor, an older mentor, or a ministry group leader?) Ask your home church who might serve as such a key contact for you while you finish college.
- How long has your church known of your interest in missions?
If you or your family have not been active members of a good Bible teaching, missions-minded local church, this must now become one of your highest priorities.
How do you find a local church capable of sending you well?
Here are some guidelines, expanded in more detail in the book, HERE to THERE.
- Are you in agreement with the church's doctrinal stance?
- How important is missions to this church?
Characteristics of a Strong Missions-Minded Church
The following descriptions indicate a church that is growing into a model that reflects God’s heart for the nations. More is available in the book, HERE to THERE and at Propempo.com.
- The church possesses a scriptural understanding of: 1/ God’s purpose in this world: that He be glorified and worshipped throughout the earth among all people groups; and, 2/ The role of the local church in fulfilling God’s purpose.
- The pastor and church leaders provide mission vision in the church, working with all ministry staff and ministries to inculcate a passion for global evangelization.
- Church members realize their essential roles in the Great Commission and exercise world Christian priorities in fulfilling His global purpose.
- The church’s missions strategy includes a balanced strategy for both local and global aspects of its missions outreach.
- The church systematically prays for and holistically supports its supported ministries and missionaries.
- Short-term missions vibrant parts both of discipling its members as World Christians, and making win-win-win contributions to field ministries, missionaries, and their target population.
- The church has a vision to identify, train, and send missionary candidates from the congregation, in alignment with the church’s chosen strategy/ies.
- The church invests a significant amount of its funds in world missions.
- The church hosts a regular world missions event, celebrating what God is doing in and through the church globally.
- Missions is frequently communicated through all the ministries of the church (worship, prayer, preaching, teaching, education, training, discipleship, small groups, youth, Sunday School, men’s and ladies groups, etc.) throughout the year.
Having a strong local sending church as the core of your support team is essential to your long-term effectiveness.
Get good counsel from mature Christian friends about your choice of a local church. This is an important decision to be made for sound biblical reasons rather than personal preferences or consumer-oriented reasons. Great churches feature sound teaching, a good shepherding atmosphere, gracious and loving fellowship, and a commitment to know, love and proclaim the Gospel. Check out Mark Dever’s Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway, 2004).
With some patience and passion, you can be instrumental in helping your church become your most important long-term asset in reaching “your” unreached people group.
Here are some suggested standards that would indicate a good sending church:
- The sending church has developed clear expectations and a process or path for becoming a missionary sent from the church.
- The sending church understands and affirms the obligation of the church to guide and manage the development of their missionary in issues such as character, ministry competency (including language and cultural acquisition and adjustment), doctrinal integrity, and direction/allocation on the field.
- In addition to the elders’ general oversight, the sending church provides a mentor and/or “Barnabas Team” advocate person or team.
- The sending church confirms a mutually acceptable comprehensive support schedule and helps the missionary raise those funds through accountability, advocacy and active assistance.
- The sending church commits to appropriate communication and shepherding on the field.
- The sending church intelligently interacts with ministry decisions and strategy on the field.
- The sending church proactively and annually evaluates the health, ministry and working relationships of the field missionary (and family, if applicable).
No church is perfect, and it may be tempting to get to the field quicker by taking shortcuts around a substantial sending church relationship. As the African proverb says, "If you want to travel fast, travel alone; if you want to travel far, travel together."
"Suppose I had a thousand college seniors in front of me who asked me where they ought to go to make a maximum contribution to Christ's global cause. What would I tell them? I would tell them to mobilize [i.e. - be instrumental in sending out others]. All of them." --Dr. Ralph Winter, founder of the US Center For World Mission
Questions for reflection:
- What should you do right now to get better connected to a good sending church?
- Who do you know that might be an advocate for your missionary candidacy with your church?
- What steps can you take soon that would cultivate prayer from your church for your missions path from HERE to THERE?
Resources:
These books will give you a sound overview of what makes a healthy, biblical church, why the church is central to missions ministry, and what it means to be an active church member.
Mark Dever, Nine Marks of a Healthy Church (Crossway, 2004)
Patrick Johnstone, The Church is Bigger Than You Think (Christian Focus, 2000)
Joshua Harris, Why Church Matters (Multnomah, 2011)
Thabiti Anyabwile, What is a Healthy Church Member (Crossway, 2008)
David Platt, Radical Together (Multnomah, 2011)