This is a multi-pronged question. First things first, what should a missions committee be doing these days? What’s their role? So many churches have pushed missions into the hands of staff people (and that seems to be working well for them). Is your church one of those? (Are you one of those staff people?) Do you like/prefer that model? Either way, where do you find great guidance/resources? Every so often, we hear from a guy like “Richard,” who wrote this past week asking “for missions committee resources for a church.” He remembered the old “Association of Church Missions Committees” (“ACMC”). We ran an item on them all the way back in 2018. It generated quite a lot of interest (including 21 comments; please scan through them before responding below). (See it at https://brigada.org/2018/12/16_25410.) Richard pondered, if ACMC was no longer around, “is there another organization that fills that niche, in terms of educating and supporting church missions committees?” In an item in 2019, we asked whether or not Missio Nexus was perhaps becoming that ACMC replacement. (See that item at https://brigada.org/2019/05/19_26296.) We mentioned their media materials as an example (at https://missionexus.org/media/).
Now, move than a year later, what’s your take on the scene? Is there an association or network that has helped you like “the old ACMC” used to help us all? With the benefit of added time, how would you answer Richard?
go to Propempo’s “Church Mobilization” section via Propempo(dot)com / Services / scroll down to Church Mobilization
the expanding menu has well over 100 articles for you
there are plenty of resource links with the articles
Definitely hear a lot of people missing ACMC! TEAM has some missions committee resources, including a handbook and a way to start refining strategy. team. c o m / churches
Emmaus Road International…eri(dot)org has a number of resources for churches: Taking a group of people, who believe in missions but don’t sense the call to GO, through a study of the book, SERVING AS SENDERS~TODAY. Every missionary needs a Partnership Team, caring for their friend in any one of SIX areas of need. Follow that with a study of the book, THE REENTRY TEAM, for every church that will put energy into sending missionaries out needs to know how to bring them home well. Look at the 21-hour seminar/workshop, NOTHING GOOD JUST HAPPENS! A 230-page reader prepares the participants. At the gathering (even by Zoom, if necessary), we look at SEVENTEEN areas that a church missions task force needs to develop to give their church the proper motivation and tools to doing missions well. In our FREE Media Library there are many Mp3s and White Papers for download. The “pandemic” has taught us that Zoom is a good tool! (I was just “in” Nigeria yesterday and today! Will be in Argentina next month!) All of our seminars listed on our website can be conducted through Zoom.
Great info at this site https://catalystservices.org/
ACMC was great. I still use some of their materials. I would add Dave and Lorene Wilsons Pipeline as a great reference. But it is kind of disheartening for people just starting out not to have ACMC to be there with you to kind of hold your hand to get you started. As much as it pains me to say this I have not encountered many pastoral leadership that is interested at all in establishing mutual submission and following Apostles (missionaries) with world Christian Views. Most of the pastors that I have been around recently in north east PA tend to see missions as something that is irrelevant to their programs and a potential complication to their already over stressed ministry style. Sadly they have no interest in having a committee. I suppose by having someone on the payroll is seen as a less complicated option but it clearly is not as good from a mobilizers perspective as having a committee. I guess we have to take what we can get.
Go to http://www.m28global.org or mobile app search “M28 Global Discipleship” (Apple, Android) and “God Story” app (Apple), “God’s Story” (Android), for simple, reproducible disciple-making approach (developed for trans-cultural disciple-making initiatives).
Agreed. I have felt for a number of years that the void (lack of specific networking help for local churches) created with the demise of ACMC has never been filled. Coming out of seminary in 1982 and looking for a pastoral position overseeing missions outreach was unfruitful. Joining the ACMC staff took my passion and gave it philosophy and methodology.
I would be eager to join a collaborative effort to revive this kind of help for local churches.
There are so many more resources today, as noted in https://brigada.org/2018/12/16_25410 above. Bringing this together for the benefit and missions health of the average local church would be tremendous.
The current COVID pandemic will, unfortunately, turn many churches inward, rather than global, in their orientation.