I continue to rediscover it over and over again: The secret to the future of world mission is buried deeply within the membership of the local churches in your city, state and region. For example, just take Northside Christian in Fresno, CA. They’re building a great missions ministry from the ground up. In fact, they’re staging a Bible Storying Seminar in early August. You will learn how to effectively tell stories from the Bible and you will learn a simple process for getting your audience to find spiritual truths and application just from the Bible. You can choose the 1-day, 3-day, or 5-day version — the choice is yours. Download the PDF brochure at…
http://www.simplythestory.org/downloads/PDFs/AA-Clovis%20Brochure7.pdf
See page 2 for all the details.
Now think about it: Here’s a local church, unleashed to serve, multiplying their ministry over and over again. They recently flew their Missions Pastor across the country to help us with another event in which we sought to replicate their model into the lives of other churches. Thanks, in part, to the help their Missions Pastor gave, over 60 Catalysts pledged to try to influence their respective local church to adopt an unreached people group. Learn more at…
http://www.UnleashedForTheUnreached.com
So here’s my question: If we know that the magic is in the local church, why do missions organizations end up thinking it’s all about them? The more I ponder it, the more excited I am about linking local churches together with one another, seeking to spark the fires of their imaginations with the realities of the many spiritual wastelands around the planet, then asking God to help us throw gas on their fire. Basically, that’s what I want to do when I grow up. See the one-minute video version at:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_rRubltXdc4
What’s your take on the Mission and the local church? Be honest. Be anonymous if you prefer. To inquire or comment on this topic, just click on the “Comment” link below:
I think the local church needs to build men and women of God to send out as missionaries.
But the missionary organizations should gather missionaries and train them for their context and support them and guilde them to build local churches to do the same.
It starts in the church but some churches are small and do not have the experience, funds or interest in working overseas. The mission org can do logists, training and support that would take a church much effort to do. Why reinvent the wheel?
Why not streamline some things to improve and quicken the process? We can do things together in a mission sending org that we can not do alone.
You are right on target regarding the role of the church in the mission of God. 3 comments: 1.) Let’s be clear by what we are meaning by use of the word “church”. This is far more than organizations housed in buildings with steeples and run by paid staff. 2.) We must be more biblical in the way we invite people to follow Jesus. One reason churches tend to become self-centered is that the masses were introduced to Christ with a message that was totally me-centered (forgiveness, peace, joy, family, heaven, etc.). 3.) It’s all about leadership.