Prioritizing Missions: 7 Essential Tips for Your Church
Every church strives to fulfill the Great Commission, but it’s easy to get sidetracked. We might prioritize numerical growth, caring for the poor, or theological depth over missions. However, faithful churches can balance these aspects while keeping missions at the forefront of their ministry.
Understanding Missions
To prioritize missions, your church needs to grasp what it entails. Missions involves crossing significant linguistic, geographic, or cultural barriers to start or strengthen churches, especially in areas where Christ has not been named. This definition encompasses both evangelism and church planting, acknowledging the challenges that come with sending qualified workers across these barriers.
Committing to Long-Term Impact
Paul’s missionary journeys demonstrate the importance of not only starting churches but also strengthening them. This requires a commitment to ensuring the churches we start are equipped to thrive over time. By doing so, we’ll see healthy churches produce more and better missionaries.
Reproducing Ministry
The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree. Churches that prioritize missions effectively are those with a ministry worthy of reproduction. A church ready to send missionaries must be governed by Scripture, have a passion for God’s glory, and be led by wise elders. Its members should be willing to carry their cross and follow Christ.
Woven into the Fabric
Missions shouldn’t be a one-week emphasis; it needs to be an integral part of your congregation’s DNA. Consistently keeping the Bible’s storyline front and center will help prioritize missions. This demands a proper understanding of the Bible’s overarching narrative, from Genesis to Revelation.
Practical Steps
Small decisions can add up to a church that wholeheartedly prioritizes missions. Take excellent care of visiting missionaries, allocate a growing percentage of your budget to Great Commission ministry, and organize meaningful short-term trips that support long-term missionaries.
Ordinary yet Extraordinary Missionaries
While missionaries should exemplify excellence, they should also model the basics of the Christian life – a love for God, his word, people, hospitality, holiness, and the church. These individuals can persevere for decades on the mission field.
Quality Over Quantity
In an age of instant gratification, we must remember that quality cannot be fast-tracked in missions. Churches that prioritize missions care more about sending the right missionary than sending many. By focusing on sending well-equipped, mature missionaries, we’ll see a greater impact in the long run.
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