discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University
discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University
discovering missions - Southern Nazarene University
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245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 180<br />
180 Mobilizing the Local Church<br />
Thus, the inertia that too often makes believers lethargic when it comes to<br />
world evangelism has to be overcome. Leaders must get people to comprehend<br />
the seriousness of what Smith said, pushing their churches into prayer support,<br />
financial backing, and the development of an atmosphere in which children<br />
and youth can clearly hear God’s call to global mission.<br />
The Church must send or the church will end. 2<br />
—Mendell Taylor, church historian<br />
Although some things in support of global mission can happen spontaneously,<br />
global mission rarely becomes a priority in a local church unless leadership<br />
intentionally makes an effort to push it to the forefront and keep it<br />
there. When a tsunami comes ashore or an earthquake strikes, local churches<br />
and groups of believers around the world will respond quite spontaneously.<br />
However, assuring support year after year for career missionaries and various<br />
global ministries as well as creating an atmosphere conducive to people feeling<br />
a call to missionary service necessitates having some kind of <strong>missions</strong> committee<br />
charged with doing publicity, promoting intercessory prayer, educating the<br />
congregation, setting up events, and carrying on other needed activities. Such a<br />
group, in whatever ways it is organized, should aim at promoting world evangelism<br />
in four ways:<br />
• By educating people about what is happening in <strong>missions</strong>, about God’s<br />
heart for all peoples, and about the task yet to be done<br />
• By mobilizing prayer support for world evangelization<br />
• By challenging children, youth, and adults to learn about and embrace<br />
the global mission of the church to the point of offering themselves for<br />
missionary service<br />
• By raising funds for the world mission enterprise<br />
Some denominations have a model structure that congregations copy to create<br />
the needed mission committee or council. In other situations, a mission promotion<br />
structure must be organized from scratch by each local church.<br />
Mission Education<br />
Ralph Winter has said, “God cannot lead you on the basis of facts that you<br />
do not know.” 3 One key task, therefore, for local mission mobilizers is gleaning<br />
relevant mission information from various places and passing it along. Such<br />
mission education is aimed at intentionally opening people’s eyes and calling for<br />
action. Good mission education must show believers that the cause of world<br />
evangelism merits giving up leisure time to pray for, to mobilize for, and to par-