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245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 180 180 Mobilizing the Local Church Thus, the inertia that too often makes believers lethargic when it comes to world evangelism has to be overcome. Leaders must get people to comprehend the seriousness of what Smith said, pushing their churches into prayer support, financial backing, and the development of an atmosphere in which children and youth can clearly hear God’s call to global mission. The Church must send or the church will end. 2 —Mendell Taylor, church historian Although some things in support of global mission can happen spontaneously, global mission rarely becomes a priority in a local church unless leadership intentionally makes an effort to push it to the forefront and keep it there. When a tsunami comes ashore or an earthquake strikes, local churches and groups of believers around the world will respond quite spontaneously. However, assuring support year after year for career missionaries and various global ministries as well as creating an atmosphere conducive to people feeling a call to missionary service necessitates having some kind of missions committee charged with doing publicity, promoting intercessory prayer, educating the congregation, setting up events, and carrying on other needed activities. Such a group, in whatever ways it is organized, should aim at promoting world evangelism in four ways: • By educating people about what is happening in missions, about God’s heart for all peoples, and about the task yet to be done • By mobilizing prayer support for world evangelization • By challenging children, youth, and adults to learn about and embrace the global mission of the church to the point of offering themselves for missionary service • By raising funds for the world mission enterprise Some denominations have a model structure that congregations copy to create the needed mission committee or council. In other situations, a mission promotion structure must be organized from scratch by each local church. Mission Education Ralph Winter has said, “God cannot lead you on the basis of facts that you do not know.” 3 One key task, therefore, for local mission mobilizers is gleaning relevant mission information from various places and passing it along. Such mission education is aimed at intentionally opening people’s eyes and calling for action. Good mission education must show believers that the cause of world evangelism merits giving up leisure time to pray for, to mobilize for, and to par-
245187 Disc Missions ins 9/6/07 1:04 PM Page 181 Mobilizing the Local Church 181 ticipate in. Mission education must lead believers to see that global mission is worth the investment of more than pocket change and perfunctory prayers. Some mission boards help local churches with mission education by providing curriculum materials. In terms of information content, some churches give their members a well-rounded look at global evangelism by cycling through a different mission emphasis every month of the year, often with a call to pray for, give to, or get personally involved in that particular aspect of world mission. Such monthly emphases include volunteerism, compassionate ministries, gospel broadcasting, training for indigenous leadership, and missionary care and nurture. While the Internet can provide lots of useful information, caution must be exercised. Sadly, global information networks have made it easier for charlatans and inept leaders to find gullible local churches and individuals and milk them for money for fake or badly conceived mission projects. Thus, individual local churches that are not working through a denominational or reputable mission board must be extremely careful, lest all they do is “make a hole in water.” Given the normal low action-to-information ratios, local mission leaders must use every avenue available to get mission information to believers: material in church bulletins and newsletters, printed flyers passed out before a service, informational material on bulletin boards, displays in church hallways or foyers, “mission moments” in worship gatherings, brief video and PowerPoint presentations, promotional skits, e-mail newsletters, church Web sites, and even entire church services devoted to the cause of world evangelism. The part music plays in mission inspiration and education is too often overlooked. Kenneth Osbeck, music director for the Radio Bible Class and professor at what is now Cornerstone University, has written that Christians “are really the people of two books, the Bible and the hymnal.” 4 While many churches do not use printed hymnals, Osbeck’s point is that what people sing can influence them almost as much as does Scripture. Mission education leaders must be continually encouraging music leaders in local churches to make use of missions songs or at least songs that allude in some way to world evangelism. Missionaries can be a valuable source of information and inspiration. Fortunately, the flattened world described by Friedman has made it easier than ever for local churches to develop relationships with missionaries on the field. Most missionaries have periods of home assignment where they are encouraged and even expected to spend a considerable amount of time speaking in churches. Short-term opportunities in which local members go to a mission field are also ways of helping them and the people they talk to on their return to learn about missions. Effective local mission promotion and mobilization will therefore include facilitating involvement in short-term mission opportunities.
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