Have you heard the expression, “You don’t know what you don’t know”? (YDKYDK)
There has never been a greater sentence created for the understanding of missions. By the time you think you have a good handle on it, the trends change, the processes are updated, the focus points have moved and the care needed has shifted.
When our team visits churches, holds seminar or just talks to people, we hear A TON of these YDKYDK. statements.
- “I didn’t know I could contact our missionaries directly”
- “I didn’t know that was possible to just visit missionaries to encourage them”
- “I didn’t know missionaries faced those issues”
- “I didn’t know that was the reason missionaries struggle”
- “I didn’t know missionaries needed my skill set in their ministry”
And the list goes on and on.
There has been a recent shift in missions from a Pastor or Mission Leader only lead connection between church and missionary to a church-wide, hands on engaged partnership model. The latter partnership model provides more individuals in the church the opportunity to have a personal involvement and even responsibility in the ministries of their partners. The partnership model also brings the overall mission back to the ownership of the church, and not all the weight is left of the missionaries shoulders.
While this shift of engagement is happening, there also needs to be a shift in each church’s preparation to make missions more personal, accessible and realistic for each individual in the church body – young and old.
- Church’s have the opportunity to increase the amount of missions exposure the church is seeing to make missions a normal part of conversation and activity in the church.
- Church’s can increase the church body’s participation through Mission Support Teams (or whatever your church calls them), that include more people directly connected to each missionary the church partners with.
- Church’s can prepare their body to GO, both short and long term, through mission classes, internships and leadership development.
This personal involvement of the church body has created and will continue to create an excitement and joy that is not containable. Just like Isaiah, when He saw God in a new way responded, “I am ruined… I’ll do it”, your church will begin experiencing the same type of surrender.
2020 is the year to expand your reach and make missions personal for each individual in your church.
If H2T can help you create a church-wide missions strategy for 2020, or help you plan your missions focus month or plan better partnerships with your existing missionaries, we would love to speak to you today!
[email protected] will connect you with our team and get your partnership plan started right away.
Stefanie Nicholson
Founder and Team Lead
