Mission Tips for Mission Ministries

Since Spring is in the air, many have missions on their minds. So. I thought I’d share some information that may help your mission’s ministry to plan a trip that will be as intentional and effective as possible.

You may be involved in a church that is very involved in missions, or maybe not so much. But it is definitely the responsibility of the church to be involved in reaching their own Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and even the ends of the earth. Perhaps the Lord wants to use you to strengthen your church in the area of missions.

I’d like to share some simple ways the church can help fulfill the Great Commission and become an Acts 1:8 church.

1. Connect!
There are so many churches that really want to be involved in missions in a hands-on way, but they don’t know where to start. Trust me when I say, there are missionaries all over the world that would love to hear from you. God is doing a work beyond our own local church and missionaries on the field would love to share with you and your church all that God is doing…their vision for that area…their passion for the people they are trying to reach with the Gospel. Missionaries on the field can connect your church with opportunities to minister to people they could never reach otherwise.

2. Develop a Missions Ministry!
You may already have a missions ministry or committee in place, but I’d like to share with you a Missions Ministry Flow Chart that can help your group do much more than meet a couple times of year to discuss financial support or only get together when there is a trip on the horizon.

A. Establish a Missions Ministry (I know this is obvious) 🙂 Organize a group who have a passion for missions and/or evangelism.

B. Cover Your Bases – This means that your ministry should have someone who will be responsible for each country or area your church is involved in. That person (or people) needs to serve as a liaison between the missionary and the church. Communicating needs, projects, praise reports and prayer requests to the church on a consistent basis. Keeping that missionary and their ministry in front of the church so they don’t just become a check your church writes every month.

C. Establish a Missions Trip Coordinator(s) – This may be someone who handles all the mission trips the church chooses to go on or it may be someone designated to oversee specific missionaries or regions based on their passion for that area, their relationship with the missionary or their expertise in organizing trips for specific location. Someone needs to be the “go to” person to organize the trip. This is where being connected will be a definite benefit for the church.

D. Develop a Prayer Team – As with any ministry, nothing is accomplished without the hand of God, no one is safe without divine protection, finances run low unless God intervenes and the lost remain lost until God shows up. Missionaries covet prayer warriors. They long to know their forever family is praying for them. They are on the front lines of a battle they can’t even see and prayer is the most powerful weapon available. Each church should have at least one person who can commit to praying for a specific missionary. The prayer team should be in contact with the missionary and the liaison so that both can be informed and nothing slips through the cracks.

E. Meet Monthly – Monthly meetings keep everyone informed and engaged in the ministries your church is involved in. It also can be a source of encouragement to see what the Lord is doing through the missionary on the field and through your church.

3. Be Strategic! Acts 1:8 is the standard. Figure out if you are effectively reaching your Jerusalem, your Judea, your Samaria and the uttermost parts of the earth. It’s not multiple choice. Many churches are great at reaching their Jerusalem, but never go beyond their own neighborhood. Other churches are impacting cultures and countries on the other side of the world but have completely forgotten that their own neighborhood is in desperate need of tangible proof that God is real and that Jesus loves them. So be strategic.

An effective missions ministry does much more than determine where the money goes. It does much more than plan a trip or two. It is consistently involved with the missionary on the field and strategically praying for them, keeping their ministry in front of the church and actively being a part of their ministry.

This isn’t comprehensive, but I hope it gives you some ideas to help your church be involved in missions. I have developed a flow chart for Missions Ministries from a missionary’s perspective. A kind of “Dream Team” for missionaries. If you are interested, you can email me at eternallyHis@mail.com. I’d love to send it to you.

What do you think? Does your church have a missions ministry that does something you’d like to share? Do you have an experience about missions ministries/committees that you’d like to share? I’l love to hear from you.

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