by John Richardson
I never want to have another missions emphasis week like the one my church endured last year. It was a time of agony as months of planning and effort slowly unraveled before our eyes.
I never want to have another missions emphasis week like the one my church endured last year. It was a time of agony as months of planning and effort slowly unraveled before our eyes.
The main speaker, a close friend of our missions team leader, delivered a message composed mainly of highly dramatized accounts of his ministry in Africa. When he was done, people were impressed—but not moved. Poor attendance proved that most of our congregation did not feel involved in this missions conference.
Following the two-week emphasis, the missions team leader and I (the pastor) sat down and decided a total overhaul was our only option. We realize that we missed some important steps in building disciples committed to the church’s mission, and we want to address that deficiency. We are going back to square one to build global awareness in our congregation.
Perhaps I took for granted my experience growing up. The church of my youth hailed our missionaries as heroes. Whenever a missionary visited our small, country church, it was like the homecoming of an old friend. But instilling that value in our seven-year-old congregation will require great effort, strong teaching and diligent prayer.
I am committed to leading my church deeper in the missionary endeavor, laying groundwork and helping believers recognize the task before us. I have developed some convictions regarding what I would like to see from missionaries visiting my church. As a pastor deeply committed to building disciples with a global vision, I offer the following ideas.
NO HIRED GUNS to Dazzle Us with Stories of Great Hardship. When you visit our church, please connect our congregation with your missions activities and connect us with our calling too. Use illustrations from your ministry that support the biblical call for all believers to become involved in the mission of the church.
Overly dramatic renditions of your experiences can actually detract from the main point of your presentation. Instead of parishioners being drawn closer to you, they feel distant because of the magnitude of your stories.
No MISSIONARY WALL OF FAME with Photos of Missionaries We Don’t Know or Communicate with. Photos of people we send checks to are not enough. A monthly support check is not your greatest need, nor is it the best means for our involvement. We need a genuine partnership.
When I arrived at my first pastorate fifteen years ago I found a wonderfully constructed missions display with photos and biographies of missionaries who had left the field several years earlier. Pictures, displays and literature have a place, but we cannot count on them to promote a strong relationship between church and missionary. Both missionaries and local congregations must make genuine efforts to communicate and grow together in personal knowledge and care.
NO CHRISTIAN TRAVEL CLUBS. Exploring God’s world can be exciting and people in my church are traveling more than I can keep up with. However, the church’s mission is not to travel; we are called to bear witness to Jesus. The allure of supporting missionaries and serving, including short-term opportunities, must be distinguished from the desire to travel abroad.
I want to appeal to my congregation’s hearts and motives, challenging them with the radical call to discipleship that Jesus exemplified when he called his disciples. I want to see people respond like Peter, Andrew, James and John did (Mark 1:16-20). They left everything and followed Jesus, completely unsure of where they would wind up.
HEARTS THAT BREAK for the Lost. Like the shepherd who leaves his ninety-nine sheep to find the one that was lost (Luke 15:3-7), I want visible evidence of conviction and action that reflects our theology. Participating in kingdom work invites us to take our places at the front line of spiritual warfare.
I met a woman on a flight two weeks ago who posed many questions about spirituality and faith. As we talked she asked if I could recommend some books to her. Now I am corresponding with her via e-mail about her journey. With every push of the send button, I pray that the Holy Spirit draws her to Jesus.
No earthly thrill compares to being involved in a life who comes to Christ. Just this week one of my parishioners beamed with joy because a neighbor she had been witnessing to for months came to church with her. Your best supporters here in my church will be those wrestling in prayer for their own lost friends. Don’t be afraid to challenge us in this area.
DEVOTED to Serving Others. Last year I gave each of our elders and deacons a lapel pin of a bowl and a towel to remind them of Jesus’ example in John 13. In our ecclesiastical structure it’s too easy to separate our beliefs from the application of those beliefs. We reward knowledge and celebrate programs instead of wrapping the towel around our waist and washing one another’s feet.
When you visit, please inspire us to service. Show us how mercy and benevolence have made a difference in your ministry and how such an attitude will transform our church.
SENT OUT to Serve. I want our people mobilized in our own “Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and to the ends of the earth” (Acts 1:8). How will you help us? We have small groups that meet weekly for Bible study, prayer, support and worship. These groups are often missing a sense of intentionally being sent out by Christ to spread the gospel. Remind us of the basic principles of sending so that everyone hears that call.
REACHING UNREACHED People Groups. I regularly encounter long time believers who remain ignorant of the reality of unreached people groups in the world today. Many people still think in terms of national political boundaries and not language or ethnic groups.
Often parishioners assume every mission field is equal in terms of the status of the work. While every mission field has needs and might benefit from vocational missionaries, I plead with you to drive home the plight of those who are still lacking a gospel witness.
GENEROUS GIVERS to the Church’s Mission. There is a difference between supporting a missionary and contributing to the church’s mission through a particular missionary.
A missions committee member described a meeting in which two candidates came and shared their ministries, looking for supporting partners. The candidate selected was bubbly, enthusiastic and animated in her presentation, while the other was less dynamic in style. The committee member confessed to me that the team had probably overlooked the church’s mission priority in favor of a personal style.
Invite my congregation to participate in the ongoing kingdom-expanding work of global missions, and I will emphasize the priority of that mission.
COMMITTED to the Power of Prayer. One of the most difficult temptations in my life and church is thinking our activity and programs are what matter. We work ourselves ragged and think highly of missionaries who do the same. I am increasingly drawn away from activity into an awareness of God’s work through prayer.
If the mission of the church is to move forward, it will be because we connect with God in prayer. We desperately need to see your spirituality through sincere and humble dependence upon God. Help us to understand how prayer has changed you and how it has accomplished divine ends in your ministry.
I know I have much work to do. I am trusting God to transform my church into a significant force for his global mission. If you ever have the opportunity to visit us, now you know what kind of help I need from you.
The result, I pray, will not be great accolades for my ministry or yours. Rather, I hope that the result will be a congregation full of men and women who are living the mission of the church. If that happens, by God’s power they will go where he calls and faithfully bear witness to his marvelous plan of redemption.
I can’t wait for our next missions emphasis week. I anticipate celebrating God’s work in us and through us as we step to a higher level of effectiveness for his kingdom.
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John Richardson is senior pastor of Cornerstone Evangelical Free Church in St. Louis, Mo., where he lives with his wife and three children. He has a Master of Divinity degree from Covenant Theological Seminary in St. Louis.
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