by Paul Nielsen

This is an interview with my father-in-law, who has pastored numerous small churches for the past twenty years or so. At some point last year it occurred to me that he probably has some interesting things to say when it comes to mobilizing smaller congregations. 16% of Americans attend a church of less than 100 people (57% are in a church of less than 500).

Propel: What have you done in order to mobilize your churches for missions?

Roy: The first thing I have done to mobilize the church I pastor for missions is to attempt to lead by example. I’ve also had various missionaries come in the church and speak about their work.

White Church by John Starne

Propel: What has been the most significant hurdle in getting a small congregation to understand the importance of the Great Commission?

Roy: The most significant hurdle is getting the people in the pews to realize that there are people needing to know Christ in other parts of the world. Many of the folks have been in the same home since marriage and they remain within 50 miles of the school where they graduated high school. 

Propel: Describe some of the successes you’ve had energizing your churches for missions.

Roy: One of the greatest successes I’ve had was to get the church to send $25 a month to missions. This amount goes along with the money that I send to missions.

Propel: What level of mobilization do small churches generally need? i.e., Where do they start out?

Roy: Small churches that I am familiar with are very difficult to get to move at all. If they are supporting missions, the possibility of getting them to add another missionary is almost nil. They are stuck right where they are and don’t want to change. Every church wants to grow but no one wants to change and growth will result in change. Hence, no growth. The churches that I am familiar with have an “outreach” item in their budget and at the end of the year, those dollars go to support the local volunteer fire department or the local senior center. 

Propel: What are your goals for mobilizing within your small churches?

Roy: I’d like to see our church giving at least 10% of its budget to missions. Missions meaning supporting those who are full-time in telling the Good News both in the U.S. and abroad.

Propel: What would a small church look like if it was fully, so-to-speak, mobilized?

Roy: The church would be giving 20% at a minimum to missions and the missionaries would be hosted by the church families so that they know the missionaries personally. Missions would have an emphasis during at least one service a month to update the congregation as to what was happening to “their” missionaries. Ownership would occur and missions giving would increase. 

Propel: Do you know of any good resources you could recommend to other leaders in small churches to help get their congregation on fire for missions?

Roy: I think the best thing is to continue to pray and tell the stories of the missionaries that are personal to you. I also think that messages from the pulpit on missions will ultimately do the work through the Holy Spirit working on the hearts of the believers. He has to move the hearts. He is the only One that can change them. 

by Paul Nielsen

M-DAT has been good friends with mission mobilizer John McVay for ten years now. His projects have included mission conferences and websites along with his service with In His Image, which trains medical professionals for Christian service. In this interview he talks specifically about mentoring the next generation of missionaries.

Propel: When and how did you become involved and interested in missions as a mobilizer?

John McVay: I read an illustration by Ralph Winter who said, “If you see a roaring fire you can grab your bucket, run to the stream, then run to the fire and pour water on it—and you can do that repeatedly. Or you could wake 100 sleeping firemen.” Missions mobilization is waking the 100 sleeping firemen. In my current season of life God is guiding me to wake the 100 sleeping firemen.

Propel: What is the importance of mentoring in the context of missions?

John McVay: Most aspiring missionaries struggle with feelings of inadequacy. They need mentors to encourage them to abide in Christ and trust in His strength. (more…)

Urbana 09, InterVarsity Christian Fellowship’s 22nd Student Missions Conference, will address some of the most pressing global issues presently faced by missions practitioners around the world. More than 20,000 people, from every state and many nations, are expected to attend Urbana 09, December 27–31, 2009, in St. Louis. Each day at Urbana 09 the program will focus on a different issue and the challenges it presents.

The four issues in focus are:

Movement of Peoples
Millions of people are being dramatically affected by immigration, migration, and human trafficking. In the midst of great human suffering, there are opportunities for people to come to know Christ, who was Himself a refugee and understands their sufferings. Urbana will provide an introduction to the different types of people movement around the world, both voluntary and involuntary, and will create the case for why it’s important for both missions practitioners and those who support them to understand this issue.

(more…)

It is hard to miss Joshua Project’s “Unreached of the Day” widgets on websites and Facebook profiles. But you are likely unaware there is a an email version of these. Fuel your prayer for the unreached by getting these daily or weekly prayer (your choice) reminders in your inbox. The email consists of a profile of a different unreached people group each day—complete with picture, map, and prayer ideas.

A “Double the Prayer Challenge” is underway to increase how many people receive these daily reminders to pray for the unreached to over a thousand. For more information about the challenge and how to subscribe to the “Unreached of the Day” emails go to http://prayfortheunreached.com.

I’m highlighting Generous Giving again, following the theme of this issue. From my previous comments about the resource

The website called Generous Giving is aptly self-described. It contains an incredible wealth of information from stories to statistics. One of my favorite anecdotes on the site is a story about two doctors living in Fayetteville, Arkansas. The first time the IRS audited the couple it did so thinking that no one could give as much of their income away as the Finchers. Read their story via this link.

This time I’d also like to point out their upcoming conference in Arizona as well. Find more information about the Spring event via this link.