The Greek verb “apoluo” (to send away) is used in a positive sense in Acts 13:3 when the church at Antioch sent Paul and Barnabas on their first missionary journey. This blog is designed to help churches select, train, and send missionaries to the harvest fields of souls.
Pastor, I’d like take a few moments and ask you a question. It’s a question that I asked myself several years ago while pastoring Shenandoah Baptist Church. It’s a question that ended up taking me in a different path in my ministry in ways I could not have imagined. A Real Ministry Scenario Let me…
THE COMING OF EMMANUEL In most of Africa, people leave their rural homes to go and work in the cities, living in temporary shacks. They travel home maybe once a month, or if they are fortunate, once a week. For this reason, Christmas is a favorite time of year. The cities empty out, the trains…
The Christmas season is a unique time. It combines intense busyness and stress with instances of reflection and sentiment. Searching for Christmas gifts creates a conflict of emotion that mixes the tension of finding the perfect gift with the joy of giving the perfect gift. For Christians, though, it is a time to love God…
It is said that there are over 800 Baptist churches in Atlanta where I live. We have the option of driving past dozens of churches to attend the assembly of our choice. We are able to fine tune the options to find a church that fits our desire for music, seating, lighting, architecture, pastor, youth…
I was recently at a conference where a pastor from Africa was talking about their church planting efforts in gateway cities around the world. Cities like London, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beunos Aires, and New York City. It was intriguing that he said the reason they could do this was because of their poverty. In the…
One night a long time ago a baby was born in Bethlehem. The angels celebrated, the shepherds wondered, Mary pondered, and the Magi worshiped. Jesus the eternal Son of God left His home in heaven and came to the lowly stable. He became a man and dwelt among us. His place was different, his reception…
How much should we pay missionaries? Paul put it this way: “see that they lack nothing” (Titus 3:13). He was talking about providing for Zenas and Apollos who were probably the equivalent of a missionary today. At the very least, they were being sent by a church on a mission. We know Apollos was…
Frequently, we try to reduce travel experiences, career plans, and life choices to the fewest words possible. This is true for missions as well. Often we are asked what is the one piece of advice we would give to those who are considering missions as a full-time opportunity. The concept of missions comprises many facets…
A little over five years ago we sent out our first missionary family and a year later our second family. These men are a part of our staff, and what they do is our ministry. Therefore, we maintain close communication with them, assist them with direction, vision, strategizing, advice, etc. just like we do others…
#6 in a series devoted to sending churches. The content of this post is adapted from BMW’s 6-hour apoLuo workshop. Numbered articles are intended to be read sequentially for maximum benefit. (This article originally posted in 2012 and is being republished for new readers that may have missed it–Editor). If your missionaries are being served by…