I once read about the dynamic partnership of a commissioned missionary, a married couple who owned their own successful business, a short-term worker and a local congregation. The carefully scripted history of North American missionary efforts over the last two centuries may have viewed such a relationship with suspicion, but it was powerful because the…
If I were to guess, having read only the first couple of chapters of Acts, from where God would launch His international missionary venture, I would have to say, “Well, from Jerusalem—where else?” It seems like a logical choice. So much happened there, after all—the Triumphal Entry, the passion and resurrection of the Lord Jesus,…
In the Bible, missionaries were recruited a little differently from the way we do it today. We certainly don’t expect to replicate everything in the book of Acts; but we can gather some ideas. Here is how they recruited missionaries at the church in Antioch (Acts 13): 1. NO COLLEGES: The local church was the…
No, we’re not talking about your ability to bench press 200 lbs. It’s about the strength of your team. In ministry, it isn’t just the guys on the field. The success of a sports team is often dependent on the quality of those on the sidelines. Exceptional teams have strong players on the bench. All…
#13 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. A few years ago, a missionary appointee reported that he was contacting about five pastors every month to arrange meetings in their churches, and thought…
#12 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. We can all remember being in grammar school and telling our parents, when they asked us if we had any homework, something like: “I have…
#11 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. A missionary colleague of mine expressed some time ago that the people in his church were very hesitant to get involved in personal evangelism. When…
#10 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. Canadian hockey broadcaster Foster Hewitt became famous for shouting, “He shoots, he scores!” when a player did just that on Hockey Night in Canada, the…
#9 of 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. What can your church do for your missionaries as they begin the support raising process? Everyone knows what needs to be done, but few…
#8 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. Many of you are old enough to remember the opening scene of each MISSION:IMPOSSIBLE episode in which Mr. Phelps received recorded instructions about the…