Essentially, there are three strategic ways for the local church to impact global missions—a process that has fundamentally remained unchanged throughout the New Testament era. These are: Prayer, Involvement, and Financial Support.
By Charles Duncan
The most powerful affect the local church can have on global missions is prayer. Telling mission stories to children and leading them in prayer for their church’s missionaries and mission projects will have a remarkable spiritual impact. In children’s church, youth meetings, and Sunday School classes, praying for specific missionaries, for missionaries’ children, and for current mission projects will not only provide a spiritual umbrella of protection for the ones being prayed for, but will also bless the ones who are praying.
Second, the local church must actively and creatively find ways to connect/involve missionaries and mission projects relationally with the local congregation. All age groups should be encouraged to learn the names of sponsored missionaries, names of the missionaries’ children, names of countries in which the missionaries serve, and the names of projects which are supported by the local church.
Additionally, pictures should be posted strategically to remind members of their partnership with missionaries. As the relationship builds with each missionary and each project, there will be a growing desire to increase support.
The third factor in affecting global missions is for the local church to provide funding. Just as the local church cannot survive without finances, neither can mission projects, missionaries, and missionary families survive without financial support. Although God is the supplier, He has designated the local church and individual members to take responsibility for financing missions. The local church’s financial investment will engender obedience to God’s command to “GO.”
If the Christian movement around the world continues to expand, make disciples, develop leaders, and send missionaries, the local church, especially in the more affluent western world, must participate at each level. That is, it must be willing to prayerfully intercede, become involved directly with mission projects by connecting relationally with missionaries and missionary families, and be willing to fund the proclamation and establishment of the gospel in challenging and unreached regions of the world.
These three responsibilities to global missions—prayer, involvement, and finances—are equally important. If the local church is to make an impact, these elements must continually be employed. And if so, the future success of global missions is ensured.
(Charles Duncan, Mission Representative, Church of God World Missions)