Since surrendering to state missions in September, I have discovered some things about missions that I really wish I knew back when I pastored Denson Springs. (For that matter, I've learned about the internet, too! You know, blogging, MySpace, ABA News, etc.)
Anyway, here are some things I have learned over the past few months. Now I will disclaimer my way through this by saying that I am still scratching the surface of mission work and I am bound to learn more as I go on
1. Sponsoring a missionary/mission work will energize your church.
Actually, this is something I did know. I saw it employed at Denson Springs. Okay. I have heard it said that if you want to grow a church, send more money to missions. This logic does not work. I can name two churches off the top of my head that almost bankrupted themselves by giving too much to missions. Mission support is great, but the church has to pay the light bill, and hopefully, a small salary to the pastor.
However, if your church lines up behind a missionary, either through sponsorship or by partnering with the sponsoring church, you will find that your members become energized by playing a part in God's work on the front lines of the great commission. Your church finds new purpose, and gets excited to be a part of something special. This can spill over into the church's approach to local outreach as well, which results in numeric growth.
2. Si se puede (Yes, you can).
"My church is not ready to be a sponsoring church," is a phrase I often hear from pastors. In fact, if you were to line up five pastors, I would bet you a grilled stuffed burrito (fajita steak or chicken) from Taco Bell that at least four would tell you that.
While there are legitimate reason to believe your church may not be a suitable sponsoring church (i.e. it is about to close, or has some serious spiritual maturity issues you are still working to resolve), my belief is that most pastors are reluctant to lead their church to sponsor a missionary because the church does not have many financial resources. This is no reason to refrain from carrying out the Great Commission.
First, very few sponsoring churches actually pay their missionaries a full salary. Usually (In my experience), a sponsoring church pays its missionary $150-300 per month. How does the missionary live? He raises the rest of his salary through deputation. Should he fail to raise a full salary on deputation, the American Baptist Association and the Missionary Baptist Association of Texas have resources to help with salary. Both bodies require that a sending (sponsoring) church send 20% of the missionary's salary to the secretary-treasurer of missions. For a full salary of $3,300-$3,600 per month, this can add up to approximately $600-700 per month.
"Are you crazy?" you ask. "We can't afford to spend another $600-700 per month."
Maybe not, but the funds raised by the missionary on deputation can go toward raising that 20%. For example, a missionary goes on deputation and raises $800/month from committed monthly supporting churches, that $800 can be sent in to the association so the missionary can receive a full salary.
Also, in Texas, the state association does not require churches to provide the 20% if the missionary seeks half-salary, which is barely more than $1,820. That's about what your average working-class adult makes in Texas.
What I am saying is just as Jesus fed 5,000 with a few biscuits and sardenes, so can He provide for a missionary with just a few hundred dollars. Finances should not prevent a church from getting actively engaged in the Great Commission.
3. Missionaries' time is very valuable.
Good missionaries set a departure date when they announce their mission-calling. Usually, it should be less than 18-months from when they announce their calling (though there may be extenuating circumstances, like language school for foreign missionaries, etc).
Once that departure date is set, the clock starts ticking. The missionary has a limited time to share the work with sister churches and raise support. Knowing this, let me share a couple of thoughts with you.
First, missionaries on deputation want deputation appointments. When a month passes, and no church has allowed the missionary to present the work, it can be a very discouraging time. Deputation appointments keep the missionary encouraged.
Secondly, it's not all about the money. I have been cautioned when visiting a church, "Our missions budget is over-extended (hallelujah!), we probably won't be much financial help." The good news is the same pastor told me, "Please send us your reports, we want to know what is happening with you and pray for you." While the goal of deputation is to raise financial support, I always like meeting new churches, making new friends, finding new prayer-partners and knowing that someone else is behind me. To be honest, I'd feel awkward about a church inviting me because "We have all this mission money, but don't know who to send it to." Those churches who have full and/or overextended missions budgets are the ones passionate about missions, and those are the ones I want to talk to.
Thirdly, and I only speak for myself on this one, I would be happy to visit your church, even if my visit is being used to expose the church to state missions. I used to do this at Denson Springs. I'd invite a missionary to our church, most of the time we were unable to add them to our monthly missions budget. However, I invited them out so that Denson Springs could get a look at state, interstate and foreign missions. (Of course, we always helped with travel expenses.) Most missionaries knew we weren't about to start writing large checks. I don't know how other missionaries feel about that, but I know that I wouldn't mind being used in such a way as I have seen how it can benefit a congregation.
There is no reason we don't have more mission work going on in our association. It is possible. Pray for God to lead you and your church to the mission field He wants you to reach, and to lead you to the missionary He wants to send there, and He'll provide the way for it.
And if you need a missionary to come to your church, I still have openings in April and May. Email me at the address to your right, and I'll respond. Once we arrive in Brownwood (in June), I'll likely be unable to visit.
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