Missions educationThe local church is the best place for thorough and ongoing missions education to occur. It possesses and produces all the resources needed for effective missions education, and is the foundation for the world missions enterprise.The local church has been described as the "seedbed" for world missions. A seedbed is a bed of soil that has been prepared in such a way that it is conducive to the growth of living plants from tiny seeds. As the seedbed for world missions, our local churches need to be environments conducive to growing Christians into "world Christians." World Christians are day-to-day disciples for whom Christ's global cause has become the integrating, overriding priority for all that He is form them. Like disciples should, they actively investigate all that their Master's Great Commission means. Then they act on what they learn. A World Christian: 1. Knows that God is concerned about global evangelism. 2. Keeps abreast of world events. 3. Prays for the spread of the gospel. 4. Is aware of the unique strategies needed to reach today's world. 5. Recognizes that he/she is part of a world community of believers who are jointly responsible for world evangelism. 6. Commits him/herself to becoming activity involved in reaching the unreached. What conditions will help your local church become a "seedbed" conducive to growing world Christians? 1. Involve the pastoral staff and missions committee in the missions education efforts. A successful missions education program usually has strong support from the senior pastor. He can help you create a climate conducive to the development of world Christians. 2. Integrate missions education into the Sunday School program and other learning environments. Missions education can occur during formal, highly-structured learning experiences, but also informal, low-key learning times. It can occur in the classroom, in a small group, on a lunch date, or on the basketball court. Take advantage of the variety of formal and informal educational channels available to your church. 3. Establish purposes and goals for Christian education that will give missions education its proper priority as an essential part of the discipling process. Integrate a missions vision into the mindset of church people, rather than making missions something peripheral to their everyday Christianity. Impart thorough and up-to-date information about world missions, and give priority to stimulating missions involvement. 4. Work to avoid the common problems of ignorance caused by lack of information, apathy caused by lack of vision and motivation, and competition with other endeavors caused by a failure to set priorities. Work closely with the leaders of other departments in your church to ensure good communication and enhance cooperation. |
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