How to Be a World Partner for the Gospel
There are many overlooked advantages in being a world partner for
the gospel. Presently, 98.7% of all church giving is used within
one's own community in the USA. Only 1.3% of church giving in 2001
went to any form of foreign mission ministries. Essentially,
Christians in America are spending more money on dog food than on
partnering with missionaries (American and indigenous-native
missionaries) to win the lost. Let us remember that God so loved the
world, not just the 4% of the population that live within the
borders of the USA. In 1900 nearly 90% of the world's Christians
lived in the western world. Today only about 10% of the world's
Christians live in the western world and 90% of the born again
Christians live in Latin America, Africa and Asia. May the Lord use
us to equip these church planters in the developing world to help
complete the great commission in greater ways. How can we follow the
example of the Philippians church in partnering with missionaries to
be planters of the seed of gospel in lands where the harvest is
plentiful, but the workers are few? Here are just a few guidelines
to prayerfully consider:
1. Ask the Lord of the harvest to send forth workers into His
harvest fields. (Matt 9:36-38) All great partnerships begin with
prayer. Praise God that He is the Lord of the harvest who directs us
in the best partnerships. He knows the best kind of people,
organizations and projects where we can invest our resources for the
maximization of kingdom's qualitative and quantitative growth. (Matt
6:33) Illustration: (USA)--And finally, evangelism-training clinics
are slated next month to take advantage of summer vacation time.
Evangelism Explosion's[5] Karen Gushta says reaching children starts
with getting adults to see the importance of reaching the kids
before they hit a certain age. "I think something happens to
adolescents. I really believe that it's important for us to reach
children before they get into junior high and high school. We find
that that's a time where it's more difficult to win people to the
Lord." Gushta says after training adults to evangelize, reaching the
children is an open door. "If you share with a hundred kids, the
probability is 32 out of that hundred kids that you shared the
Gospel with would actually pray and receive Christ as their Savior.
We have figures that tell us that 85-percent of American Christians
say that they came to know Christ before the age of
15. "
2. Consult with experts. Plans fail without counsel, but with the
multitude of godly counsellors they succeed. (Prov. 15:22)Some of the
best experts include Patrick Johnstone's Operation World. This is a
great book that should be in the home of every great commission
oriented Christian who wants to prayerfully, financially and
practically be a world partner for the gospel. It can be ordered
over the Internet from the Amazon.com. Most Christian bookstore have
them. I recently ordered thirty copies and got them for $7.95 each
from Christianbook.com
3. Approach the Pastor or the chairman of the missions committee
about the possibility of supporting an indigenous - native church
planter for $30/month. Go to www.GFA.org (Gospel for Asia that
specializes in sending out 13,000 full time church planters in 12
countries like India and Nepal). www.ChristianAid.org (Supporting
60,000 indigenous missionaries through 600 mission boards)
www.BibleLeague.org (supporting 2500 church planters and helping to
start 3000 churches per year in 43 countries around the world). Ask
the Lord to help you take on just one indigenous church planter each
year and see how the Lord enriches your mission vision in your
church.
4. Invite a mission vision person to speak at your church. Having
been involved with helping to start hundreds of churches in Nigeria
while teaching at a seminary there for nearly twenty years I have
learned that it takes a motivated person with vision to electrify
most American Christian with the blessings involved with being a
world partner. Paul the apostle, thanked the Philippians in Phil.
1:3-5 as he commended them for being partners in spreading the Good
News of Jesus Christ from the first time they heard it right up to
the time he wrote the letter of encouragement to them. We need to
help people be affirmed for their valuable investment so that they
do not get discouraged and lose heart but remember that they will
reap if they faint not.
5. Help people see that there are many ways to be world partners
besides just giving money and praying for the Lord to send workers
into His fields. Show people how they can be involved with
short-term mission trips in contributing to the work of missions.
There are thousands of short-term mission trip opportunities that
are available through a mission magazine called, Global
Opportunities. Each year they come up with a catalogue of all kinds
of needs and organizations that are happy to partner with people for
the short term mission ministries. This is available by going to
Google.com and typing in Global Opportunities Magazine.com
6. Ask mission organizations to come to your church and explain how
your local church can be more effectively involved in fulfilling all
four dimensions of Acts 1:8 where Jesus said, "You shall be my
witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria and unto the uttermost parts
of the earth." For most of us to be witnesses to the uttermost parts
of the earth means we have to partner with missionaries and mission
agencies to help us complete all aspects of Christ's great
commission. To do less is to be disobedient to Christ great
commandment, will and burden.
7. Partnering may mean being involved with a local Perspectives on
the World Christian Movement seminar or a mission seminar where your
church leaders can learn how to be a more effective partner. Prov.
24:3,4 says, "Any enterprise is built by wise planning becomes
strong through common sense and profits wonderfully by keeping
abreast of the facts." (Living Bible) Enlist seven people in your
church to attend a mission's seminar or invite a local mission's
mobilizing expert to come and teach your people key lessons on how
to be more effective partners.
8. Evaluate the effectiveness of your current missionaries and
consider how you could be more effective in contributing to
missionaries who are planting and growing new churches. For example,
ChristianAid.org presently needs support for 40 Bible Institutes in
China that are training about 200 new church planters every year.
These institutes have already sent out 40,000 Chinese church
planters throughout the country. In 2001 China saw 7 million new
converts and 500,000 new house fellowships start because of
missionaries like this. For $30-$50 per month your church can
support a church planter in training within church through
ChristianAid.org
9. Ask the Lord for wisdom and direction from the word of God and
from His Spirit to know the best ways to be a better world partner
for the gospel. (James 1:5) "If any of you lack wisdom let him ask
of God who gives to all men generously and does not withhold and it
will be given to you." We all lack wisdom and so if we will get
together either through email or through the phone or through a
weekly prayer meeting, the Lord will direct our paths in how we can
improve our world partnerships for the gospel. James wrote, "You
have not because you ask not." Many times we do not know how to pray
or act as we should, but the Spirit intercedes for us with groaning
and travailing too deep for words." (Rom. 8:26,27) Let the Lord show
you how to get more young people in your church involved with being
world partners through youth mission trips.
10. Send for mission videos from IMB.org (International Mission
Board of the Southern Baptist) they have many excellent training
videos to help train people in your church in becoming more
effective world partners for the gospel. Many times people who see
what the Lord is already doing through others of great faith will be
inspired to follow their examples. (Heb. 13:7)
Conclusion: - Remember that William Carey, the Father of modern
missions told his churches, If you will hold the ropes, I will go
down to look for the lost." He started out with only six supporters
but ended up staying 47 years in India and setting in motion the
entire modern missionary movement because of those six faithful
partners. "Expect great things from God attempt great things for
God." Little becomes much when we place it in the Master's hands."
The foot cannot say to hand I have no need of you, but we need to
cooperate with the universal body of Christ to maximize our
contributions to the cause of Christ's kingdom priority purposes,
plans and programs for His greater glory!
Paul Fritz
Answers2Prayer Subscriber
Appearing Saturday, Nov. 2, 2002