Encouraging Missions

I want to encourage the members and churches of the Southern Baptist Convention (SBC) to be involved in missions. Not only do I encourage cooperative missions and support of the Cooperative Program (see my last post), I encourage every church and every member to be directly involved in missions. Here are two ways to do that.

1. Get involved by encouraging our International Mission Board (IMB) missionaries. Never have they needed encouragement as they do now. With hundreds of our most experienced missionaries leaving the field, those who remain need our support. How?

-a note of encouragement

-a sweet care package (something tasty, something helpful, something hard for them to get)

-a  personalized thank you

-“adopt” them through a Sunday School class or ministry

Some good old-fashioned love and concern can go a long way in helping our missionaries who often deal with isolation, illnesses and barriers. By encouraging an IMB missionary, you are having an impact in taking the gospel to the nations.

2. Get involved by going on a mission trip or supporting those who do. While mission trips can never replace the work of our career missionaries who learn the language and culture, they can be an important part of impacting the world with the message of Jesus.

Mission trips help the people we serve. When we bring a team to help a church, a people group or a missionary, we have an impact on the people where we go. Our church has long-lasting relationships in Uganda, Siberia and Cuba and the impact gets greater the more we go.

Mission trips help the churches who send. Our mission teams come back excited about the gospel and excited about serving the Lord far away and here at home. They bring energy and life to our congregation that can’t be easily duplicated. I love the energy our mission teams bring to FBC O’Fallon, IL.

I would love to see more mission involvement in our churches. Maybe even from you!