“See what a mission pastor and four mission mobilizers say.”
The GOer Group videos are a free seven-lesson series addressing the major questions and barriers many encounter as they pursue cross-cultural ministry. Each video features insights and advice from experienced people who have either spent time on the mission field or have helped many people to get there. Though speaking to college students, many issues come up for those of all ages.
In this video, Dick, a mission pastor, along with mission mobilizers Andy, Jessica, Todd, and John, address several questions:
1. Do students need to be involved in a local church?
2. What should you do if your church is not supportive of missions?
3. What should you do if your parents are not supportive of you going overseas?
4. How do you keep romantic relationships from keeping you from the field?
GOer Groups, Lesson 4: Church, Parents, Relationships. These videos were produced by the Center for Mission Mobilization.
Editor’s note: Readers may also be interested in answers to the question, “Is it acceptable for a missionary appointee (preparing for the field) to leave his current church and join a new one because of lack of support?”
“Try these three things.”
It is unfortunate to be engaged with a church that does not have a worldwide passion for the lost. That being said, here is what you can do:
1. PRAY. Oh yeah, pray. NO, PRAY! We do not expect great things from God, anymore, but we need to. Draw a group from the church to pray with you.
2. Begin ministering to internationals who are living among you in your neighborhood or around the church. There are zillions of ways to reach out to them. Offer conversational or grammatical English classes. The book Internationals Who Live Among Us offers ideas of how to engage with seven different types of internationals living in every community.
3. Identify those within the church who know a missionary. Develop relationships with these other partners in the gospel. Make sure the missionaries are being well cared-for. The book Serving As Senders~Today will help.
A gentleman once called me to say that he sensed God’s call to the field, but the church had no interest. I challenged him to take up to two years to generate a passion for missions in his church. He did. They sent his family out. A good nine years of ministry. Came home to be the missions pastor of that church. It is well worth the wait to have a church totally supportive of your mission.
Answer from Neal Pirolo who has served with Wycliffe/SIL and Emmaus Road International for more than forty years.