TOGETHER: Simple ideas put emphasis on missions

Posted: 4/27/07

TOGETHER:
Simple ideas put emphasis on missions

A group of Texas and world Baptist leaders put missions at the top of their agendas last week when they met for a Missions Exchange in Waco. The discussion generated many great ideas—some big and strategic, others small and practical. Here’s a sampling:

• Encourage pastors to place a world map on their desks to remind them the whole world should be on the heart and mind of the church.

Executive Director BGCT Executive Board

• Have a missions website with a global map that helps people connect with efforts being done by churches and institutions and with ways for people to discover where they could get involved.

• Understand missions must be done from the inside out, with people first gaining an internal passion for missions before it is expressed in an outward fashion. Help churches discover their “Mission DNA” and call members to a missions lifestyle.

• Recognize the biblical truth that those who are blessed, as Texas Baptists are, must become a blessing to others here and around the world.

• Encourage greater collaboration among all our Texas Baptist entities.

• Check the label in your shirt every morning and pray a moment for the people where the shirt was made.

• Include mission illustrations in sermons.

• Share mission stories through BaptistWay Press.

• Provide a small book to help returning mission volunteers integrate into their daily lives a continuing mission passion.

• Get involved with Texas Baptist institutions as they serve people in Texas and around the world in Christ’s name.

• Expand the scope of the Mary Hill Davis Offering for Texas Missions and the Texas Baptist Offering for World Hunger.

• Work on making missions and discipleship go together, just like missions and evangelism.

• Call out the called by inviting people to do what God is nudging them to do.

• Measure mission development by mission deployment.

This is only a beginning. The future of missions is before us. We are in a time where information technology can be a great tool for mission advance, and we must take advantage of what is now possible. Pray for our missionaries. Pray for the people of every nation, tribe and people for God to guide and bless us as we respond to the great needs all around us with the heart of Christ and the skills he has put in our hands.

One of our greatest needs is collaboration. Baptists need to learn anew how to work together in our common missions tasks.

I spoke the other day to some people who work with teams of horses. One person said: “It takes much training to get two horses to pull together, and it is even more difficult to get more than two horses to pull together. It can be done, but it is not easy.”

The task of missions collaboration will not be easy, but it can be done. Let’s pray and work toward that end.

We are loved … all around the world.