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The Tip of the Spear
Sep 09, 2024 4 min · Joel H A wooden shaft supports a metal tip, propelled through the air at a target. All energies and efforts are directed toward one goal. The tip of the spear cannot hit its target unless the entire spear is… Read MoreServing the Sent: Uncovering the Missionary among you
Sep 06, 2024 2 min · Brian W Missionaries. Are they made, are they discovered, or is it a bit of both? Before you can serve your missionaries, you have to find them. Finding a missionary can be challenging. Here are some tips for… Read MoreHow to Make Sure Your Short-Term Trip Helps Instead of Harms the Mission Field: Part III
Aug 26, 2024 4 min · Brian W Short-term trips can be challenging to evaluate. Even terrible trips have some excellent and powerful testimonies coming out of them. How can we evaluate someone’s spiritual experience or even determine… Read MoreHow to Make Sure Your Short-Term Trip Helps Instead of Harms the Mission Field: Part II
Aug 16, 2024 3 min · Brian W Part II: How to Make Short-Term Trips Go Right In part I, we learned about some reasons that poorly designed and executed short-term trips occur. Now, we will look at some of the ways you can make sure… Read MoreTwo Missions
Aug 12, 2024 4 min · Joel H When we begin our thinking about missions with biblical concepts and language, we can come away with two distinct missions. First, there is the missio Dei, the mission of God. Second, there is the mission… Read MoreHow to Make Sure Your Short-Term Trip Helps Instead of Harms the Mission Field: Part I
Aug 09, 2024 3 min · Brian W Part I: What Goes Wrong Whenever people prepare for a short-term trip, good feelings abound. People want to help and serve and have an adventure. The missionaries are happy and supportive of the trip… Read MoreShort Term Trip, Long Term Impact.
Aug 02, 2024 1 min · Parker J Have you ever stopped to think about the value of short-term missions? Sure, we could all write a list of the harmful effects of a trip-gone-wrong, but what about the blessing of a trip-gone-right?One… Read MoreIs My Church Too Small?
Jul 29, 2024 4 min · David M (This article is an excerpt of Appendix D from the book Missions on Point: The Local Church at the Heart of Ecclessiology and Missiology, by David C. Meade. You can purchase the book on Amazon.) Most… Read MoreCutting-Edge Missionaries
Jul 15, 2024 3 min · Joel H Missionaries are in a precarious position. Depending on how you look at missionaries you could see them as on the edge of either compromise or confrontation or somewhere in between. Regardless, missionaries… Read MoreServing the Sent on a Short-term Mission
Jul 12, 2024 2 min · Parker J In many churches, short-term mission trips, like many mission activities and efforts, are just an outlet for a few mission enthusiasts with no long-term vision for what short-term missions can do to serve… Read MoreServing the Sent: Using the Calendar
Jul 05, 2024 2 min · Brian W In a previous column, we discussed using space to benefit our sent ones. Now we are going to talk about time. Most specifically, we will talk about the church calendar and how it is important to carve… Read MoreMissionary Guide to Learning a Foreign Language
Jun 05, 2024 Less than a minute. · Parker J Here is a great article from Crossworld. We could not agree more here at MissioSERVE. Why learn the language of the people you serve? "A heart language bonds a people group together with a shared source… Read MoreWhy Give?
May 31, 2024 2 min · The question of giving is a question of the heart. How does the Spirit of God direct the desires of your heart toward the Mission of God? How is the Word of God informing your faithfulness in the stewardship… Read MoreMissions on Point
May 29, 2024 2 min · David M Christ’s church is under siege. This battle is not new. The biblical church has always faced bitter persecution, politically and institutionally, from outside the family of faith. Atheists, antagonists,… Read MoreServing the Sent: Using your Space
May 24, 2024 2 min · Brian W The church is not the building; it is the people! This is true, but people live, worship, and operate in space, and today we will talk about how you can use your space to serve your missionaries. It is… Read MoreThe Seven Lamps of Missions
May 13, 2024 4 min · Joel H I teach a New Testament survey class to 8th graders, and I was reminded again this week of why I love it so much. There is such joy in discovering afresh the sweetness of God’s word. Some parts of the… Read MorePrayers for the Persecuted
May 10, 2024 1 min · Parker J Through powerful prayer, God can heal one’s mind and transform one’s heart. It can be hard to remain in prayer and communion with the Lord when being persecuted for following Christ. Many Christians face… Read MoreRelationships with other Churches
May 03, 2024 2 min · Brian W "For I rejoiced greatly when the brothers came and testified to your truth, as indeed you are walking in the truth. I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Beloved,… Read MoreServing the Sent- Share the Burden!
Apr 26, 2024 2 min · Brian W If you regularly read our blog, especially this series, you might think, “There are some good ideas here but doing all of this for all our missionaries… Wow.” It can seem overwhelming because it would… Read MoreAffirming the Missionary Call: The Vital Role of the Local Church – Biblical Roles, Part IV
Apr 22, 2024 1 min · David S In the grand tapestry of missions, the Holy Spirit's call is not solitary but communal; affirmed or negated through the lens of the local church. Misconceptions abound, with suggestions that financial… Read MorePraying for Missionaries
Apr 12, 2024 1 min · Brian W Suppose you are passionate about missions. You have probably seen the problem of church members being indifferent or at least lacking connection to both your missions efforts and your church’s missionaries.… Read MoreWhat it means to Send, Part I
Apr 01, 2024 4 min · Brian W Before we can define a sending church, we need to see how Scripture looks at it, especially in terms of the “setting apart” and the sending forth functions the Holy Spirit has empowered the church to do.… Read MoreServing the Sent: Create the Fun!
Mar 29, 2024 2 min · Brian W We have explored making fun things for the missionary when they come for a visit, but I wanted to expand on that point a bit here. First, burden-sharing churches should aim for some variety in their interactions… Read MoreWhere Next?
Mar 15, 2024 1 min · Parker J He who spoke creation into being by the Word of His power said these authoritative words to His disciples before ascending into heaven: “And Jesus came and said to them, ‘All authority in heaven and on… Read MoreIt's Not a Bug, It's a Feature
Mar 11, 2024 3 min · Joel H Have you ever heard that line before? It’s usually used when someone can’t fix a problem and they repackage their product trying to make something that was originally undesirable into a selling point.… Read MoreA Partnership of Giving and Receiving [Philippians 4:15]
Mar 08, 2024 2 min · Brian W "And you Philippians yourselves know that in the beginning of the gospel, when I left Macedonia, no church entered into partnership with me in giving and receiving, except you only." [Philippians 4:15… Read MoreIs Every Christian a Missionary?
Mar 06, 2024 Less than a minute. · Parker J Have you ever heard the saying, "everyone is a missionary"? This article by Elliot Clark thoroughly addresses the issue from a biblical perspective and upholds the authority and responsibility of the local… Read MoreMissionary Fellowship
Mar 01, 2024 2 min · Brian W "For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due… Read MoreServing the Sent - Sharing the Burden
Feb 16, 2024 2 min · Brian W "For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due… Read MoreWho Goes?
Feb 07, 2024 2 min · Brian W Missionaries are not called alone. The church and their missionary must form a true partnership of giving and receiving (Phil. 4:15) that blesses people who need to hear the gospel. Sometimes, the church… Read MoreServing the Sent
Jan 26, 2024 2 min · Brian W When serving missionaries, the same problem repeats itself. Despite good intentions and genuine effort on both sides, a gap grows between the missionary and the sending church. This gap comes from the… Read MoreThat "AHA!" Moment
Jan 15, 2024 3 min · David M What comes before that “AHA!” moment? That moment when a church realizes that God has entrusted the incredible opportunity to send out a missionary from their own congregation. Several factors can prepare… Read MoreWhy Put the Church at the Center of Missions?
Nov 13, 2023 3 min · David M Why do we think of the local church as the key to healthy biblical missions? Isn’t that kind of scary, edgy, and unnecessary? If mission agencies whom we trust are doing the job, why isn’t it acceptable… Read MoreGlobal Missions Strategy
Oct 16, 2023 1 min · David S Today, I want to talk about the pinnacle of the Global Missions Pyramid – strategy. For a local church to effectively fulfill its responsibilities in global missions, it must have clear strategic initiatives… Read MoreWhy the Senders & the Sent Need Each Other
Oct 13, 2023 1 min · Brian W When I went to the mission field, my agency helped my church to send me. In other words, my church defined the mission I was on. Tangibly, I was the extension of the church; our “man on the ground,” so… Read MoreShepherding
Oct 09, 2023 3 min · David M Jim and Jane (*fictitious names) were ready to throw in the towel and leave the mission field forever. Family problems, an unusually stressful host culture, immigration hassles, team conflict… You name… Read MoreGlobal Missions Philosophy
Sep 18, 2023 2 min · David S Today, I want to talk about the second level of the Global Missions Pyramid – philosophy. For a local church to effectively fulfill its responsibilities in global missions, she must understand who she… Read MoreMentoring
Sep 11, 2023 2 min · David M One of the scariest moments in a church leader’s life is when someone in the congregation says to him, “I think God is calling me to be a missionary. Will you help me?” Paradoxically, it should also be… Read MoreThe Supporting Church
Sep 08, 2023 2 min · Brian W We have learned about sending churches which are assemblies of believers called along with a missionary to send and aid them in accomplishing their mission. What about supporting churches? Is there a Biblical… Read MoreGlobal Missions Theology
Aug 14, 2023 2 min · David S For a local church to fulfill its responsibilities in global missions, it must understand God’s mandate, His character, and His interests before the church can develop an effective and long-lasting strategy.… Read MoreLeadership
Aug 14, 2023 4 min · David M Four pastor friends meet up for lunch at their favorite ministry conference. They’re sitting together at the table, enjoying the food, the conference, and freedom from the 24/7 pressure of pastoring their… Read MoreWhat is a Sending Church?
Aug 07, 2023 1 min · Brian W So, are we a supporting church or a sending church of our missionary? What difference does it make, anyway? Great questions. Let’s look first at what it means to be a Sending church, and then we will see… Read MoreRecent