What is Needed?

April 05, 2024 Brian W

MissioSERVE's role in missions is to help churches send the best missionaries possible. We have a specific vision in mind for what will advance the Kingdom of God and what kind of missionary it takes to develop the vision: MissioSERVE is a missions-serving alliance extending the worship of God by serving the senders and the sent, mobilizing workers with the Word, and advancing the gospel to the unreached and unengaged. We want to help churches and their missionaries achieve all of this for the glory of Jesus Christ.

"In love he predestined us for adoption to himself as sons through Jesus Christ, according to the purpose of his will, to the praise of his glorious grace, with which he has blessed us in the Beloved.”
(Ephesians 1:4-6 ESV)

So, what kind of missionaries do we seek?

We seek missionaries passionate about the worship of God. We can only extend the worship of God by evangelizing the lost and making them disciples of Jesus Christ. There are many methods and roads to making disciples, but if new disciples in the worship of our Savior are not the mission's goal; we are not the right people to serve your mission. New believers become new disciples, and disciples create churches that send out their members to make more disciples and churches, thereby extending the worship of God.

When we say that we serve the senders and the sent, we mean in the mission of our missionaries, they serve the people they are called to, and they serve their sending and supporting churches. Each partnership between church and missionary is one of giving and receiving (Phil. 4:15). We believe that missionaries are the living conduits the Holy Spirit uses to link the fellowship of believers across time and space (3 John). The missionary does not just enable the American Church to minister to people in the host culture; they also encourage and facilitate the believers in the host culture to minister to the American Church (2 Cor. 8). The sending church and the missionary, in a genuine sense, go on the mission together.

Missionaries are mobilizers. To make disciples is to be a mobilizer (Acts 11:5, 18:26-27). Sending a missionary is a powerful and meaningful thing. It makes the missionary join the ranks of the leaders of Ephesians 4. The missionary goes to equip the body for the work of the ministry. The sending church and the believers of the host culture must be equipped and enabled to carry out the work of the ministry. Just as it is incumbent on evangelists to train and raise new evangelists, so too is it incumbent on the missionary to challenge new generations of missionaries and equip them for the work of the Missio Dei. This responsibility speaks to the methods we employ in the mission as well. It is always good for a believer to go and join a new fellowship and bring their gifts to bear for the common good (1 Cor. 12:7). 

More is required for a missionary to be set apart from his church and sent out. That missionary needs to be about empowering, equipping, and creating ministry opportunities, so the believers of the host culture grow, mature, and take the initiative in their mission to their people. Advancing the gospel to the unreached and unengaged goes beyond missiological definitions for MissioSERVE. We help the missionary and the sending church work together to fulfill the need of the lost for Jesus Christ. We want the gospel to go and flourish where it is currently weak or non-existent, which will benefit both the church and its missionaries. 

We believe what the Word says in 1 Corinthians 12:4–6; there is great diversity in His Kingdom. We do not fit missionaries and their churches into our mold, nor does every missionary have the same education, background, or gifts. We care about developing the gifts God gave the missionary. We train in line with His will (1 Cor. 12:11), rather than focusing on gifts we wish God gave the missionary. The missionary and their church set the mission, God established the mission's ultimate goal, and we strive to equip and prepare every missionary to achieve the mission effectively.

Author

Brian W
Brian served 14 years in the Republic of Georgia, where he started a youth ministry, discipled new leaders, and planted over 15 new churches before serving in leadership of another missions organization. Brian is married to Maia and they have two children.