First Steps in Missions for Your Church
David Mays

At the Individual Level

Pray fervently and regularly for:
* Revival in your church to produce personal holiness and a concern for the nations.
* Your church’s missionaries.
* Your church’s leaders: that they will adopt God’s heart for the world.
* Someone else with a missions vision to help you bring about change.
* Current missions work around the world.
* Unreached people groups and nations.
* People affected by political, cultural, and religious trends and events around the world.

Become more informed about missions by:
* Studying Scripture to learn more of God’s heart and plan for all nations.
* Reading current missions books and periodicals.
* Watching the world news with a missions perspective.

Begin working in the church:
* Start a missions focus group to pray for missions or study a missions book.
* Seek help from other churches and missions agencies.
* Recommend missionaries or projects for the church to support.
* Begin accumulating missions resource materials for church use.
* Arrange for missionaries to visit Sunday classes, Bible studies, or cell groups.
* Look for others interested in missions.
* Spend time with your pastor. Discern his interest in missions and encourage him to greater interest.
* Work to identify a core group of people who can effectively and biblically work for change in your church.

At the Group Level

Work with church leaders:
* Seek authorization to work for missions in the church.
* Recruit one of the church leaders to work as part of the group.
* Ask for advice and direction from leaders.
* Befriend and pray for leaders who are obstacles. If possible, involve them in a missions trip.
* Meet with pastors and elders to discuss how missions fits into the life of the church.

Begin a missions committee:
* Recruit creative and influential people to serve on the committee.
* Establish positions and subcommittees to reflect the goals of the committee.
* Begin meeting regularly.
* Pray faithfully.
* Keep church leaders informed.

Educate and Stimulate the Congregation:
* Obtain and make available missions resources.
* Work with church departments to incorporate missions empeducation.
* Initiate regular prayer for missions.
* Hold a missions event.
* Get missionaries in front of the congregation and its ministries.
* Ask key people to house missionaries overnight.
* Involve the congregation in outreach ministries in your community.

The above article, “First Steps in Missions for Your Church,” is written by David Mays. The article was excerpted from www.davidmays.org website July 2002.

The material is copyrighted and should not be reprinted under any other name or author. However, this material may be freely used for personal study or research purposes.