Missions Strategy Workbook

Church

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EFCA ReachGlobal

Month/Day/Year

Table of Contents

  1. FOUNDATIONAL CONSIDERATONS 4
  2. Scripture
  3. Missions
  4. Church Purpose
  5. Prayer
  6. COMPONENTS OF MISSIONS STRATEGY6
  7. Acts 19 Locations
  8. Biblical Compassion
  9. Indigenous Movement Leader
  10. Church DNA
  1. GLOBAL OUTREACH TRENDS12
  2. PROCESS13
  3. Next Steps
  4. Meeting Schedule

Appendix17

Missions Strategy Template19

Missions Scriptures21

Missions Scope and Boundaries25

Missions Definitions26

Budget Grids28

Church DNA Factors (definitions)30

Credits31

Definitions of Strategy:

“A missions strategy is an intentional plan developed and implemented by a local church that seeks tomaximize its impact on the world [external (engagement)]as every member of the congregation moves toward becoming world Christians. [internal (mobilization)]” - Blake McDaniel

  • “Strategic thinking and planning is a disciplined, ongoing process of thinking and praying carefully about how a church can optimize its future and then managing the process.”
  • Strategic planning and dependence onGod are not mutually exclusive.
  • Strategic thinking is critical to strategic planning!
  • Strategy describes howwe will pursue our priorities and vision.

The key question:

How can your church be part of gospel-centered movementstransforming lives and communities worldwidein the power of God’s Spirit?

CONTENT

I. FoundationalConsiderations

  • Scripture: What scriptures guide us?
  • Missions: How do we define missions?
  • Church purpose: How does our missions/outreach purpose align with our church purpose?
  • Prayer:An integral part of your missions strategy
  1. Scripture - What scriptures inform your direction in missions?

What Scriptures provide our authority and direction in missions?

For example: Gen 12:1-3; Ps 67; Isaiah 49:6; Matt 28:16-20; Mark 13:10; Luke 24:44-48; John 20:21; Acts 1:8;(appendix, p21 )

Questions:

So what is the goal of missions (what are we trying to accomplish)?

Strategy Template(appendix, p.19): begin with biblical basis section that includes:

  • The primary scripture(s)for our missions foundation.
  • God's end goal for people and our part in it.
  • Our commentary on what these scriptures call our church to do.

Resources: “Great Commission-Driven Church,” (pre-seminar reading)

B. Missions – How do we define missions?

  • If your church has a written definition of missions, write it out here.

How broad or how narrow is “missions” for our church?

  • How is missions differentiated from other church ministry?

Strategy Template:

●Write a definition of missions for your strategy.

●Write a statement describing the boundaries. Include examples of the kinds of ministries and peoples that would be included in missions and examples of those that are not.

Resources: Missions Definitions & Boundaries (appendix, p26)

C.Church Purpose: How does our missions/outreach purpose align with our church purpose?

  • Write out your church purpose statement here.
  • What portion of our church purpose statement is fulfilled by doing missions?
  • How does missions help fulfill the written purpose of our church?

Strategy Template:write a purpose statement for the missions ministry that aligns with, and contributes, to your church purpose.

D. Prayer: An integral part of your missions strategy

Pray for:

  • God’s vision in your missions strategy
  • Missions commitment in your congregation
  • Raising up short- and long-term workers
  • The missionaries you support
  • Your missions team and partners
  • The gospel to reach the unreached

II. Major Components of Missions Strategy

  1. Acts 19 Locations (impact a region)

A strategy for reaching cities and rural areas. Does your church favor outreach in cities or rural areas?

What is the difference between multiplication and addition?

  1. Biblical Compassion (be the love of Jesus)
  • How do evangelism and compassion fit together?
  • How will your church use its people’s gifts for this? Is it being it being done locally, globally?
  1. Indigenous Movement Leader
  • Impact a movement
  • Missiologists are saying that the leadership of world missions has passed from an exclusive western group to partnerships between western and indigenous movement leaders. What is your church’s role in this? What are the roles of these indigenous leaders? How do you connect with those leaders?
  1. Church DNA (multiply your influence)
  • What is it about your church which can be “exported?”
  • Peoples’ gifts, skills, experiences that are useful in kingdom expansion?

Church DNA Factors:

1. Audience

The term "audiences" is a way of referring to those whom we are most concerned to serve, love, evangelize, and disciple. These may be defined by geography, culture, ethnicity, needs, or religious background and opportunity.

Examples might include:

  • Geography – continents, countries, tribes
  • Opportunity - the least reached, religious megaspheres
  • THUMB – tribal, Hindu, unreligious (Chinese), Muslim, Buddhist
  • Nominal Christians – Catholic, Orthodox, liberal Protestant, cults
  • Persecuted church, the young developing church, heavily evangelized
  • Handicapped, poor, oppressed, marginalized, incarcerated, abused, orphans, the wealthy, educated, and influential
  • Search vs. Harvest - “Do you go where the gospel hasn’t yet been, or to “low-hanging” fruit?

If this is a key factor for your church, write a summary of those audiences that are your priority audiences.

2. Balance: Global / Local

How does our church structure for Acts 1:8 ministries?

What proportion of our missions resources should we proportion to global and to local?

  • Jerusalem (the natural spheres of influence of the church),
  • Judea (geographically near, culturally similar people),
  • Samaria (geographically near, culturally different people), and the
  • Ends of the earth (geographically distant, culturally different people)?

A more contemporary way of dividing these groups is as follows:

  • People like us nearby
  • People unlike us nearby
  • People unlike us far away

If this is a key factor for our church, how should our resources be apportioned?

Write a paragraph describing and explaining how we would like our efforts to be apportioned.

3. Focus – 1000 Points of Light or a Beacon

How broadly or narrowly should we spread our efforts? Is this an important factor for us? What factors help us decide? Do we have a focus now? Our resources? Our interests?

  1. Do we have focus areas now? List any of your current missions ministries that receive a much greater focus than other missions involvements.
  1. If this is a key factor for your church, decide how you hope to distribute your resources and efforts.

4. History - Church Missions History and Values

  1. Howhas God led us in the past?
  2. What has been important to us?
  3. What values have guided our decisions? What values are still important?
  4. What do we strongly want to continue?
  1. Is there a compelling reason to break with the past, to become more effective and purposeful, to gain leadership and congregational commitment?
  1. How important is it to break with the past to become more effective and purposeful and to gain leadership and congregational commitment?
  1. How important is it to make a smooth, graceful, long-term transition?

Write a paragraph of commentary on how we perceive our past and present missions ministry in relation to the future and how we propose to move forward.

Note: If your church has very little missions history or very little ongoing support of individuals or ministries, and this is not an important issue, then skip this section and go on to the next.

5. Relationships with “our own” and Potential Missionaries

  1. What priority will we give to identify, raise up, train and send workers from our own church or fellowship?
  1. Will we partner with missionaries sent from other churches? What priority will we assign between the two?
  1. If this has been an important issue in the past, then determine how important it is now, and how you will address it for the future.
  • How much will a prior relationship impact our strategy? Will we make exceptions? On what basis?
  • What will we do when a candidate applies with whom we have a relationship but whose ministry does not fit our strategy? And visa versa?

Write a paragraph of commentary summarizing your consensus on how you intend to handle the relationship issue.

Resource: Skills, Knowledge, Character: A Church-based Approach to Missionary Candidate Preparation, Greg Carter. Next Step Resources

Resource: Determining What Missionaries to Support (Resource Manual)

6. Church Gifting, Vocations, Interests

Questions to Ask:

1-Is there a type of ministry that is garnering growing involvement and enthusiasm on the part of the congregation?Try to identify why: Is it leadership? Significance of need? Exciting results?

2-Very unique characteristics - Are there elements in this church that others around us don’t share?

3-A special uniqueness about the location or history?

4-Some passion that ties together the pastoral staff and other key leaders?

6-A cross-cultural ministry the church has which God is uniquely blessing?

7-Something that particularly stimulates the involvement of our young adults?

8-A missionary or organization we already are involved with that has a vision far bigger than our current resources?

9-A significant number of members of the congregation involved in a particular type of occupation?

10- Anything strangely lacking in your congregation? This could be in terms of vocations, ministry passions, etc. (helps to determine what is not a fit)

11-If there are strong denominational ties, what do denominational leaders (and you) believe you are called to accomplish?

12-Globally connected people whom God has seemed to “drop into our lap”?

13-Particular strengths pertinent for cross-cultural work?

14-What kinds of ministry tasks and roles fit best with the way God has gathered and equipped our congregation?

If this element is significant for your missions strategy, then research your church for those qualities that can positively influence missions ministry.

Write a conclusion of the kinds of ministries and involvement that relate to the world situation that best fit your congregation.

Resource: Building Global Vision,David Mays, for instructions and worksheets to examine key areas (such as social situation, vocations, skills, expertise, age, gifts, values, etc.)

7. Participation

How important is it for our congregation to be able to contribute hands-on to the ministry?

If the personal involvement of our congregation is important to our church, consider the following questions:

●How important is it that our people be able to go there?

●How important is it for the work to be in an area that is 'safe' and financially accessible to our congregation?

●How important is it that for ministry to be the kind of ministry that our people can practically assist on-site?

If this is a key factor, write a paragraph explaining why involvement of the congregation is important and what that means for the selection of missionary personnel, programs, projects, and ongoing ministry.

8. Partnership

  1. How important is it for our church to join other US churches and agencies to do what we could not do alone?
  2. To what degree do we desire to work in partnership with overseas churches, organizations, and movements?
  3. How important is it for our missionaries to work in partnership with other missions entities where they serve?
  4. What kinds of other partnerships do we know about?
  • Are any of these particularly attractive to us? Why?
  • What particular kinds of partnership do we desire to foster?
  • What do we need in order to proceed with this?

Resources: (first two are in resources manual)

  1. Key Principles for Healthy Missions Partnerships
  2. Partnership Champion Description
  3. Healthy Missions Partnerships course:
  4. When Helping Hurts, Steve Corbett & Brian Fikkert

If this is an important criterion for your church, write out a statement describing your intentions and desires.

Write one or more paragraphs that:

●Describe the partnerships that are important to our church.

●Give the rationale for why this is important to us.

●Explain the degree to which this will influence our missions decisions.

9. Ministry Tasks and Types

  1. What types of ministry tasks are most strategic for us and the world?

(Ex.: leader training, church planting, discipleship, evangelism, ministries of compassion, etc.)

  1. Determine whether this is a high priority for our church.
  2. If yes, list the various kinds of missions ministries or tasks that our church is doing or supporting now.
  1. Write a summary of those ministry tasks we believe are most important, urgent, or strategic with our rationale as to why this is so.

Conclusion of Church DNA Discussion

  1. Remember that the key factors for your church are not necessarily the ones that appeal to you or to raise the prominence of a ministry that you support. Select the key factors that will best help your church to maximize its effectiveness in missions.
  1. What needs to change?
  1. Where do we need education?

●For our leaders?

●For our team?

●For our congregation?

Where do we anticipate disagreement?

How will we pray through these things?

Are those four major components embedded in our missions/outreach strategy? If not, how can they influence our strategy for the greatest kingdom impact?

III. Global Outreach Trends

(further details in “Global Outreach Trends”PowerPoint presentation - can be used as a follow up to the initial strategy presentation)

Where do most of the unevangelized/unreached people live?

Where do most of the world’s evangelical Christians live?

What research do we need to do? (See #3 in meeting schedule section)

Where are the greatest opportunities, and what provides the most leverage?

Strategy Template: under “major world opportunities” list your primary findings. Include a consensus summary of themost significant barriers and opportunities to reach your goal.

The Key Question Summary Steps:

How can your church be part of gospel-centered movements transforming lives, communities, and institutions worldwide in the power of God’s Spirit?

What common themes are you seeing?

Can webegin to see a clear picture of what God wants to accomplish through our church?

Can we identify particular priorities or focus areas or goals?

IV. Process Steps, developing the Missions Strategy Team

A. Next Steps

(How we establish our priorities, areas of focus, or goals and write our Strategy)

  1. Saturate the entire process with prayer. Begin by enlisting volunteers to pray faithfully. Assign someone on the team to be sure good prayer happens throughout the process.
  2. Determine who will make up the missions strategy team.
  3. Who will represent the mission team? Who else will be included? (consider):
  4. A pastor
  5. Missions pastor/chair
  6. A board member
  7. A key influencer
  8. Strategic thinkers
  9. A researcher
  10. Someone who thinks objectively
  11. Objectivity
  12. Someone who is passionate for missions
  13. Recruit the team; explain the objectives and process; gain their commitment.
  14. Determine a meeting schedule to complete a strategy draft. Schedule your first meeting as soon as possible. Start by determining the best fit for key members like pastors or elders.
  15. Communicate with leaders, congregation, and missionaries. Assign someone on the team to be sure good communication happens throughout the process.
  16. Survey our leaders and/or the congregation regarding their missions vision, knowledge, values, and preferences.
  17. Communicate with leaders, congregation, and missionaries. Again, assign someone on the team to be sure good communication happens throughout the process.
  18. Analyze the missions ministry
  19. Categorize and analyze current missions efforts (dollars, people, programs, and projects). ( “Budgeting Grids,” appendix, page 29 - 30)Analyze your current missions involvements in terms of budget dollars, number of missionaries, partnerships, or projects and insert those figures in one of the grid.
  20. Consider how missions decisions are being made now. What values guide decisions?

B. Suggested Meeting Schedule

Meeting every two weeks, this sixmeeting schedule will be completed in about 3 months. Meeting every three weeks, it will take about 4 months.

You may have some of these components in place, shortening the process.

Meeting 1:

  1. Decide on the primary Scripturesthat provide your missions basis and aims.
  2. We may want to do a Bible Study on missions with our group before beginning this section. (see “Missions Scriptures,” appendix, pages 21 – 24)
  3. Write out these Scriptures.
  4. Develop your own definition of missions.
  5. Write out what missions is for our church.
  6. In a supplemental statement write the types of things that are to be included and the types of things that are to be considered part of other ministries (in no way denigrating their importance).

Meetings 1 – 3:

  1. Research the World (Resource): Over the course of the first three meetings, research the world needs.
  2. Following are some helpful resources:
  3. Operation World, Jason Mandryk
  4. PeopleGroups.Org.
  5. State of the Gospel
  6. Missionexus:
  7. When Helping Hurts, Brian Fikkert, Steve Corbett
  8. The Future of the Global Church, Patrick Johnstone
  1. After researching the above resources, write up what we see as major obstacles or opportunities in the world with respect to:
  2. Role of the North American church and missionary
  3. Current mission ministry trends
  4. Talk with your mission strategy workshop leader about the kinds of things you need to do research.
  1. Additional ongoing resources and potential courses for your team to consider:
  2. Joshua Project:
  3. US Center for World Missions:
  4. Perspectives Course.org *
  5. Kingdom Expansion 101 – EFCA EQUIP course: equip.efca.org*
  6. Mission Frontiers Magazine from the US Center for World Missions
  7. Mapping International:
  8. World Christian Database.

Meeting 2:

  1. Write a purpose statement for the missions ministry.
  2. If you already have one, revisit your mission purpose statement to make sure it communicates what you want it to communicate but still describe how it helps you accomplish the vision statement of the church.
  1. This may be an addition to your church purpose statement.
  2. It may be an expression of what God has called you to do in the world.
  3. It may be a statement suggesting your role is "to help church leaders carry out their missions purpose in the church," or something similar.
  1. Work through the factors in your church DNA component
  1. Bring any additional leader, congregation, and missionary survey results to the discussion
  2. Explain and discuss each DNA component.
  3. Decide which elements are of most important to our church.
  1. Continue working through #3 above, Researching the World.

Meeting 3: