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Recently, Erich wrote an excellent post on church mission trips, They came. They saw. They left. (The picture above came from Erich's post.) In the post, he quotes Johnny Hunt, President of the Southern Baptist Convention:
I see a lot of churches led by enthusiastic young pastors who ride off to the mission field with no vision, no strategic relationship, no plan. They 'fire a shot' here and there and come home with some great stories, but it often ends there. Don't try to be Indiana Jones, the solo hero who barely makes it back alive. Be a team player, a coach and a mobilizer.... Work with a knowledgeable mission partner who knows his field. You'll make a much more lasting impact.
Most missionaries I know -- and I know a lot of them -- would give their eyeteeth to work with churches and volunteer groups that followed Hunt's advice.
- In your experience, what makes an effective volunteer missions team or partnering/engaging church?
Bob A
Of course, this is "right down our alley." The very definition of an "engaging" church gives us a lot of information. It reads that an "engaging" church is actively implementing an intentional, indigenous, multiplying CPM strategy. This means that the effective "engaging" church begins to work with a people group with the "end in mind." One of the most effective things a church can do is work with the field missionary to develop a strategy that will allow them to walk away (at some point in the future) and leave a small footprint (no dependency issues, multiplying small groups).
ReplyDeleteI call the kind of mission trips Johnny Hunt refers to as "Popcorn" missions... where folks pop off here and there and then things grow cold and stale. As I teach in the base camps for our engaging/partnering churches I strongly encourage them to agree to a 3-5 year commitment to their people group. I also teach them what we call the "Effectives" and I help them to work through these steps as they plan their engagement. As these churches realize the level of commitment we are asking of them and the potential impact they can have on these tribes they go from a feeling of "unsure if we can do this" to a feeling of high excitment and properly directed enthusiasm which seems to grow and grow and grow. When churches buy in to the vision and commitment themselves to the long haul they are able to accomplish big things for the Lord and His kingdom, sometimes even in locations where our company folks have been told to leave. Also interestingly, several of our engaging/partnering pastors have shared with me that this kind of commitment and focus has had a very positive impact on their churches and even on those folks who never come out on the teams. This includes positively impacting their churches giving to support missions through the cooperative program and through offerings such as Lottie Moon.
ReplyDeleteIn answer to the question....commitment....to the task and to the training for accomplishing the task.CB
Thanks, David and Clint. David, I like the phrase, leave a small footprint. ...intentional, indigenous, multiplying.... Churches that really put some thought into those concepts and strategize with a hands-on practitioner will make a significantly more long lasting impact on a people.
ReplyDeleteI suspect that a lot of churches and volunteer groups have no real concept of the amount of preparation and training that resident missionaries get. If they are committed learners and willing to be trained, they can multiply their own efforts.