The Church is Where It's At by MARILYNN LESTER
In 2019, the Commission on Global Partnerships released a handbook for churches to use to help pre- pare people interested in becoming global partners. In a Fellowship Focus article in April 2018, we were reminded of the fact that in the 1980s, “a study revealed that the FEBC had the highest per capita giving for foreign missions of any church group in North America.” That study went on to state that, “one mis- sionary was on the field for every 36 resident members in North America.”
I believe that number is waning. Today we have around 65-70 global partner units, which is even less
than two years ago. Most of the attrition is due to the many numbers who are retiring and are adjusting their service parameters to working from home rather than being physically on the field. The Commis- sion has interviewed two new global partner units in the last six months. That is encouraging, but I feel there are many more that may be holding back for one reason or another.
Jesus’ last mandate while on earth was to “Go therefore and make disciples of all nations …” (Matt.
28:19). Mobilization to carry out that mandate involves many people and organizations, and one of the pieces of the puzzle is the church. David J. Wilson, in his book, “Pipeline: Engaging the Church in Missionary Mobilization” states, “The most critical piece of the missionary mobilization pipeline is the church.” The church provides the first step in the process by raising up and discipling people early to make them sensitive to the needs of people “out there.”
The church is where it all starts. We need the churches to look for prime candidates for the greatest
commission ever given. People within the church should not be afraid to tap someone on the shoulder, put a bug in their ear, or give a gentle nudge toward missions. The best candidates most often are people who the church would like to keep to utilize in the leadership at home.
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