A CULTURE OF MISSIONS
By Alex Pettett, World Witness Executive Director
As we begin to feel Covid’s grasp loosen on the world, we anticipate a forthcoming frenzy of global economic, social, and spiritual activity. It is time to consider how we will harness this building energy for Kingdom work. Churches focused on harnessing the release of pent-up energy, resources, and people will have an advantage over those simply “returning to normal.” From a recent article in Harvard Business Review: Ideally, you should dedicate about 10 to 20 percent of your time on a weekly basis over the next few months to exploring and envisioning where you want your organization [or church] to be when the crisis passes. This aspiration, of course, should be consistent with your longer-term vision.
For World Witness, we believe that this coming wave of activity will be one of God’s means to release a new wave of missionary recruits and fields. To help harness this, we are launching a new initiative known as “Go2.” Go2 is a mission network for ARP churches and a type of mission challenge that ultimately seeks to “empower ARP churches to grow and nurture a culture of missions” (Go2 Mission statement).
The mission culture of the ARP denomination has existed since we sent our first missionary in 1875. But each new generation must grasp and own a mission culture, lest it be lost to that generation. For generational culture change to occur, it must affect people at every level of the church, from cradle to grave. It is our goal, therefore, that Go2 would implant a culture of missions in the many facets of church life, from kids Sunday school, to adult small groups, to prayer meetings, Wednesday lunches, etc.
Go2 NETWORK True culture change must come from within and be of a
church’s own volition. Therefore, World Witness has begun to identify “mission advocates” in every church who will keep missions in front of their congregations and will help lead initiatives to nurture and grow missions in ways particular to their churches. This ARP mission network will participate in regular Zoom calls with other Go2 churches and have a chance to attend a conference in the future. This network will be able to communicate the mission aspirations of World Witness and those of the churches.
Go2 CHALLENGE Go2 seeks to challenge each church to set its own mission
goals. Go2 church mission goals should:
• INFORM congregants of the need and opportunity for missions;
• Help congregants ENGAGE in the work of missions; and • MOBILIZE congregants to send and support missionaries.
Churches that have set and begun pursuing their own goals, under these three headings, have taken the “Go2 challenge” and are considered Go2 churches.
This summer at Synod will be the official launch of Go2. If you are interested in signing up for this network, please contact Heiko Burklin (
hburklin@worldwitness.org). World Witness is excited to begin this new network and believes it will be key in growing our future mission for the ARP denomination.
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The Associate Reformed Presbyterian
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