You are part of the world’s largest missions-sending agency! Your Southern Baptist church voluntarily contributes through the Cooperative Program and special mission offerings to support your Southern Baptist missionaries – 5,629 international missionaries and 5,500 North American missionaries. What a privilege!
Diana DavisBut – do you know some Southern Baptist missionaries? Oh, you can’t know all 11,000 (and many serve in areas where security is an issue), but your church can personally encourage a few. Need ideas to make connections with missionaries?*
? Establish a connection with an IMB or NAMB missionary who came from your church or your state.
? Connect with an IMB missionary in a country where members of your church travel for business or pleasure.
? Encourage a NAMB missionary who serves in your state – i.e. a church planter, collegiate minister, denominational leader, chaplain.
? Invite missionaries to visit or speak at your church.
? Consider buying and furnishing a house for furloughing missionaries. Be sure to establish a relationship with that missionary.
? Plan a mission trip to assist an IMB or NAMB missionary.
? Encourage students or adults in your church to go as short-term, summer or career missionaries with IMB or NAMB.
? If your church adopts an unreached people group, a regional missionary will assist you. Encourage that missionary.
? Discover connection resources on SBC Web sites. Use free monthly missions fliers for church bulletins. Display SBC missions magazines and maps. Show missions video clips. Do a Missions FilmFest and write featured missionaries. Register to receive daily missionary birthdays, prayer requests and updates by e-mail.
As your church connects with missionaries, spotlight them. Pray faithfully for them. If appropriate where they serve, send personalized care packages and birthday cards. Do a Skype video-interview. Discover tangible ways you can help. Display their photos with small flags and a plaque: “These are some of the 11,126 missionaries supported by our church.” Read their e-updates and reply with a scripture, encouragement or prayer.
Your tithes and offerings already support them monetarily. Will you put a “face” on missions and personally encourage an SBC missionary?
*Note: An expanded version of this article at www.scbi.org/freshideas offers quick Web links to access these and other missionary connection ideas. Davis is author of “Deacon Wives – Fresh Ideas for Encouraging Your Husband and the Church” (B&H Publishing). For more information, visit www.keeponshining.com.