Small Churches Can Support Missions

“I wish we could do more for missions, but our church is small” or “we just don’t have much money.” These are common comments today in evangelical circles. Perhaps you have thought or said something like this recently. I would like to use this opportunity today to give you some hope!

You and your church CAN have a great impact on worldwide evangelism!

According to Barna Group, 41% of church-going adults attend small churches, those with 100 or fewer. So if you are part of a small church you are part in a significant part of the Protestant population.

Matthew Spandler-Davison has served as pastor of a small church in Bardstown, Kentucky, since 2004. In August 2012 he published an article for the Gospel Coalition entitled How Small Churches Can Support Missions. In the article he made four suggestions.

1. Preach the Gospel. The Gospel is at the heart of our message and preaching of the Word is at the center of local church ministry. The pulpit is an excellent conduit for highlighting the message of missions threaded through the Scriptures.

2. Pray for the Nations. Have a focused prayer time during worship. Lead the church to pray for missionaries. Share recorded messages from missionaries as you pray with your church family. Form prayer groups within your church family to pray for specific missionaries.

3. Develop Partnerships. Don’t try to be everywhere and partner with everyone, but choose a focused strategy of partnerships on specific fields. You can also partner with other like-minded churches to do more together. You might even be able to provide some volunteer services to help your favorite mission agency or partner with a larger church who is impacting an area of the world in a way that interests your church.

4. Provide Opportunities. Work with trusted missionaries, churches and mission agencies to provide opportunities of service. Ask your missionaries how your congregation can serve them. Prepare video greetings for your missionaries and make them available on the Web for them to view. Ask your missionaries first to make sure you don’t violate any security protocols for their field of service.

Visit The Gospel Coalition to read the full article.

 

David Selvey<
David is the pastor of global outreach at Faith Church and the executive director of Faith Global Missions. He serves as a counselor in Faith Biblical Counseling Ministry and teaches in and plans international conferences. David has served as a missionary and worked as a small business owner. He and his wife, Kathy, have lived in Indiana since 1995 and have been members of Faith Church since 1996.