Episode 098: The 4 Ingredients of a Healthy Sending Church

Steve Beirn

Jan 29, 2019

Experienced pastor and author Steve Beirn helps us understand what a healthy sending church is like. Steve outlines principles that churches can apply to identify, prepare, send, and sustain cross-cultural mission workers.

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Steve Beirn serves as the Global Ministries Pastor of Calvary Church in Lancaster, Pennsylvania. Steve has served in missions in the local church for over 35 years. Calvary Church has sent out hundreds of their own people to serve cross culturally. Steve is author of the book “Well Sent: Re-Imagining the Church’s Sending Process.”

In this Episode:

Today we’re exploring the best practices of churches that effectively send out cross-cultural mission workers. These principles cross over to all sizes of churches.
Related Episode: Episode 040: Well Sent – What is the Church’s Role in Sending Missionaries? – Steve Beirn
Mags highly recommends Steve’s book “Well Sent” to churches who are seeking to thoughtfully improve their engagement in global missions.
The focus of today’s episode is chapter 4 of “Well Sent”. The chapter is entitled “The Mobilization Keys”.
A healthy church seeks to identify, prepare, send, and sustain cross-cultural workers.
The church is the sending agent in missions and should be the incubator of ideas and plans related to sending.

There are 4 Ingredients to a healthy sending church:

The first ingredient is a high view of God. The message that the church communicates includes a high view of God which results in an accurate view of God’s character and God’s heart.

A person’s journey of faith is stifled unless they have a high view of God. This high view of God helps people step into missions.
Related Book: “Your God is too Small” by J.B. Phillips
A healthy church must facilitate a high view of God through its entire leadership
Cultural expectations should be challenged – i.e. the American Dream.
The formulation of thoughts and ideas need to be birthed on a right understanding of God.
Confidence in God will take you where you’ve never been before!

Another key ingredient of a healthy church is having role models!

Role models have taken personal ownership of the Great Commission, live out a world Christian lifestyle, and make missions more normative for the local church.
A role model is someone who makes God’s heart for the world more prominent.
Role models can be people already serving in a missional way or they can be found or developed. There are people who are already praying, giving, sending or going. Leaders can help them be involved in missions in specific ways.
Role models can be nurtured. Take people overseas, teach them Bible material about missions, connect them to relationships with international people, and connect them with other missions people around them (even in other churches).
Churches have an opportunity to share with other churches and learn from them.
Some churches have an opportunity to mentor other churches.

The next key is developing financial capacity to send workers.

Lack of financial capacity can become an excuse for churches.
Faith and creativity are important for developing financial capacity.
Provide on-ramps that make it accessible for people to contribute financially to missions. Connect with other churches to learn and share about developing financial capacity.

The fourth key is developing advocacy among church leaders.

Church leadership (and congregants) need to have realistic expectations of their pastor in advocating missions work.
The endorsement of the pastor is critical. All levels of leadership should be aligned.
Make certain that the missions efforts are worthy of the pastor’s endorsement.
Get pastors/leaders overseas. Pastors can become the vision carriers for the church.
Missions leadership can invite other church leaders to develop and accomplish long range plans. This builds togetherness and helps propel the ministry forward.
Expose leadership to what is going on around the world and the life-change that is taking place.
Related Episode: Episode 096: How Pastors Can Share in Short-Term Missions – Randy Smart
Create times for the missions leadership to show support and appreciation for the church leadership. Pray for the church leadership, spend time with them, and update them. Good communication builds better working relationships.

Closing Word: