Mission Leaders 

IN LOCAL CHURCHES & ANNUAL CONFERENCES

How can we emphasize missions in our annual conferences & local churches?

We recommend building leaders and leadership teams within the local church and annual conference that can champion missions, especially missional initiatives that seek to reach the Unreached and Unengaged Peoples Groups of the World.

Expect great things from God; attempt great things for God.

–WILLIAM CAREY

Annual Conference Mission Team & Coordinator

 1. Cast vision for individuals and each local church to become engaged in missions (everyone praying, supporting, and either a ‘goer’ or a ‘sender’)

  • Establish an “Acts 1:8 Mission Church” certificate

  • Highlight opportunities for Mission Engagement at each Conference and District meetings

  • Recognize churches that are engaged in mission – especially those who have developed a (Evangelism & Disciple-making) Mission Strategy  

2. Offer mission training to local churches and pastors, such as:

  • “Understanding God’s Heart for the Nations”

  • “How to become an Acts 1:8 Mission Church”

  • “How to Lead your Local Church to Deeper Missional Engagement”

  • “Equipping short-term teams for long-term impact”

  • “Effective Mission Strategy and Practices”

  • “How to navigate the Kingdom Advancement Commission Web Pages to establish partnerships with vetted GMC missional ministries and Strategic Partners”

  • (for AC missional ministries): “Applying to become an approved GMC missional ministry”

3. Collaborate with AC leaders promoting UPG engagement to ensure focus upon 10/40 nations and UPGs is strong.

4. Equip Presiding Elders and Pastors so that local churches may carry out Local Church Mission Engagement Assessments (Appendix F of the Roadmap).

5. Encourage all pastors and congregations to participate in systematic mission capacity-building training, including high-level training such as Perspectives.

6. Recruit and encourage churches with strong mission programs to collaborate, assist, and mentor churches seeking to grow in their mission engagement capacity.

7. Work with missionaries, missionary candidates, and those within your AC and those exploring a possible missionary calling, to ensure they are mentored, equipped, qualified, and supported.

8. Foster opportunities for Acts 1:8 gospel-sharing and disciple-making in:

  • Jerusalem (locally)

  • Judea (regionally and nationally)

  • Samaria (among people groups that may otherwise be avoided/rejected, or in another nation where there may be a solid Christian presence – [See Joshua Project Listing]);

  • and to the uttermost part of the earth (in a ‘10/40 window’ nation, or among a people group in which less than 2% of the population is Evangelical Christian).

9. Promote partnerships (including prayer and support) between local churches and GMC missionaries.

10. Where Transitional Assistance Partnerships or Missional Partnerships exist, facilitate connection between annual conference churches and partner conference leaders to build relationships for missional connection.

Local Church Mission MobilizationTeam & Coordinator

Each local church is encouraged to identify a mission mobilization team to work closely with the pastor in ensuring an intentional focus on the primacy of reaching the unreached (and including UPG engagement) in the overall mission strategy of the church.

Responsibilities will include:

  1. Work collaboratively with the Conference Mission Mobilization Coordinator (or equivalent), the local church’s lead pastor and any associate pastors, and the local church’s missions committee to infuse a global vision in the church.

  2. Working with the UPG champion, coordinate the local church’s participation in the Local Church Mission Engagement Assessment (Appendix F of the Roadmap).

  3. Lead the church’s efforts to develop a plan for Acts 1:8 mission engagement and support (see B.1.8, above), with guidance as needed from AC mission mobilization leaders.

  4. Develop a mobilization strategy to energize church members’ passion for global engagement. Maintain a church-wide focus on global missions and select missional work by regularly reinforcing and generating excitement for the vision. Utilize informational and inspirational tools to keep focus on God’s heart for the nations and the urgency of the remaining task.

  5. Collaborating with the UPG champion, facilitate the local church’s engagement with Perspectives and other related resources and trainings as part of the church’s overall discipleship strategy.

  6. Serve as a resource point for global mission information both online and locally. Identify and maintain relationships with mission agencies and organizations in the community; connect with and promote GMC approved AC missional ministries, approved Strategic Partners, and GMC missionaries whenever possible.

  7. Collaborate with other GM churches in the local area, when appropriate and effective, to plan, provide training and promote short-term mission team activities.

  8. Create pathways for church members to invest their prayers, presence, gifts, service, and witness to support the making of disciples locally and globally.

  9. Pray regularly for God’s global vision to be ignited among church members and for God’s blessing upon missionaries, mission partners, mission work in selected areas and around the world.

  10. Proclaim the need for ‘harvesters’; encourage persons exploring a call to cross-cultural mission; connect such persons with Presiding Elders and AC Mission Mobilization committee members for access to information and mentoring.