My church has been learning how to be a mission focused small church these last few years, and in the next few weeks we are going to consider some ideas that have been helpful for us on how to be mission-focused.

First, we need to get focused, and creating a missions team can be a great help. Find people in your church with a heart for missions and bring them together to help the church get focused, and indeed keep focused.

Pastors have many areas they need to focus on – sermons, Sunday School, worship, prayer meetings, counseling, outreach, missions, etc. Pastors simply can’t focus on one thing, which means that it will be very difficult for the church to be missions focused if the pastor is the only one promoting missions. Too often missions will get lost in the shuffle.

So create a missions team, and then write down your purpose. My church’s purpose looks like this:

• Keep the church focused on missions.
• Regularly evaluate our missions program and consider goals for the future.
• Consider, present, and promote special missions projects.
• Consider, invite, and prepare for missionary speakers.
• Lead in caring for our missionaries.
• Lead the church in praying for missions.
• Seek to involve children and youth in missions projects, visits, care, and prayer.
• Work together with the Elders, Leadership Team, pastor, and membership.

Your purpose may look different, but these are some key things we want to see in our church.

Once you have a team and a purpose, be sure to meet a few times each year to fulfill your purpose. Start by evaluating missions in your church. What is going well or not so well? And then plan for missions in your church. What projects do you want to do? What missionary do you want to invite? How might you care for and pray for your missionaries? How might we involve the children? And then bring your suggestions to the church leadership and/or congregation.

One more thing. Don’t just meet to talk. Have each member actively involved in fulfilling in the purpose. One person might be in charge of a specific project. Another might be in charge of missionary care. Or another might be in charge of hosting a missionary. Discuss your plan and then assign people to carry out the plan.

Next week, we will consider being strategic in our missions program.