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Seven
Dynamics for Advancing
Your Church in Missions
Page 7 — Dynamic #5: Leadership
This dynamic is helping pastors and boards to lead the church in missions.
Obviously the pastoral staff and board of a church play a key role in advancing
a church in world missions. Unfortunately the staff and board are ill equipped
to fulfill this responsibility. It is important to see why pastors are not
naturally equipped to fulfill this role and to understand what can be done
to help expand their mission vision.
Carl
Palmer, senior pastor at Cedar Mills Bible Church in Portland, Oregon, has
helped me to understand the difficulties pastors face in this area. Palmer
was the mission pastor at Los Gatos Christian Church and therefore is in a
unique position to help us understand pastors. Palmer says that pastors are
primarily shepherds and are overwhelmed by local needs. Furthermore they lack
training and confidence in missions. They lack the support of the mission
team. Unless you have been a pastor, you do not understand the pressures placed
on pastors by the multiple interest groups, each with their own pressing agendas.
Palmer
suggests the following ten practical steps to correct this situation over
the long haul:
- Define
a realistic and balanced picture of pastoral commitment to missions (don't
overstate the case).
- Explain
how missions can be a blessing to the congregation.
- Establish
confidence in the effectiveness of the mission program.
- Develop
a 5-7 year plan for missions in the church (try to be patient).
- Pray
for the pastor, not just his mission vision or lack of it.
- Plan
to influence him through submitting to him.
- Give
him scholarships from the mission budget to key mission events.
- Send
the pastor and his wife to the mission field frequently (from the mission
budget).
- Pass
on to him key books and mission resources (sermon helps, etc.).
- Involve
the pastor in mission decisions, even if he isn't particularly interested.
It
is critical to understand the difficulties pastors face and to become a positive
influence and help for missions.
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