How to Become a Sending Church

Anna Price • Jan 21, 2020

Did you know every single TEAM missionary has a sending church? Whether they are going for two weeks or 20 years, staying here in North America or serving in Southern Africa , we believe so strongly that God has called the church to send missionaries that TEAM has made it our mission to help them do so!

Most churches would say they want to be a church that sends her people outside her walls, whether that is across the street or across the globe. But how does a church become a church that sends people?

With over 500 sending churches in the TEAM family, here are the four common characteristics we see in churches that send missionaries:

Prayer

“He told them, ‘The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers to his harvest field.” Luke 10:2 (NIV)

What I love about this verse is how Jesus both invites us into His ministry, while twice in one sentence reminding us whose ministry it is . He is Lord of the harvest, and it is his harvest field. But still, Jesus commands us to ask God for more workers to participate in his harvest.

When we create rhythms of prayer for missions at our churches, we remind ourselves of two facts: that God is in charge of His work and that He graciously allows us to be part of that work.

A group of Christians lay hands on their brother in Christ to pray for him

Prayer reminds us of God’s heart for the nations and prepares our own hearts for missions. As you ask God to send workers, He will answer — likely by calling members of your church to go.

Our time spent in prayer reminds us that God’s heart is for every nation to worship Him. Rhythms of prayer remind us of our daily role in loving the nations. When a church sets aside regular time to pray for the nations, it also creates a culture of expectation that God can and will use your church and individuals in it to fulfill His mission.

Is your church interested in creating rhythms of prayer for the nations? Download our monthly prayer focus for specific prayer requests, or talk to our Church Engagement Department to connect with a specific ministry area or missionary for prayer requests.

Discipleship

“Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.” 1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)

Don’t you admire Paul’s boldness in this verse? Don’t you want to be able to say, “I am worth imitating because I look like the only One worth imitating?”

The truth is, we are all broken people. Some days, we will look like Christ. Other days, our selfish ambition and pride are the only things visible. Even the most devout missionary faces these struggles. But as issues of sin fester and grow, we have seen one thing make the difference in healthy missionary teams: discipleship from their sending church.

If a church sends out missionaries who are well versed in Scripture, spiritual disciplines and theology, those missionaries are better able to cling to their spiritual identity as children of God when the stress of the mission field seems overwhelming. They are also more likely to seek out repentance and community in hard times, having experienced that in their sending church.

Foundationally, missionaries who are discipled by their sending church to have a heart for evangelism and the nations are more likely to hear the call to go to the nations! Discipleship doesn’t end at salvation or after a few years of “acting right”. We are saved so that we are able to confidently share what God has done with others.

Do you want to disciple your members to have a heart for the nations? Contact us about hosting Explore by TEAM , a six-session curriculum that helps participants understand their role in God’s global story.

Preparation

At a recent conference, Allan Taylor, Lifeway ’s director of church ministries, shared, “You have a strategy for your budget, a strategy for your service times. If missions is the mission of the church, why don’t you have a strategy for that?

Talk about a punch to the gut. We plan for the things that are important to us, both individually and as a church. Thus, our church should plan for God to raise up missionaries to be sent out. After all, aren’t we praying and discipling to this end?

A TEAM missionary works with people in a church in Papua, Indonesia

Having a set missions strategy will encourage people to become missionaries and give them confidence that their sending church will still care for them when they hit the mission field.

A church that has a strategy for missions is able to cast vision for the congregation about how God might be calling them to harvest. A strategy may look like highlighting a specific geographic region or ministry type. It might be creating a class or small group for people who are interested in exploring missions.

A church with a strategy is also able to better care for the people who are called to missions by having clear policies and processes in place to walk them through applying, fundraising and ministering.

Our church engagement team is trained to help your church find its God-given missions strategy! Contact your local church engagement manager to cultivate your church’s strategy.

Communication

“Give thanks to the Lord, call upon his name. Make known to the nations what He has done!” Psalm 105:1 (NIV)

When we talk often about missionaries and the work they are doing, we not only show our congregation that we value God’s mission to the world, but we also normalize the idea of missions.

Discussing and celebrating missions often from your stage and small groups helps people understand they each have a role in missions work. From loving their neighbors to serving on a missionary care team, communicating about missions work and opportunities allows more people in your congregation to find their place.

Communication with and about missionaries helps your global partners feel loved and cared for. After all, your church has prayed for them, discipled them and prepared them to serve globally. When they get on that plane to serve, they don’t stop needing their sending church’s support and community — in fact, they may need it now more than ever!

To care for your missionaries well, check out our free missionary care resources available for download here !

By Suzanne Pearson 08 Mar, 2024
Through God-ordained partnerships and creative connections, TEAM worker Keith Moore sees the global Church advancing in amazing ways. In the global missions landscape, a phrase that comes up often is “from everywhere, to everywhere.” God is calling His global Church in literal new directions, as He raises up cross-cultural workers to be sent from places that were once on the receiving end of missions work. We call this movement “polycentric sending.” TEAM workers Dawn and Keith Moore have seen first-hand this transition taking place. Their story involves the unlikely but beautiful intersection of Charlotte, North Carolina; Tegucigalpa, Honduras; and Memphis, Tennessee...and beyond. The Path to Honduras Keith and Dawn joined TEAM in 1991 and served as church planters for nine years in Bogota, Colombia. After safety concerns precipitated their return to the States in 1999, they knew they wanted to continue serving in Latin America. The Moores felt called to Honduras but wanted to connect with a strong missional church to help send them. The Lord orchestrated a collaboration with Bellevue Baptist Church in Memphis, Tennessee. “Some people asked, ‘Why Honduras? Missionaries have been there for 100 years. It’s already reached,’” Keith says. “But there’s a whole section of Latin America that had not been reached - the upper crust.” Keith goes on to explain that he and Dawn felt called to reach college-educated professionals in Honduras – a ministry vision that resonated with the missional goals of Bellevue Baptist. Impact and Growth With the support of this new church partnership as well as another sending church in Birmingham, Alabama, the Moores embarked on their next adventure. Keith and Dawn started Impacto Honduras Church from scratch, and in less than 20 years, the church grew into four locations with 1600 total members. The Moores and other TEAM workers also created a “Bible school” type training program to help professionals who feel a call to ministry to make that transition. Throughout this period of explosive growth, church partnerships played an integral role. “It’s such a different vision when you have a church that says, ‘OK, this is our deal, we want to make this happen,’” Keith explains. “They helped us with everything. They took away every single obstacle to growth. Every time we needed something, they were there.” In 2017, the Moores once again found themselves on the verge of another decision. Was it time to leave Honduras? “I had no desire to leave,” Keith recalls. “People were coming to Christ every week! It was just so amazing.” However, back in the U.S., Keith and Dawn’s parents were in their 80s and would soon be in need of more care. “We realized that either we would leave in a crisis, or we would leave strategically,” says Keith. The couple began to implement a careful succession plan. By the time they left, the four churches were established with strong, Honduran leadership ready to carry on the work of the Gospel.
By Suzanne Pearson 23 Feb, 2024
Justin Burkholder, pictured here with his wife Jenny and their daughters Isabella, Olivia, and Zoey, has recently been named as TEAM’s next International Director. On February 19, 2024, with much excitement and gratitude to the Lord, TEAM announced that Justin Burkholder will become our organization’s new International Director, effective July 1, 2024. Justin, who is currently TEAM’s Executive Director of Global Ministry, will assume his new role upon the retirement of the current International Director, Dave Hall. ( Read the full press release here. ) We sat down recently with Justin to learn a little more about his background, his family, and the journey that has led him to TEAM. Q: Tell us a little bit about your “origin story” - Where did you grow up? What was your family like? A: I grew up in Mexico City as a missionary kid. My parents were focused on church planting. We were very close as a family. Both of my parents are still alive, and my dad serves as a pastor in southern Florida. I have one brother who is a pastor in Wisconsin, and the most special individual in my family is my sister, Amber. She was born with a very severe case of cerebral palsy and is entirely dependent on my mother...who is extraordinary! The three most impactful forces that have shaped who I am (outside of God’s grace) are growing up in Mexico, having parents who loved and planted churches, and sharing life with someone with a severe disability. My parents belonged at the time to a church and denomination that came with quite a bit of legalism and performance-oriented Christianity. Grace was a challenging concept to grasp. While I had an awareness of my sin and need for redemption, it wasn’t until I attended Moody Bible Institute that I began to grasp the fullness of God’s grace and His delight in His children. I have continued learning and trusting in the Gospel through formal education, like completing my M.Div., and through spiritual practices in community. Learning the Gospel and believing the Gospel has been a daily exercise. The Gospel is as beautiful and multi-faceted as a diamond! At an individual level, it is simple enough for us to live convinced that “Jesus loves me, this I know.” At a corporate level, it becomes the foundation that forms and informs our life as a spiritual family. At a cosmic level, it is redemption that reaches as far as the curse is found. It is hard to even grasp the multiplicity of goodness found in the Good News. Q: Share a little bit about your family life now. What does a typical day look like in the Burkholder household? A: My wife Jenny is my high-school sweetheart! She brings joy and kindness wherever she goes. She’s the best listener I’ve ever met, and we love spending time together. We have three daughters. Isabella is ten, Olivia is seven, and Zoey is four. Each of the girls is unique and has taught us a lot in our process of following Jesus together. We like to go out on walks and go to the park together. Once a month I try to get some alone time with each of my daughters which usually includes bowling or trampolines. A typical day in the Burkholder house starts around 5:00am. Because of traffic here in Guatemala City, we have to leave early for school. After school, the girls come home to different activities - sometimes swimming class, sometimes piano lessons. Four or five nights a week we have dinner together where we usually talk about our high and low moments of the day. On weekends, we enjoy time together, playing outside, or watching sports together. Go Cubs and Go Buckeyes! Q: What are your interests and hobbies? If you have the day off, what are you likely to be up to? A: I enjoy physical activity, running, strength-training and following sports. I also love music and, truth be told, am a bit snobby about my taste in music! I also am a very curious person and love reading just about anything that passes through my hands. A day off is usually an opportunity for time with family. Jenny and I like to cook something interesting together on our days off. Often there is time for some reading and watching some type of athletic event. Q: How did God lead you to TEAM? A: My wife and I were working in the Chicago suburbs. I was a youth pastor and she was a Spanish teacher. When we got married, we had already sensed God’s direction to serve cross-culturally, but it was a matter of discerning when and where. There was a driving desire in me to see a church deeply love the Scriptures and at the same time, be deeply engaged in loving and serving their city and the most vulnerable among them. As God directed our paths, we visited a variety of places and made some friends in Guatemala who opened up the path for us to serve here. While we were exploring, we knew that the International Director of an organization called TEAM happened to go to our church, so I decided I should probably invite him out for breakfast - his name was Charlie Davis. Charlie was extremely thoughtful, passionate about disciple-making, and very gracious in creating space for us as we stepped into this endeavor. Charlie connected me with Steve Dresselhaus, a fellow TEAM global worker who was at that time serving as the Senior Director for the Americas. I cannot express the debt that I owe Steve. He walked closely with me in the transition, encouraged courageous thinking about the church and her role in society, and blasted open the doors for us to serve in Guatemala. After meeting Steve, we spent some days praying about joining TEAM. One thing I will never forget – one night during the process, I found myself wide awake in the middle of the night. A peace like I have seldom experienced passed over me confirming that we should join TEAM. There is no doubt in my mind that God tied all of these pieces together to bring us into the TEAM family and community. Q: What roles have you held in TEAM? What have been the milestones in those roles? A: The most important role I have held in TEAM is that of a global worker. God in His grace has allowed us to help plant two churches here in Guatemala, serve in leadership development, counseling, and discipleship. Our greatest joy has been found walking with those who are learning to follow Christ more deeply. I served as the Ministry Area Leader in Guatemala from 2016 to 2019. We helped to establish and lead this ministry area as it grew from just four global workers to over 15. I then served as Senior Director for Mexico and Central America from 2019 to 2021, Regional Executive Director for the Americas in 2021 and 2022, and then transitioned to the role of Executive Director of Global Ministry which I’ll continue in until the end of June. Q: What do you love most about being a part of TEAM? Why TEAM rather than other organizations or job opportunities? A: The TEAM community is full of people who have faithfully served God’s mission and have given up a lot to do so. It is a privilege to know many of our global workers and be counted among them. I am also fascinated by the fact that TEAM has existed now for more than 130 years! There is something to be said about the resilience and faithfulness of an organization that has continued to impact the world for so long. The rest of our conversation with Justin will be coming soon on blog! We’ll hear more about how God called Justin to the role of International Director, and what Justin sees for the next chapter in TEAM’s work in the global Church.
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