Archives
|
Few congregations have effective year-round programs for stewardship education, tithing and planned giving. Most need help. SALT will help supply that need. SALT, through information provided by "Church Stewardship & Growth Center" will meet the needs of your church by bringing you articles of what others are doing in the stewardship field, suggestions on new programs, audio-visuals, displays, literature, electronic medias, and training materials. It will give you and your congregation the satisfaction of more effectively meeting the needs of the work of Jesus Christ.
The difference between the success and failure of bringing families to full stewardship stature is vested in local leadership. As the chief steward under God, you hold the key of leadership. Use it or lose it!
Walter J. Waddell, III
Church Publishing Manager
|
|
|
"When a pastor is afraid to promote missions for fear the local budget will be reduced, there will be no growing involvement in fulfilling the Great Commission. The pastor must believe Matthew 6:33, "Seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you."
The church at Philippi sent financial aid to Paul to help him in his missionary activities. Paul assured the church they would not suffer as a result.
'The Way To Victory'
With the leadership of the Holy Spirit, any church can increase its missionary giving if the pastor believes in worldwide evangelism. General Douglas MacArthur said in his
memoirs, "The way to victory is to attack, and to attack, and to attack." So there must be a continual emphasis upon any project the church endorses. It is true in missions, "attack, and attack, and attack."
Even if the average income of a church's members were only $10,000 a year, yet on the basis of tithing each member should pay at least $500.00 a year into the current expense fund, and $500.00 a year into the missionary treasury.
I believe in missions. But many times the Spirit of God calls workers into areas of specific activity, such as medical work, radio, Bible translation, or care of orphans. Also there are donors who have a special interest in some person or project.
Expand Interest
All of our missionary interests should be under the direction of the Holy Spirit rather than exclusively by the decision of any board, denominational or otherwise. According to the Great Commission, the responsibility of every believer is the whole world. The Lord Jesus Christ is not restricted to any denominational area. An expansion of our interest into as much of the world as possible is in harmony with the great heart of our Lord.
Any church that has a sacrificial interest in missions, and a great and growing love to see trophies of His grace everywhere, will allow the Holy Spirit to enlarge its involvement and participation in the gospel outreach.
That is exactly the principle upon which missions can be presented. Schedule a missionary speaker at least once a month, and extend a welcome to representatives of any acceptable mission society.
Special Project Needed
When some special project or particular personality is presented, there is always live interest. Take a few minutes to tell about the opportunity to sponsor a person, or project and you will be delighted with the response.
Arrange a missionary conference every year in order to keep the missionary objectives at the forefront continually. As an evangelistic campaign stirs greater love for the Word of God, so a missionary conference will stir a church to greater interest in worldwide missions.
Children are never too young to have the missionary challenge presented to them. Select a missions-minded couple to head up your junior church work and make sure they keep the challenge of missions constantly before the children.
HOW TO RUIN YOUR MISSIONARY CONFERENCE
22 Time Tested Ideas To Help Wreck Your Annual Missionary Gathering
- Do only what you have always done.
- Keep your young people out of it. Young people will have revolutionary ideas.
- Keep the men out of it.
- Stay away from a Bible-teaching ministry.
- Have the same old speakers give the same old speeches.
- Don't use imagination. Squelch all new ideas and untried approaches.
- Don't promote it. Surprise people. This assures that only the same old faithful few will get involved.
- Don't plan ahead.
- Don't call it anything except a "Missionary Conference."
- Don't involve anyone except those who have known the traditional mission activity.
- Watch out for the type of missionary who doesn't maintain the missionary image.
- Use only broken-down equipment.
- Use long introductions to speakers.
- Don't let missionaries become human. Keep them on their pedestal.
- Keep the emphasis on souls only.
- Keep the emphasis on needs at least 4000 miles away.
- Be careful never to offend anybody.
- Exhibit in some corner, unlabeled, dusty artifax.
- Don't involve any real people from overseas areas.
- Get all young people hung up on the questions of a "call."
- Don't let real talent get too excited.
- Don't plan any follow-ups. Confine all missionary emphasis to this one conference.
IDEAS YOU CAN USE
MISSIONARIES AND FRATERNAL WORKERS
There is no substitute for a missionary or fraternal worker as a speaker. They provide first hand experience with the actual fulfillment of Christ's mission in other lands. The authenticity about the information they have to share is difficult to duplicate. It increases the personal factor when the visitors eat and are lodged with church families.
A MISSION FESTIVAL
Such an event can be held during the week or over a weekend. It is usually highlighted by messages by a missionary or fraternal worker. Involve many members in the preparation and execution of the festival. Assign responsibilities for the preparation of a booth or exhibit on each phase of your benevolence program to various church organizations. Give them time to secure the necessary items and materials with which to construct an attractive and educational display. Allocate space in a large hall so that all will be able to view the displays. New insights into what their project is will come as they write for materials and decide on how to illustrate the project. Here you will be utilizing all three of the action words-Visualize-Individualize-Maximize.
Buy "How to Organize a Mission Program in the Local Church" Manual. Still nothing better. $34.95
|
|
|
