A Letter to Missionaries and Mission Organizations

What NOT To Do in Missions Mobilization From a Missions Pastor

One of my passions is mobilization. I love working with and seeing churches and people join the mission of God. But after 30-plus years in missions as a missionary, a missions pastor, coaching churches, and serving with a large missions board in mobilization, I have come to see that our failure to mobilize churches and people could be of our own doing.

I am writing about these hindrances from a “WHAT NOT TO DO” perspective in this article. I know, I know, it’s a negative, and you’re not supposed to do a negative … but I am because I think we have to understand that there may be some problems before we can fix them. I never realized my mobi mistakes for the longest time and could only move forward when seeing and correcting those blind spots. You can extrapolate the positives yourself. I hope this will help mobilizers learn what not to do when they seek to lead others to join God’s mission.

1.     Please Do Not Treat the Church Like They Know Nothing, And They May Not.

I get that some pastors and churches do not “get it” regarding missions and missional strategies.  I didn’t when I first started as a missionary and also in the church. As mobilizers, when we run into novice mission leaders, we should always have the spirit of a compassionate, patient trainer. People can tell when a mobilizer is talking past or down to them. I am ashamed to admit that I have been both talked down to and have talked down to others when they did not understand missions. The result was always resistance. I was resistant to them talking down to me, or I could sense the resistance when I was talking down to others.

One of my mentors is Dr Nik Ripken. During a conversation about how to lead and speak with people and not push them away, I asked him, "How can you say hard things I need to hear in a way that does not turn me away from listening”? He is so good at saying hard things without pushing a person away. He proceeded to recommend the book Crucial Conversations. I am imperfect in this area, but it has helped me learn how to say things better.

On the flip side, many mission pastors, staff, and lay leaders understand and know missions. You do not need to talk as if they were rookies. I have lay leaders in my church who have co-authored a booklet with me on mission mobilization that a major organization published. As laypeople, they learned and know missional strategies and ideas as much as most missionaries and pastors I know. It is always best to go into a conversation or event without too many assumptions.  

2.     Learn a little about the church before you speak with them.

Along with #1 above, it always sets back a conversation when a mobilizer steps into a conversation with a church or pastor without knowing anything about that church and its mission efforts or lack of mission efforts. I have this happen at least once a month when I speak with a missionary or organization. There is usually some ask to join them in a project or give money to a project. A simple look at our website would help potential partners see what our strategy is and discern if we are a fit for their ministry. You cannot know how to approach a church or person without knowing a little about them.  

If the web is unclear, ask other pastors or churches to share what they know. If that is not available, take the time to listen before talking. Invest in a longer conversation and listen carefully about their family, church, struggles in missions, and goals. The one thing people love to talk about most is usually themselves. That conversation can tell you a whole lot about which direction to go in asking questions about their goals as a church. You may never get to mobilize in that first discussion, but listening can open the door to building a relationship and lead to having another conversation that goes deeper into mobilizing that person or church.

3.     Please do not see the sole role of the church as primarily a funding one.

If a person or organization is only looking for funding, they rarely get a callback or an appointment with me. Our view is that the church is primary in carrying out God’s mission.

I look for people and organizations heading in the same direction, and I want to be an equal partner. When mobilizing, we need to view every church as a possible partner that can bring various benefits to the mission. They may not have much money, but they may be key to opening the door to bring more churches to your ministry. They may have people in their churches with skill sets your mission field needs.

Special Note: I have some mission organizations contact me, and I feel like it is more of a sales call than a true mobilization effort and an effort to get to know us as a church. It’s like they have a sales/marketing list, and they are salespeople working on a contact list.

In mission organizations, if you do not have people who are able to take some time to help churches move forward or have someone who can walk with them in their mission strategies, your efforts will ultimately fail; instead of viewing it as sales, view it as discipleship.  

4.     Avoid Kicking the Can down the road.

 Recently, a friend and fellow missions pastor called me and asked for some connections to a particular place in a secure location. I contacted one of the mobilizers we have worked with and made an email introduction to the missions pastor and mobilizer.

 The response that came back via email from the mobilizer was disappointing. Paraphrased, “Great to meet you, and thanks for your interest in this part of the world. I will be traveling for three weeks, and maybe we can set up a time to talk when I get back.”

 NO, NO, and triple NO. You can easily lose this church in those three weeks. This missions pastor is looking for contact soon and does not want to push it back three weeks before you get a chance to know what he wants. In this situation, his church leaders are asking the missions pastor to find contacts in that region. He will have to report back on the status of his search. It does not look good for the mission's pastor to come up empty-handed, and it doesn’t look well for the organization.

What should he have done?  

 After the Email introduction, a mobilizer would:

• After the initial email intro, send an email back to the mission pastor asking what part of the world he is looking at. A country? A people group?

• What are they looking to do: A long-term Partnership? Are they looking to take a trip? Are they looking for a long-term partner?

• Even if you, the mobilizer, are traveling, you set a phone call conversation as soon as possible, before or during the travel. Technology allows for some easy worldwide connections. A phone call is easy.

• If there is no way to do the above, go ahead with an email to set a meeting now for the future. That way, as the mobilizer, you have a concrete meeting set up, and it does not cause this church to look to another organization for contacts.

From my standpoint, I want to see churches mobilized for the mission work God has given us. At the same time, I want to help missionaries and mission organizations avoid the things that can hinder connections to a local Church.