Ten Commandments of Missions for Pastors
*Disclaimer: This post will be controversial. You must understand, this is coming from a third generation missionary and ministry leader. This outline was prepared for and taught to preacher boys who are being trained to plant churches in Mexico and Latin America. The idea of posting this here is for you to take what you agree with and leave the rest. These are our opinions and don’t necessarily reflect what we expect anyone else to follow en their ministres. We hope you get something out of this post. Thanks for reading.
Put missions first in your budget.
Missions isn’t God, but missions is the closest issue to God’s heart – God’s only Son was a missionary. If you put missions first, you are putting God first. So many churches put missions WAY down on their budget. When things get tough, the first thing they cut is missions. That doesn’t make God happy.
Do not substitute missions with other programs.
Anthropological missions is not biblical missions. Not one single first century missionary was an anthropological missionary. Understand what missions is – it’s getting the Gospel farther than to where you can get it yourself.
Constantly speak well of missions – keep it in front of your people.
Never criticize missions. Use missions illustrations in your sermons. Read missionary letters often. Say something about missions in each service. Pray for missions in your mid-week service. Don’t pawn the missions program off on someone else. Read all prayer letters yourself. If there is a problem, you call the missionary. Go on one missions trip annually. Take deacons and missions secretary with you. Don’t pay for the trip with missions money.
Have Missions Emphasis days quarterly.
Missions money tends to dwindle as the year goes on. Quarterly, give people an opportunity to start giving or pick up where they left off. Make Missionaries a big deal – they are heroes, not second class citizens. Some missionaries can be awkward. It takes a certain amount of peculiarity to be a missionary. Do not treat missionaries as lower than any other ministry position – Pastors, Evangelists, etc. Let your people know that when a missionary is in your church, they are in the presence of heroes.
Never drop a missionary – if he quits, that’s on him.
The only reason a missionary should ever make is way off your missionary program is if he stops being a missionary. That’s on him. If he stops soul winning, quits the field or changes his doctrine – that’s on him. Lack of money is never an excuse. In stead of dropping missionaries, if missions money get’s low, split it evenly amongst your missionaries.
Don’t let the missions money get low. Find new money for missions. Once you take a missionary on, it’s for life. It’s a perpetual agreement to an eternal investment. If he has to come back, keep him on. If he quits, talk to him and get him to tell you to stop supporting him.
Don’t drop veteran missionaries. The saddest thing in the world is for an old missionary to have to come home and lose all his support and live as a pauper. Support your veterans – they are heroes.
Don’t drop a missionary to take on another missionary.
Grow your missions program to include new missionaries. Some churches only add new missionaries because they dropped other missionaries. Never drop a missionary. If you are no longer impressed with a missionary, that is a matter of your own perception. If he is still winning souls, you are obligated to keep him on.
Never take money from missions to use it somewhere else, even if it is temporarily.
Missions money is sacred. Tithe is God’s method for an individual to give to God. Missions is God’s method for a church to give to God. Every missions nickel should get to missionaries. Do not keep missions money in your church, not even for administrative costs. If it was given to missions, you are obligated to give it to missionaries.
Never schedule a missionary in your church that you have not already decided to support.
It is dishonest to allow a missionary to take his time to present his burden in your church if you have no intention – or at least the ability – to take him on in that service. If a missionary drops in and asks to present, say “no”. Don’t cave to peer pressure. Be honest and up front – “We don’t have missionaries we can’t take on for support right now.”
Don’t “date around”. Don’t have four missionaries come in and then pick the one you like the most.
Don’t tell missionaries that you will support them once they get to the field. You won’t do it. I have never had a pastor who said, “I’ll take you one once you get there”, take me on.
Missionaries don’t become missionaries once they get to the field. They are missionaries when they start deputation. (A soldier isn’t a soldier once he sees action, he is a soldier once he enlists.)
If you are not sure if you will support him, tell him, “I’m not going to support you”, then if you decide you can, take him on anyway.
Have them go through a process of approval.
Letter of recommendation from their pastor.
Statement of Faith.
Three most recent prayer letters.
Prayer card – front and back
Video
Put their info in a file cabinet in the order in which they gave it to you. When it’s their turn to come present, invite them to your missions conference of missions emphasis day. If they can’t make it, do a video call with them and take them on. If you can’t take them on in that service, don’t schedule them. Make sure you have the money in your missions budget. Be ready to take a vote. Vote him in in that service. Give him a love offering and his first month’s support in that service. If you can’t afford to do this, don’t have him in.
Take care of missionaries when they come to your church. If you don’t have a missions apartment, put them in the nicest hotel you can afford. Don’t put them up in people’s homes. Have a goody basket for them when they arrive.
Never think about what else you could be doing with missions money.
A staff member once suggested diverting missions money for one year, to our building program. What a small way of seeing the world. Here’s an idea: take money from other budgets to support missions. If a missionary is building a building, take from your building budget and give to the missionary. Have fund raisers – sell candy, wash cars, spaghetti dinners – for missions. If you take care of missions, God will take care of you. “Give and it shall be given” applies to the church as well. If your church will give to missions, God will give to your church.
Missions is the closest issue to God’s heart.