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October 23, 2017
Article By TMAI

Adjusting Your Missions Program

Thus far, we’ve looked at the motivations and biblical principles for missions, as well as how to build a leadership team, communicate, and evaluate your church’s missions program. In the final post of our series on developing an effective missions program, we take a look at how to adjust your missions program to better align with your biblical motivations and principles.

Having evaluated the gaps between your decided strategy and your current missions effort, it is likely that some adjustments will need to be made. This can be a daunting task for a pastoral staff or elder board who are already tasked with many other church needs. It is also a delicate task, involving people, relationships, and money. If the motivations and principles for missions have been effectively taught and the missions strategy process has been thoroughly communicated to the congregation, then change will be accepted more easily. If the congregation trusts the leadership that has been guiding them through the process, they will be willing to follow where they lead.

As discussed previously, your missions strategy will probably focus on certain categories of ministry that are deemed more critical than others. This will generally require that more resources (whether financial or human) be directed at those categories. By inventorying your current missions effort, as described in Step 6, you can see how your church resources are allocated across categories. This can then be matched up with your strategy to determine where reallocation of existing resources may need to take place and/or where any new support should be focused.

A great deal of care and patience will be required to effectively adjust resource allocation. Some changes may be able to be done rather quickly, but some may require up to several years to put into effect. There are several ways that your current missions effort can be brought into alignment with your strategy.

Adjustments to Existing Activities

You may be able to fine-tune certain financial support or missions activity. For example, if part of your missions support goes to a particular missions organization, you could designate those funds to a particular project or geographic region that better fits your new strategy. Adjustments can also be made in short term missions if that remains a feature in your missions effort. Decisions about what sort of teams you send and where you send them should reflect your new strategy.

You may also be able to work with your current supported missionaries to realign their missions activities without changing their financial support level. This would be a good option to explore if a particular missionary had drifted, for example, from his previous evangelistic focus into more support and mercy ministry roles. Others may be open to exploring ways to shift their attention to activities more in line with the new focus of your church strategy. It is important, however, not to be too heavy-handed in these discussions, recognizing that the man in the field is best aware of his context and competing pressures.

Decreasing or Ending Support

Increasing support to a faithful ministry or missionary is a happy occasion and does not generally generate controversy. But it is likely that, after going through the process of interviewing, categorizing, and fully evaluating all your missionaries from the standpoint of your new strategy and goals, you may realize that there are some who no longer fit with what you think God is doing through your church. This may be because of doctrinal or activity changes on the part of the missionary or ministry, or it may be because of the strategy changes you have made as a church. In these cases, financial support may need to be decreased or stopped. With a ministry organization, this is not usually very problematic because any single church will only provide a very small percentage of their financial input. For a missionary, however, particularly one for whom you are the sending church, any decrease of support is a much more difficult thing. Any changes in this regard must be done with the utmost care and compassion for all involved, and with full transparency of actions.

When a problem has been discovered (such as a shift into predominantly non-missions activity or a doctrinal gap short of heresy or false teaching that would require church discipline), it is important to shepherd the missionary carefully. Through loving interaction by the elders, such a missionary may realize places where he is in error or has unintentionally drifted and be willing to make corrections. It is vital to allow the Spirit to work in this way.

Some missionaries, however, will remain firm in their variant convictions. At that point the elders may have to decide that it is best to bring the relationship to a close. This should not be done without much prayer and significant interaction between church leadership and the missionary through visits, videoconferences, and phone calls. In no cases should the support be abruptly cut off without giving the missionary time to find support elsewhere. The most transparent and reasonable way to handle this situation is to clearly designate a number of months that your church will continue to support that missionary and after that, they will not be supported any more. It is advisable to err on the side of generosity in this respect, for the sake of the relationship and the reputation of the church.

The ministries of some existing missionaries may be found to no longer accord well with the focus of the church. However, when they have been faithful, longstanding partners, and are not out of line doctrinally, it is usually best to continue your historical commitment to them. Do not abruptly discontinue or decrease support to a doctrinally sound missionary simply to obtain immediate numerical compliance with your new strategy goals. For those who are nearing the end of their service or term it is often best to let the support come to a close naturally through attrition or near–future retirement. For those who are a long way from the end of their service as a missionary, it is often advisable to decide on a gradually decreasing level of support over several years so that the missionary has more time to adjust.

As you go forward, your new missions strategy should help to integrate and guide all the missions activities of your church. It should not only provide guidelines for financial decisions but also, more importantly, direct a new focus for prayer and disciple-making efforts by your church, through and to your missionaries and their activities. It can help to orient your teaching, prayer and communication efforts even at your church. It should help you to be intentionally faithful to all that the Bible teaches and how the Spirit has guided through this strategy building process. Ultimately, with your new missions strategy as a foundation, your congregation will be able to consider, within a biblical framework, what existing or new missions support opportunities best concur with your goals. As such, your church will be better equipped to maximize its efforts to glorify God and reach the world for Christ.

This post was adapted from the booklet, How to Build an Effective Missions Program.

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Cherif Arif

Cherif Arif was born and raised in Cairo, Egypt. He got an MBS from the National Theological College and Graduate School (NTCGS) in Cairo, Egypt; an MDiv. from Maranatha Baptist Seminary, Wisconsin; a ThM from TMS; and is now working on a PhD at TMS. He has served as a professor at NTCGS since 2011, both in Cairo and other locations: Jordan and Lebanon. He is now working on an exegetical/pastoral commentary on the Book of Ecclesiastes in Arabic. He desires to continue serving by equipping pastors and leaders and writing exegetical/theological works in Arabic for the church in the Middle East. “My heart is that many in this area of the world come to the saving faith in our God and Lord Jesus Christ.”

Rodney Andersen

Rodney Andersen is grateful to have grown up at Grace Community Church (GCC) under the ministry of John MacArthur. After working as an engineer for many years, Rodney left that career to pursue missions. After graduating from The Master’s Seminary in 2012, he and his family were sent by GCC to serve as missionaries in China until 2018 when he was called to return to GCC to train new missionaries. He currently serves as the Director for Grace Ministries International (GMI), the international missions department of Grace Community Church (GCC).  Rodney and his wife, Glenna, have two children.   

Aleksey Kolomiytsev

Over the last 30 years, Aleksey Kolomiytsev has been involved in pastoral ministry in Russia and other Russian-speaking countries. He has also led Word of Grace Bible Institute for 22 years and has served as senior pastor at Word of Grace Bible Church or the last 18 years. Aleksey’s focus in ministry is spreading the influence of expository preaching, as well as preparing preachers in the Russian-speaking world. His wife Tanya has been faithfully supporting him in ministry over the last 35 years.

Nick Kalena

Nick Kalena has been serving in Berlin, Germany, for six years. He moved with his wife, Jodi, and their six children from Mission Viejo, CA, in the summer of 2014 to work for the European Bible Training Center. Since then he has been serving in and is now the director of the EBTC’s Biblical Counseling Program. Alongside of EBTC ministry, he joined a church planting team in 2016 that started the Eckstein Gemeinde Berlin. One year later, Nick and the two church planters from the planting team were ordained as elders.  Nick’s ministry focus at the EBTC and at the Eckstein Gemeinde is counseling and discipleship. He enjoys bringing people to God’s Word to help them grow in their knowledge of the Son of God. 

Alexey Prokopenko

Alexey Prokopenko has served as a professor at Samara Center for Biblical Training since 2007 and as pastor of Transfiguration Baptist Church in Samara, Russia, since 2012. He has earned degrees from Medical University of Samara (MD) and The Master’s Seminary (PhD). Alexey has authored several books in the Russian language, including commentaries on Genesis and Ruth, as well as annotated translations of Proverbs and Ecclesiastes. He currently serves as pastor of a new church plant in his home city. Alexey and his wife Kate have two beautiful children.

Joshua Mack

Joshua and his family recently moved back to the United States after serving for 14 years in South Africa, where they planted Living Hope Church, began the African Bible Training Center, and started the Muphamuzi Baby Home. He now serves as pastor at Cornerstone Bible Church in Fullerton, California, while continuing to mentor teachers at various African Bible Training Centers. He is particularly passionate about providing solid theological resources in under-resourced areas. He is the author of Compasssion: Seeing with Jesus Eyes and the co-author of several other books. He received his M.A. and M.Div from The Master’s University and Seminary, and D.Min from The Southern Baptist Theological Seminary. 

Dave Beakley

Both David and his wife Carol were raised in Arizona, and after following David’s career in High Tech manufacturing, the Lord called David to ministry and he graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2002. Six weeks after graduating, David, Carol, and their four children were sent out by Grace Community Church as missionaries to South Africa. David was eventually selected by South Africans to serve as the Academic Dean of Christ Seminary, as well as an elder at Christ Baptist Church. He then earned his PhD at the University of Potchefstroom in 2014. His wife Carol also serves in Christ Baptist Church teaching various women’s Bible Studies and discipling women. He also serves as the TMAI African Regional Coordinator and the GMI Regional Missions Shepherd for Africa. 

Christian Andresen

Christian and his wife Sheryl moved back to Germany over twenty years ago and started the European Bible Training Center (EBTC) in Berlin to train up nationals for pastoral and missionary work and strengthen the local churches. As president of the ever-growing EBTC, Christian oversees the school in Berlin and its extensions in Germany, Switzerland and Austria as well as its publishing ministry. He also serves as one of the pastors at Eckstein Gemeinde Berlin, a four-year-old church plant at the heart of Berlin, and is eager to invest in church-planting ministries across Europe through his role as Regional Shepherd at Grace Ministries International. Christian and Sheryl have four wonderful grown-up children and several grandchildren.

 

Carlos Montoya  

Carlos Montoya is President of Ministerios Evangélicos de Las Americas (MEDA), a TMAI pastoral training center located in Siguatepeque, Honduras. MEDA’s main program is The Seminary for Expository Preaching (SEPE) where its motto is Training men to Preach Christ with Power, Passion and Precision. He also serves as a pastor at Iglesia Bautista Betania. 

He has a bachelor’s degree from the University of North Carolina in Chapel Hill. He then studied at Dallas Theological Seminary, receiving his MABS in 1989, and married his bride Lori the same year. After several years, Carlos felt the need to study the original languages, leading him to attend The Master’s Seminary, graduating in 1999. The Montoya family moved to Honduras in 2001. He and Lori have 7 children and 5 grandchildren. 

 

Faly Ravoahangy

Faly Ravoahangy, a graduate of The Master’s Seminary currently enrolled in their Doctor of Ministry program, is the founder and Managing Director of Madagascar 3M, a ministry started in 2017, aiming to come alongside the existing structures and to be involved in identifying, training and equipping men to study, obey and teach God’s Word. Ultimately, Madagascar 3M desires to open a Bible-teaching seminary, focusing on expository preaching, so to develop a new generation of godly church leaders in francophone Africa.

Faly is also part of the eldership team and a teaching pastor at Ankadivato Biblical Baptist Church in Antananarivo, the capital city of Madagascar. He is married to Lily and they are blessed with 5 children.

David Robles

David Robles serves as the teaching pastor of Iglesia Evangelica de Leon and is the founding president of Berea Seminary, Spain. He has a wide teaching and preaching ministry throughout Spain, Europe, Latin America and the USA. David is a graduate of Multnomah Biblical Seminary and The Master´s Seminary. He and his wife, Loida, have three daughters.

Ruben Videira

Ruben Videira graduated from The Master’s Seminary with his M.Div. in 2011 and Th.M. in 2014. The same year he moved to León, Spain, with his family, to serve at the Evangelical Church of Leon and the Berea Seminary. At the seminary he serves as the Academic Dean and professor of Hermeneutics, Bible Exposition and Theology, and at the church his ministry focuses on preaching and discipling. He has been married to Jenn since 2010, and the Lord has blessed them with Oliver (2013), Eden (2015), Caleb (2016), and Zoe (2018).

 

Greg White

Greg White was sent out by Grace Community Church in 1992 to serve the Evangelical churches of Ukraine. Over the past 28 years he has had the privilege to be a part of 2 church plants and the start and development of 2 seminaries. Greg is pastor of Grace Bible Church, Chief Academic Officer of Grace Bible Seminary in Kyiv, Ukraine, Regional Pastor of Eurasia for Grace Ministries International and Liaison & Consultant, Eurasia for The Master’s Academy International. Beside his administrative responsibilities, Greg also is a professor in the area of New Testament at Grace Bible Seminary and the European Bible Center, Berlin, Germany. Greg is married to Hue Chon and has 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren who live in Southern California.

Dave Beakley

Both David and his wife Carol were raised in Arizona, and after following David’s career in High Tech manufacturing, the Lord called David to ministry and he graduated from The Master’s Seminary in 2002. Just six weeks after graduating, David, Carol, and their four children were sent out by Grace Community Church as missionaries to South Africa, where David served as a lecturer at Christ Seminary in the city of Polokwane. During that time, David eventually was selected by the nationals to serve as the Academic Dean as well as an elder at Christ Baptist Church. He also earned his PhD at the University of Potchefstroom in 2014. His wife Carol also serves in Christ Baptist Church teaching various women’s Bible Studies and discipling women. The children were all raised in South Africa and are now living as adults in the USA. Currently, David is the Senior Pastor (teaching pastor) of Christ Baptist Church, the Academic Dean of Christ Seminary, teaches various courses in Christ Seminary, and he also serves as the TMAI African Regional Coordinator and the GMI Regional Missions Shepherd for Africa. He and his family have been serving in South Africa for over 18 years.

 

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