Globalcast Resources - Mentoring Missions Advocates

All People Are Equally Lost But Not All AreEqually Needy Affirming the equal lostness of all people while informing about unequal neediness of unreached people groups with little to no access to the Gospel.

Every disciple has a role in Jesus’ Great Commission Www.globalcastresources.com

We'd just like to stop and acknowledge something. There is a dark side to missions mobilization. Think about it, when people hear of a missions event, often they're going to find something else to do. Why? Because they're expecting some guilt manipulation. Maybe pictures of overwhelming need, maybe being shown that they're not giving and praying and going enough and they're thinking I' already know I'm falling short, Thank you very much! I don't need more of that. And yes it's true that missions mobilizers have often resorted to guilt, shame, fear, need, as ways to try to motivate people to step up into their roles in the great commission. And we keep using those tools because, they kind of work... but only in the short run. And they really aren't Gods heart for the long-term motivations for engaging with his mission. And so what is a life-giving way to motivate and mobilize people into their roles in the Great Commission. One way we have kind of looked at this is to think about the two trees and the Garde

Did you know that the word mobilize simply means "to put into motion"? And we found it very interesting to think about this idea in light of the nature and character of God himself. When you think about it God is the one who is put into motion everything that is. Right? He spoke the universe into being. He spun those galaxies into motion and from that time until now he is the one who has been putting things into motion and moving His story forward.   He's the one who called, or mobilized, Abraham into uncharted territory. He's the one who said 'I want to set my people free from Egypt' and then mobilized Moses to do it. He's been sending and mobilizing Prophets to come at key points in His people's journey to confront or to lead. God is the one who mobilized His Son because of His great love for the world. Mobilized his son to come to earth and then the Son taught his disciples and mobilized them out sent them out two by two, right? And when He said I'm going back and the Father said "Don't worry, I'm going to

Elsewhere we’ve made a case that missions mobilization is actually more than recruitment. There’s nothing wrong with recruitment, it’s like picking fruit, right? You’ve got people who are ready to pray, and give, and go, and you help them step into those opportunities. That’s great! I hope you have a whole lot more of that. And yet, missions mobilization actually, in the long run, has much more in common with discipleship and disciple-making than you might think. As followers of Jesus, we should be disciples of Jesus and a disciple of Jesus, is one who obeys the commands of Christ, right? John the Beloved made it very clear in multiple ways. Those who say they love Jesus, they’re gonna to show it by obeying the commands of Christ. Those who obey the commands of Christ, those are the ones who love Jesus. He just makes that absolutely clear. And so as a disciple maker I need to be helping my disciples grow in their capacity and obedience to what Jesus taught. And of course one of those commands very clearly is,

There’s a great community development principle that says “God is already there”. It’s just reminding us that we didn’t bring God into that context, He was already there and He’s already at work. And we should come in in a way where we stay present to that reality and try to evaluate what He’s doing and come alongside that. 

So how do you create ownership and buy in? Well, this is a really important question especially again for those of us who are leading volunteers, who are leading a movement where you cannot just tell people "do it because I said so!". And We actually don't want that. We don't want people to just do it because we said so. We want people to have a sense of what God is doing and actually get involved and stay involved and be motivated to stay involved because God is up to something great. And they see it and they want to be a part of it. We're talking about sending people to the hardest places. We don't want them to go just because we told them we want the sacrifices they make to be made for Jesus. He is the only one worthy! He's the only one qualified to really tell them to go. And He's the one who made the sacrifice first and He's the one we are making the sacrifice for.

One community development principle goes like this. "Community development starts with me". So in our case, it would be "Missions mobilization starts with me" This might be the principle I like the least because on a regular basis it confronts me to say am "I doing it first?" Do first then teach. Am I living out what I'm asking others to do? Because if I'm not I have little to no authority to continue to challenge and invite them to do likewise. So as parents we know this, right? The kids will see our life. They will follow our life not just our words. They will follow and emulate what we model and so we have to find ways to regularly, honestly, evaluate ourselves and say "How am I doing?"