It’s pretty much the “duh” verse of the New Testament:
“And how shall they proclaim unless they are sent?” —Romans 10:15
Maybe your niche...for now...is sending!
God seems to be raising up a whole new army of homefront believers whose lives are saturated with a passion for His global cause. With nearly 80,000 graduates of the Perspectives course mobilizing others in their fellowships, North American-based world Christians are increasingly catching a vision of their part in sending—much as in today’s military, where every frontline combat soldier is backed up by nearly 100 support personnel.
Some senders focus on a personal missionary. Others’ sending ministries are more general, serving the larger Body of Christ. Still other senders have taken on vocational roles in mission organizations, and as professional administrators, trainers, researchers and caregivers to send hundreds and thousands of missionaries.
Finding your niche in the sending teams of global missions might be as simple as reviewing your spiritual giftings and your SHAPE—spiritual gifts, heart, abilities, personality and experience. If you didn’t work through those exercises in the Find Your Niche unit, consider taking now a quick Spiritual Gifts Inventory (www.buildingchurch.net/g2s-i.htm).
Is your sending ministry to be—for now—personal, more general or vocational?
A PERSONAL SENDING TEAM
Senders team up to form the support base for a specific missionary with “behind-the-lines” backup in at least 9 areas of specialization:
- Moral Supporter
- Logistics Specialist
- Prayer Coordinator
- Communications Specialist
- Financial Advocate
- Short-Term Teams Coordinator
- Seasonal Assistant
- Researcher
- Re-Entry Coordinator
Let’s think through the practicalities of these roles:
Many of the roles of a missionary’s sending team are carefully described in Neal Pirolo’s excellent study Serving As Senders (see Resources). The point of the Serving As Senders study is simply that these sender-specialists are involved in crucial mission work as is a frontline missionary--although the homefront senders most often are involved on a parttime, volunteer basis.
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