Propempo International

First, anyone planning a short term missions ministry should become aware of the Standards of Excellence in Short-Term Mission. Even if someone is hoping to gain exposure by joining an agency planned trip, they should ask the questions implicit in the SOE document.

An overview of those guidelines are, as follows:

... ran across this. See if you like it, too. It appeals for churches to adopt a strategy of sending "church-based teams" to some of the most difficult areas of the world. Churches sending their own folks and being vitally involved in the whole process from selection through training, appointment, and resourcing to ongoing pastoral care and assistance IS THE ESSENCE OF IMPLEMENTING THE NEW TESTAMENT WORD "PROPEMPO."

... ran across this. See if you like it, too. It appeals for churches to adopt a strategy of sending "church-based teams" to some of the most difficult areas of the world. Churches sending their own folks and being vitally involved in the whole process from selection through training, appointment, and resourcing to ongoing pastoral care and assistance IS THE ESSENCE OF IMPLEMENTING THE NEW TESTAMENT WORD "PROPEMPO."

Stay tuned. You might want to sign up for RSS feed on this page. On this page, we will build a compilation of church-based missionary training resources. Really, we have more than can be given on one web page. So, eventually, we'll split it up a bit. But, for now, we post the resources as downloadable documents and PDFs.

And here is another resource that is too big a file to attach in this system. But, I'll give the link to download the PDF here. Send Me is out of print, but is still a great blueprint for missionary wannabe-s. Check it out: Send Me, by Bill Taylor and Steve Hoke

I'm going to upset a lot of people by what I say here. It's not my goal to offend. So, please don't put me in the camp of those who are looking for a fight. But this is what I believe, because this is what I think the Bible teaches about “the missionary call”. First of all, it is interesting to note that term “missionary call” does not exist in the Bible. Secondly, it is good to observe that much confusion about “the missionary call” exists because it is entwined with foggy thinking about knowing the will of God, in general.

There is a delicate balance between pastoral care and micromanaging. Shepherding is built on a foundation of relationship and information over a period of time. Really, it is best if the SENDING church uses the report attached. However, if the sending church is not fulfilling the function of missionary care, any strong supporting church can step up to become that special source of loving support and accountability. With proper cooperation and the agreement of all parties involved, the relationships can make a difference in long term effectiveness on the field.

It's been brewing for a number of years now. There is a growing tension between mission sending agencies and local churches who want to send their people to field ministry.