BeeThomasConsulting

I’ve spoken with many churches over the past four months. Quite a few of them were small. They had no money to help missionaries (domestic or foreign). Here is an oft repeated lament, “We’re just a small rural church, we can’t really help you.” When they said “you,” they meant anyone that might come their way asking for financial support of a mission effort or church planting work.

Part of our work is the Heartland Church of Christ (http://heartland.zachshouse.org). This is a small group of 13-17 people each week at the Heartland Assisted Living Center. We’re a small church. We have no money. The members have no money for the most part. However, we have a ministry/mission effort of restoring sight through cataract surgeries in Yushu, Tibet. They only cost $75.00 each. We’ve even found an organization that will do the same sugeries in Nepal and Bhutan for $20.00 each. Over the past six months, our members, their families or our friends have donated about $68.00. All of it goes to the surgeries.

We’re just about to add a missionary to our work at Heartland. We have no money to give Jared Looney of Metrosoul in NYC, but we can pray for him regularly. We can encourage him with cards from time to time, anniversary, birthday, Christmas, and just the occasional thank you for doing God’s work card. We can even call him or his wife and verbally encourage this church planting couple. The cost for any of this is negligible and it gives value to our members who are happy they can do some good work for God themselves, by encouraging those who are working full-time for God.

Helping others gives purpose to lives. Help is a great way to understand that this world is much bigger than the typical busyness of our lives. Small churches can provide help to those seeking it for their mission and church planting efforts, if they really want to do so. Missionaries and church planters should have many different ways they can be helped for those small churches that are looking to help, but can’t provide money.

A small example from our own work is the many ways we can be helped:

1) Encouragement through prayers and cards
2) Help in finding  a church planting wife that can correspond with my wife on occasion.
3) Providing contacts that would hep us in our fund raising efforts (people to meet or those who may have contacts)
4) Providing contacts that will help me in my picture book writing, devotional writing and with selling my photography (ways we hope to help support our work in the future).

Any of the above would help us out tremendously. Everyone knows someone. I have had ministers in small churches recommend contacts in some very large churches. People underestimate what they can personally do for missionaries and domestic church planters (both are the same in my book).  God has provided each of us with the gifts to help others. You can probably think of other ways to help missionaries/church planters without spending money, leave those in the comments below.

Small churches, I’ve got a suggestion for the next time someone cold calls you on the phone asking to speak about their work for God. Instead of saying “We’re not interested.” and quickly hang up the phone (it’s happened to me a few times) or say that you’re too small and money is tight, try saying, “We have no money, but is there another way can we help?” You then might want to add the simple phrase, “I’m serious.”

I’d probably faint if someone asked me the above question. Here’s your mission – make someone faint in the very near future!!! Create a low or no cost missions ministry today for your congregation or for yourself. God will smile upon you.

Peace,
Brian