Missionary Training Ministry - Day 2

It was another great day of sessions and preaching. Here are a few quotes and highlights from the day...

How To Grow A Loving Church - Allen Hagood

• The Associated Press came out with a study a few years ago that concluded the #1 characteristic of growing churches was love.
• We need to be genuine.
• Love has to be sincere.
• Love does not wear a mask.
• We've got to be real.
• If we're going to grow a loving church we've got to take the mask off.
• We get so used to wearing a mask we forget we have it on.
• We need to care about other people.
• When a group of people sincerely love each other lost people are attracted to that.
• In Romans 12:10 "brotherly love" is the ability to live close together with mutual respect.
• We should see each other (Hebrews 10:24).
• We need to be contagious in our enthusiasm.
• Enthusiasm means, "In God."
• We should be on fire for the Lord.

How To Plant An Indigenous Church - Lynn Raburn

• Christ commanded His churches to send missionaries from their midst into all the world.
• The Biblical example of a church is one that is independent, autonomous, and indigenous.
• Indigenous means native or belonging to host culture.
• Our goal should be to plant a church that will be scriptural, culturally appropriate, independent, and reproductive.
• We need to christianize not americanize.
• Buildings should be culturally appropriate.
• If you have "blood" and "sweat" equity in a building you will appreciate it.
• Schedule of services should be culturally appropriate.
• Worship should be culturally appropriate.
• Personal lives must be lived for Christ.
• We should not be guilty of "cultural imperialism." Don't thrust our culture on churches in other nations.
• National pastors will know the language, identify with people, and be more likely to train a successor.
• Teach people to give and tithe.
• Teach people the result of giving.
• Teach people to rely on God.
• An indigenous church validates the independence of the local church.

Missionary Pre-Flight - Lynn & Brenda Raburn

• Leave well by saying good-bye to people and places.
• Arrive well by having someone pick you up at the airport.
• God is to loving to be unkind and to wise to make a mistake.
• Don't make a life changing decision while going through culture shock.
• At 3 months and 1 year the grief process will spike while on the foreign mission field.
• Serving God is so much more than stuff.
• Be teachable.
• Be flexible.
• "Lord what did I do to deserve this" can be stated in a negative way on arrival and a positive way a few years later.

Significance - Robert Frances

• God delights in diversity.
• We have a passion to be significant.
• I don't want to be alive. I want to live.
• Don't you want to make a difference?
• We want to go around the world to impact.
• Henry David Thoreau said, "When it's time to die, let us not discover that we have never lived."
• I don't want to leave this world without making an impact.
• Some great bible characters that made an impact were Abraham, David, Luke, John and Paul yet one of the most significant was least important - Mary (Luke 1:26)
• I'm concerned we don't know God hasn't called us to make a splash and be a celebrity.
• Do what calls us to do . Sometimes at the forefront where everyone notices and sometimes behind the scenes where no one cares.
• We've made the cause of Christ about meeting my individual needs instead of playing our roles.
• There is no big ministry and no little ministry. It is simply playing the role God has for me.
• No one praised Mary in her lifetime one little bit.
• We have to be willing to obey in the midst of obstacles.
• I don't think anyone who is being used significantly ever feels like they know what they are doing.
• Our sufficiency is in Christ.
• If you are not afraid please leave the ministry. You are about to hurt a lot of people.
• 2 dangers in the ministry I'm learning are: 1) I listen to the praise of men to much. 2) I listen to the criticism of men to much.
• If we want to be used of God we have to be ready for him to color outside the lines.
• You have your life designed for the easy. God has your life designed for his glory.
• God can change everything tomorrow.
• God can move in ways you never dreamed.
• God can make you say, "Wow, how'd you do that!"

Missionary Training Ministry

Here are a few quotes and thoughts from some of the sessions today at the World Missions Seminar.

Missed Messages Of The Great Commission - Lynn Raburn

• We have power.
• We don't recognize the power we've been given...don't miss it.
• If we draw boundaries and don't reach certain people groups we will answer to the God of heaven for why we didn't follow our marching orders.
• The commission would send the disciples a great distance and to a variety of people.
• We have no excuse to not be doing what God has called us to do.
• An intricate part of the great commission is church planting.
• We must participate in evangelism.
• If you go to a people group and evangelize and don't plant a church, you will have to come back and evangelize in a generation.
• If we don't plant churches we have not fulfilled the great commission.
• God told the disciples in the commission he would always be with them and then he left.
• Jesus left so he could stay.
• We're not alone.

Areas Of Consideration When Sending A Missionary To The Field - Jerry Chandler

• Is there clear evidence of God's call?
• Is there clear evidence of an intimate relationship with God?
• Does he acknowledge God in all things?
• A missionary should meet the qualifications laid out in 1 Timothy 3:1-7 and Titus 1:6.
• Missionaries can face change, danger, family concerns, financial concerns, language barriers, health concerns, and cultural restrictions.
• The Missionary should be able rightly divide the Word (2 Timothy 2:15)
• The Missionary should be able to bring others to spiritual maturity(2 Timothy 2:2)
• The missionary needs sufficient physical health to satisfy the demands of the tasks of the mission field.
• Health care on the foreign field is many times not as good as in the U.S.

3 Characteristics Of The Heart Of A Missionary - Joe Morrell

• The missionary attitude (Acts 20:18)
• The missionary approach (Acts 20:20)
• The missionary appeal (Acts 20:21-22)

The Furtherance Of The Gospel - Randy Cloud

• Take your eyes off circumstances and put them on Jesus.
• There is no defeat in Jesus.
• The adversities of this life were sent with a God inspired purpose.
• The key to advancing the gospel is the right attitude.
• The word gospel is used 6 times in Philippians chapter 1.
• Without the blood of Christ there is no salvation, redemption, or forgiveness of sin.
• It is the bad news that makes the good news, good news.
• The 11th commandment is, "Thou shalt not belly ache."
• Rather than hinder the gospel Paul's circumstances furthered the gospel.
• Paul was consumed by the message of Christ.
• Evangelism is the center and circumference of all we do.
• There is alot of joking about hell but hell is no joke.