Missionaries around the world are always in need of support from individuals and churches. In this video, current IMB president, Dr. Paul Chitwood, gives three practical ways that you can support missionaries serving around the world right now.
The entire video is above, and the complete transcript is below.
What are three practical ways that we can support missionaries right now through the local church?
1) Pray
Let me begin with saying that your prayers are the greatest support. It taps into the greatest resource. Our missionaries really have no effectiveness apart from the Spirit of God that’s working in and through them and the Spirit of God that’s working in and through lost people who need to hear and believe the gospel.
The prayers that you pray help in plowing the ground. It’s spiritual battle really Praying for our missionaries to be effective in their work, to have wisdom. Praying that those who hear will have their heart convicted by the Holy Spirit and will believe.
So how you pray as an individual, how you pray as a small group or as a church as a whole for your missionaries really does make a difference.
At IMB.org you can find prayer requests constantly running. In fact, there’s daily prayer requests that are shared for our IMB missionaries. Please pray for our missionaries.
Also I encourage you to pray for the lost. Around the world, we’re seeing a great movement of the Spirit that I believe is, in part, in response to the prayers of God’s people. And we thank for the prayers that you have lifted up and the prayers that you will lift up.
2) Give
Another way that you can support your missionaries right now is through financial support and your giving. The Cooperative Program is our base support that provides for the mission work around the world. As your church gives through the Cooperative Program you not only impact ministries in your state and here in North America, but you are literally extending the reach of your church to the very ends of the earth as you’re supporting missionaries and mission work through the International Mission Board.
So giving. Giving also includes a great opportunity each year, the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering. Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is emphasized during the Christmas season, but the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering is receiving gifts anytime. So I would encourage to pray about, seek the Lord for what He would have you give in support of the mission work. All of the funds that are given through the Lottie Moon Christmas Offering for world missions, all of those fund go directly to support the work overseas.
Thank you for what you might have already given. Thank you for considering what you could give to support the mission work. That’s a way that you as an individual and as a church could have a dramatic impact to the very ends of the earth.
3) Send
Let me also encourage you to consider sending. Sending a team to work alongside of our missionaries. Sending students out for, not only short-term trips, but maybe a two-year stay after they have finished college or finished high school and about to go into college. There are programs through the IMB where individuals can go short-term and career missionaries as well.
And your church could be communicating, your pastor to be preaching, small groups to be talking about the need of the gospel among the nations and the opportunity that the IMB can work with you to send missionaries out is a way that you, through sending, can be a part of supporting missionaries and having hands-on impact in the mission work.
Thank you for all that you’re already doing to work in partnership with the IMB. This is the Southern Baptist missionary sending agency and if you’re a part of a Southern Baptist church it’s your IMB. Every church, every nation.