Three Ways For Tying Global to Local

Many churches are looking for ways to connect their overseas ministries with their local ministries. The idea, of course, is to hook people into ministry through the convenience of their own community and then provide them the opportunity to minister in similar ways in another country. This is a good way of preparing people. Conversely, there are some people who are enticed by travel and will go on a short-term mission trip before regularly serving in their community. So how do we find connections between ministries in such different cultures? There are three main ways to do this:

1. Common Cause – This is a common issue. It could be something like homelessness, AIDS, orphans, or health and hygiene.

2. Common Role – This is a common ministry function. This could be something like children’s ministry, sports ministry, or a medical ministry

3. Common People – This could be a common culture, country or a people group. Perhaps you have a large immigrant population near your church; you could develop a missions sending program that goes to their homeland. 

In order to coordinate these, the church needs to begin by praying. Seek God’s will for your church—both in the context of the community and the world. Second, evaluate the church’s gifts and passions. How has God uniquely positioned you to reach others for Jesus? Are there common passions that God has placed in many individuals in your congregation? Finally, look to see if your church has a significant number of people from a specific group. Maybe your church has a large number of attendees who are from a specific country. You may consider adopting that place or people group as your focus.

You may even consider participating in a “Tying global to local” seminar. Click here to request more information on the seminar or to see about bringing it to you.

Questions for the author? Need coaching or consulting? You can contact Tory at 520-404-0841 or toryr@delaministries.com.