Facilitating the Mission

27 Church Planting and Pies

In a podcast directed towards church planters, Jeff and Ed use the analogy of a pie in relation to church planting and global missions. They make the point that planting churches with global missions in their DNA is far superior than trying to infuse missions into an already existing church. 

We mention:

Joshua Project

New Tribes Missions

SIL/Wycliffe 

26 Missionary Stream 06 Calm Waters

Lord willing, the mission flow eventually leads to calm waters. This is the point when the individual missionary and home church have are coming to a point of missionary effectiveness in the work and personal life of the missionary. 

We mention:

Sherwood G. Lingenfelter & Thomas Hale 

24 Missionary Stream 4 Deepening and Widening

Mission Stream

Here at Shepherd’s Staff we often use the phrase of the “missionary stream.” Joining into the stream comes as churches and the individuals who make up those churches begin to see the Lord God as the missionary God. The stream allows us to speak of the various stages of the flow from God, into His churches and individuals. 

In this podcast we'll look at what happens with churches and the individuals who make up that church go into deeper and wider waters in the Missioanry Stream of our Missionary God. 

25 Missionary Stream 05 Rapids

When an individual or church has entered the flow of the mission stream of God, rapids and rough waters will inevitably come. There are obstacles and distractions above and below the surface. Knowing they are coming allows the missionary and church to become distracted from the flow. 

These may include: 

1. Rapids of discouragement from friends, family and church. 
2. Whirlpools of local or national instability swamping the church or individual's boat. 
3. Waves of discouragement as financial rapids slow progress. 
4. Hidden underwater boulders of unexpected opportunities that can actually tip churches and individuals into rough water. 
5. Tsunamis of interpersonal conflict before departure and upon arriving on the field.

We mentioned some support raising resources, which are found on our website.

23 Missionary Stream 03 Individual Flow

Mission Stream for the Individual

Here at Shepherd’s Staff we often use the phrase of the “missionary stream.” Joining into the stream comes as churches and the individuals who make up those churches begin to see the Lord God as the missionary God. The stream allows us to speak of the various stages of the flow from God to reach the nations for His glory. 

Today’s podcast is titled the Individual Flow. Continuing with the analogy of the stream, we’ll discuss how an individual within a local church flows into the Missionary God’s stream. Steps and encouragement to joining the flow are given.

Resources we mention in this podcast:

1. Prayer Cast 
2. Joshua Project
3. Bruchko 
4. Amy Carmichael, God’s Missionary
5. On Being a Missioanry 
6. For the Glory: Eric Liddell's Journey from Olympic Champion to Modern Martyr

22 Mission Stream 02 The Flow for Church

The Mission Stream is language we use here at Shepherd's Staff to help explain how churches and individuals who make up those churches become engaged with the Missioanry God to seek and save that which is lost. 

This is the second episode in our series on the Missionary Stream. In it Jeff and Ed discuss the gathering of waters which begins the flow for churches to engage in God's global endeavors. 

21 Mission Stream 1 Headwaters

Here at Shepherd's Staff, we tend to speak of the Mission Stream. It speaks of the flow from the initial realization that our God is a Missionary God who leads churches and the individual within churches to respond to His seeking to save that with is lost. 

As those churches and individuals continue with their Missioanry God, they figuratively head down the Missionary Stream. The waters gather, flow and deepen. Sometimes there are rapids. 

This episode is  titled Headwaters and begins a series on the Missionary Stream and deals with the basic theology of our God being on a mission. Future episodes will deal with the response of churches and individuals. 

20 Transitional Debrief

Missionary debriefing is a relational and intentional process that provides an opportunity for a missionary to tell their story—by verbally processing past and recent events from their point of view, complete with their emotional responses at the time and since then. 

The Maintenance Debrief is for cross-cultural workers with a call to stay on the field. It is a debrief on the field, or during furlough, designed to keep the missionary focused on the Lord and the calling. 

19 Debrief 02, Realignment

Missionary debriefing is a relational and intentional process that provides an opportunity for a missionary to tell their story—by verbally processing past and recent events from their point of view, complete with their emotional responses at the time and since then. 

Missionaries returning from the field find they have changes, and the people here in the States have changed. A transitional debrief helps the missionaries process their experiences and realign for their next season of fruitful ministry.

 

18 Debrief 01 Why Debrief?

Missionary debriefing is a relational and intentional process that provides an opportunity for a missionary to tell their story—by verbally processing past and recent events from their point of view, complete with their emotional responses at the time and since then. 

Why would missionaries turn down the gift of debriefing? While the value of the missionary debriefing is more known than ever, there is still reluctance to purposely set the time, and possibly finances, aside. Here are words missionaries have used after their time of debriefing:

Released

Renewed 

Replenished 

Restored

Readied