How can it benefit our church?

Church challenges in missions today :

  • Our church can only do so much
  • We're a small church
  • We're in the middle of a building campaign
  • We want to do something practical
  • We want to do home missions
  • "Lord bless the world" is too general a prayer
  • Generation X-ers and Baby Boomers want input and practical opportunities *
  • There are billions of people in the world without Christ... what can 1 church do?
  • There are thousands of Unreached People Groups without a church

Focusing on one UPG :

  • Tangible
  • Bite-size piece towards reaching billions of people in the world without Christ
  • Lost people become real people, faces
  • Practical opportunities

Educational benefits :

  • Lostness of man : learn people are lost without Christ
  • World and culture : learn about how people around the world live
  • World religion : learn about Islam, Buddhism, Hinduism, spirit worship
  • Evangelism : learn process to bring people to a knowledge of Jesus
  • Prayer : learn to pray for the lost, cultivate global prayer at your church
  • People with limited access to the Gospel, persecuted church, 10/40 window
  • Call : the challenge to send quality people
  • Missionary relationship : communication with a missionary
The events and attitudes we experience with our peers the first 20 years of our lives shape the way our generation looks at the world for the rest of our lives. (For further information see appendix for page entitled : A quick look at three adult generations.)

Input : Americans have experienced for the past 40 years growing uneasiness accepting bureaucratic decisions. Events like Watergate and the scandals of President Clinton, corruption by businesses and televangelists, have made Americans want credible information and their own input regarding decisions, especially concerning giving.

Practical : Problems too big to solve... AIDS, the national deficit, global warming... Life for Americans has gotten complex and overwhelming, and apathy can easily set in. People want to know something practical and tangible that they can do that can make a difference towards the big picture.