At the turn of the century, 75% of Christians lived in North America and Europe. Just a hundred years later, only 25% of Christians live in North America and Europe. After decades of missionary movements, there are no “easy” places left. We desperately need partners to reach the world in more difficult or closed places… but where do we find people to work with us? Can we really keep doing what we’ve always done and stay effective and relevant?

When we think of missions in India, we tend to think of Mother Teresa reaching the poorest of the poor in the slums. Yet India has an emerging middle class that is larger than the population of the entire United States. If we only reach the slums, we are going to miss the next generation of leaders. If we don’t understand the changing world, we waste our resources and miss the incredible opportunities we didn’t know existed.

At the Reimage Mission workshop, we will share major macro-trends that will broaden your understanding of how to approach modern missions.

You just had your quarterly outreach at the local park. Your congregation came together in their matching church t-shirts and gave out hot dogs and water to the people of your community. There were a ton of kids, and they loved the addition of the new face painting station. Even the youth group got involved. Everyone seemed to have a great time, and there had to be at least 400 people that you ministered to! The volunteers left exhausted but happy; everyone loves the outreach.

But, on your way home after a long day, a question enters your mind…

Is any of this really making a difference?

How can we measure the impact?

You host an outreach four times a year and hundreds of man hours are poured out to make it a “success,” but how can you know it’s actually transforming your city? How can your church move from just being active to actually bearing fruit?

We’ve all been there.

It’s Monday morning, 10 AM. Your direct line rings.

It’s your first call of the day from a missionary. The missionary is working in Southeast Asia and one of your old seminary buddies gave them your name and said that you loved Jesus… so you’ll sacrifice, right? You’ll take your church’s missions budget and give… because that’s what Jesus wants you to do, right?

Don’t you wish you had a plan so you could answer yes or no guilt-free? Having a clear, defined strategy will empower you to confidently answer these types of phone calls and ministry requests.

You have an opportunity to build and work with a school in Kenya. Awesome! But what do you really know about the people you are working with?

It’s our reality; Kenya is much farther away than the new youth room you remodeled for your campus last year. It’s much easier to be completely hands off with a project thousands of miles away. But should you be? Is it a good use of your investment?

Do you know who you’re working with internationally? Do they have the right skillset, your church’s DNA, the character to represent you and a history of getting the job done?

What outcomes are you accomplishing through your missions program?

So many questions; do you know how to get them all answered to sufficiently represent this project to your board and congregation to show that you are being good stewards of the resources you have been entrusted?

Your missions’ strategy hasn’t been updated since mobile phones had antennas. You need to change, and you know it. But you have commitments you need to honor. There are years of missions traditions to uphold and missionaries who still require monthly support. How do you move to a strategic missions mindset without burning bridges?

When it’s time to replace a pier, they don’t tear down the original then start building a new one in its place. Instead, engineers will often choose a spot a few hundred feet away to create a parallel structure. When the new pier is complete, then they make a transition.

At the Reimagine Mission workshop, we will help you create a relevant missions strategy and show you how to easily implement it for your current context.