How Small Churches Can Support Missions

I claim four nationalities. I was born in Norway, have an Irish father, grew up in Scotland, and married an American. I could have two passports in addition to my U.S. and British passports, but who needs more than two? It does seem somewhat ironic, though, that I'd be serving in a small town in Kentucky where most residents have no passport at all.

Most churches in the United States have fewer than 100 in attendance, and many of us are serving in small towns. We have very real challenges when it comes to mobilizing our churches for missions. Many of our members have never traveled overseas. Many others cannot afford to spend thousands on airfare to go there. Moreover, a church that isn't experiencing growth will often question the wisdom of committing resources beyond its own community.

But even a small church can be strategically involved in international missions. The missionary movement has never been divorced from the church; it is the church.

The scope of the missionary challenge coupled with the force of Christ's command to the church to go and make disciples of all nations suggest that every church, however small or remote, must grapple with the question: "How are we being faithful to the Great Commission?"

I pastor a relatively small church (140 people) in a relatively small community (around 20,000 people), but I thank God that we haven't allowed those statistics to hinder our vision or reduce our capacity to take the gospel to the nations. Over the past year we've sent close to 30 of our own members to support the work of church planting in Scotland, partnered with other local churches to train persecuted pastors in southern Philippines, and helped to commission two gospel workers now serving full-time overseas.   Continue at Matthew Spandler-Davison